Richards’ Myles Mitchell doesn’t have far to go for inspiration.
The senior running back has seen his family go through some tough times, and he has had to move from place to place and home to home.
“We’ve been bouncing around,” he said.
But through it all, his mother, Nicole, recently earned her master’s degree, leaving Myles in awe.
“She’s definitely my MVP,” Mitchell said of his mother. “She inspires me to go and do what I do every day. All thanks to her. I couldn’t do anything that I do without her.”
What Mitchell did Friday night had the Bulldogs’ fans in awe.
The North Dakota State recruit ran for 196 yards on 29 carries and five touchdowns, plus two catches for 36 yards, in a 41-0 South Suburban Red victory over host Argo in Summit.
That said, it wasn’t a one-man show for Richards (4-1, 3-0). Junior quarterback Noah Escobedo threw for 151 yards, including a TD pass to Milan Mosley. Ahmad Buchanan had an early interception to help set the tone for the defense, which recorded its first shutout of the season.
Argo (3-2, 1-1), seeking its third straight playoff appearance, had opened the season outscoring De La Salle, Bloom and Reavis 83-9 before losing 25-10 last week to Shepard.
There weren’t many offensive fireworks Friday, but the Argonauts’ got to see senior punter Kacper Lobas boot a 78-yarder that was aided by the wind and took several favorable bounces.
Mitchell, meanwhile, bounced off tacklers and did a lot of spinning and slamming, breaking free a few times for his big game. He had 156 yards on 23 carries and four TDs in the first half alone.
“He’s pretty special,” Richards coach Tony Sheehan said of Mitchell. “He keeps getting better every day. He’s worked so hard. He’s one of the hardest working kids on the team.
“He’s kind of taken everybody and put them on his shoulders and taken a leadership role. He can run inside and outside and he can catch the ball. There is nothing he can’t do.”
Escobedo said he has a lot of big weapons to choose from with his wide receivers but doesn’t mind watching Mitchell after he hands off the ball to him.
“He’s a playmaker,” Escobedo said of Mitchell. “He’ll turn nothing into something. He also plays linebacker. He’s a great football player.”
Since taking a 48-15 loss at the hands of Libertyville in the second week of the season, the Bulldogs have regrouped and outscored their next three opponents — Eisenhower, Oak Lawn and Argo — by a combined score of 151-22.
“We got rid of the hiccups of that game,” Escobedo said of the team’s only loss. “We’ve been locked in during practice and in games ever since. The offense has really clicked since then.”
In that same way, Mitchell said North Dakota State clicked with him during the recruiting process.
“They started recruiting me my sophomore year,” Mitchell said. “They would reach out and then visit me in school. Coach (Tim) Polasek believes in me and his coaching staff believes in me, and I had an amazing visit, so I went up there and committed.”
Richards has had some strong running backs in the past. That includes Leshon Williams, a senior at Iowa who was a preseason player to watch for the Doak Walker Award.
Sheehan, though, said Mitchell is one of the top running backs in program history for the Bulldogs.
“He’s one of the better ones we have had,” Sheehan said of Mitchell. “He’s going to a good place in North Dakota State. They like to run the ball downhill, which is what he likes to do.
“It think it’s a good spot for him.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
