Morrison has reason to think big with Vandermyde in tow

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By Sean Moeller | Thursday, October 19, 2006 12:47 AM CDT | () comments

Morrison fullback Nick Vandermyde spent the summer trying to beef up to 200 pounds, knowing this was going to be the season when he would be handed the reins and told to knock ’em dead.

He almost got there, topping out at 195 pounds on his 5-foot-10 frame. In his efforts, he worked out every day during the summer. He went on distance runs, ran sprints on the Mustangs practice field, pulling a truck tire that was tied to his waist and worked on his family’s livestock farm — baling more hay than he could remember.

Last Friday night at Morrison in a battle with Fulton for the Wooden Shoe, the senior got his best indication as to what all of that extra strain’s purpose was. In the 48-12 victory, Vandermyde rushed for 286 yards on 20 carries, reaching one milestone and approaching another.

The outing, though short of 300, gave Vandermyde a new single-game Morrison rushing record, gave him 1,262 yards on the year and put him over 2,500 for his career — less than 350 yards away from the all-time school mark.

“I didn’t know what the record was or if I was even close,” Vandermyde said. “Our athletic director Gus Linke came down and told me that I got it when I was on the sidelines at the end.

“I didn’t really think I’d have that many that night. The holes were there.”

Vandermyde, who has yet to have any college coaches sniffing out his post-graduation intentions, credits his head-turning season to finally being the go-to guy in the backfield, not part of the supporting cast, even though he showed what he could do with several big games last season. He platooned with Sammy Biggs and Nate McBride, but still was able to finish the season with more

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than 1,000 rushing yards.

“We were expecting big things from Nick this season and he hasn’t disappointed anyone,” said Morrison coach Scott Rickels, whose team is 7-1, ranked No. 4 in Illinois Class 3A and whose only loss was by two points to defending state champion and top-ranked Bureau Valley. “He’s been around and played a lot of games with the varsity. He’s always had that drive to excel.

“I think what we’re seeing in him is a quiet leader for our team. When it’s crunch time and things are getting tough, he wants the ball.”

Vandermyde would love to see the Mustangs run into the Storm again in the playoffs. He said he thought he was part of the reason he lost.

“We lost by two, and I feel kind of responsible for that, not getting that two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter,” he said. “I did all of that work in the summer to make sure that something like that wouldn’t happen.”

Rickels said that the close loss to Bureau Valley and a season-opening victory against Sterling Newman has his team thinking big.

“We have to at least entertain those thoughts,” he said of thinking about a possible first-ever state football title. “You have to be really lucky, but I think we have as good a shot as anybody else.”

Sean Moeller can be contacted at (563) 383-2288 or at smoeller@qctimes.com.