“He’s the Heartbeat of Our Team”: Senior Richardson Brings Positivity and Powerful Running to Fourth-ranked City High
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – Do your job.
The simple three-word phrase has been a staple within football programs for decades.
In what many consider to be the ultimate team sport, where all 11 players on the field have a specific responsibility on every play perhaps no sport puts more of a premium on doing your job that football.
Darren Richardson knows his job on the football field.
The most notable responsibility for Richards has been running the football, a job the City High senior has completed at a high level this season.
It is another job on the team that doesn’t have anything to do with touchdowns or rushing yards that Richardson takes even more pride in.
“I want to be the guy that everyone can count on to pick them, that’s my job on the team and I love that job,” Richardson explained. “I want to come in every day with a smile on my face. That’s just me and I love that job.”
Leading rusher or team leader.
Bringing high energy or a positive attitude.
Regardless of the job, Richardson has done it and then some for fourth-ranked City High (10-1) which faces second-ranked Southeast Polk (10-1) in the Class 5A state semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
“He’s the heartbeat of our team,” first-year City High coach Mitchell Moore said. “We talk about having great positivity and great enthusiasm in everything we do and Darren just exemplifies that every day.”
It hasn’t always been easy for Richardson to keep his trademark smile and positive approach.
Injuries hampered Richardson as a sophomore and junior limiting him to 324 rushing yards in his first two seasons.
“It was hard (dealing with injuries) but coach Mitch and the whole staff always kept my head right where it needs to be and made sure when it’s my time to shine I was ready to do what I needed to do,” Richardson said. “They always kept my head right.”
Richardson kept his head up, kept working and most importantly to him, continued to encourage his teammates.
“If he is having a bad day you would never know it,” City High senior Jamari Newson said. “He’s not going to show it because he’s always trying to make everyone else smile.”
This season Richardson got his opportunity to show what he could do when fully healthy.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound has taken advantage of his opportunity racking up a team-high 966 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.
“Everybody knows that he is a workhorse and he is going to put in the work regardless of how the day goes, if he is having a bad day he is still going to put in the work,” Newson said. “He runs hard, he knows he has something to prove and he really plays with a chip on his shoulder.”
Even in his breakthrough senior season Richardson had to be patient.
He had seven carries in each of the first three games and had 26 carries four games into the season.
The breakthrough for Richardson came in week five when he rushed for a then career-high 204 yards and four touchdowns on a career-high 23 carries in a win over cross-town rival City High.
“We kept preaching to him that in our offense, in our system we can’t have just one back,” Moore said. “With the way we tempo and the way we practice, we have to have two or three backs, you are going to have your opportunity and you just have to keep pushing ahead and you are going to get your chance, you are going to get your breakthrough and he’s been able to do that and it’s been fun.”
Richardson hasn’t slowed down since.
He has rushed for more than 70 yards in four of the last seven games and has cracked the 100-yard mark three times during that stretch.
Richardson has scored a rushing touchdown in six of the last seven games.
“I always kept my mind focused and when I got my chance I had to take it and go to the top with it,” Richardson said. “It’s like a dream come true.”
Richardson has been at his best in the postseason, posting back-to-back 100-yard games in wins over ninth-ranked Urbandale and top-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
The senior has rushed for 375 yards in two postseason wins and is coming off a career-high 227 yards and three touchdowns in a quarterfinal win over the Cougars.
The response to the success for Richardson has been overwhelming.
“He is genuinely happy when other people succeed,” Moore said. “When you have a person like that, that is genuinely happy for the success of others, when he succeeds you can see how happy everyone is for him.”
Richardson continuing to do his job will be key for City High on Friday against second-ranked Southeast Polk.
Regardless of how many yards Richardson has on Friday night he will continue to do his job both on and off the field.
“I’m just a happy kid and at the end of the day I don’t like people being sad, even in sad moments,” Richardson said. “I always pick my guys up. No matter if it’s a loss or a win whatever it is, a bad practice, I’m always that guy that if you need somebody to laugh or smile I’m going to be that anytime.”
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