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SYCAMORE – Sycamore senior running back Dylan Hodges said the Spartans’ ground attack has been getting better and better as the year goes on.
He’s got a pretty simple explanation for the success he and junior fullback Kevin Lee have had.
“We don’t have the biggest offensive line, but they sure do have a hell of a lot of heart,” Hodges said. “When they get their pads low ... it opens up huge holes for me and Kevin to run through and do what we do best.”
The Spartans are in the Class 5A quarterfinals for the fourth time in the last five postseasons, and they’ve been running strong throughout the postseason. Hodges has cracked the 100-yard mark in each of the first two postseason games despite only playing in the first half of each game.
The Spartans opened with a 50-8 home win against Noble/Bulls then won in Chicago against Westinghouse 69-12.
The top-seeded Spartans take on No. 4 St. Francis (9-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Sycamore, with the winner facing either No. 3 Nazareth or No. 2 Rochelle.
Faith in his line is what Hodges thinks can translate when the competition gets tougher next round. Coach Joe Ryan agreed and said the confidence boost doesn’t hurt anything either.
“The level of competition the last two games isn’t normally what we see even throughout our conference,” Ryan said. “But that allows us to continue to gain confidence in what we want to do in the running game. Certainly we’re going to have to be at our proper fits and hit things pretty fast against a much better defense than what we’ve seen the last two weeks.”
Hodges has 698 yards and seven touchdowns this year, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Lee has 452 yards and a 5.8 yards-per-carry average while finding the end zone 14 times.
Hodges’ numbers come with him missing a Week 7 game against La Salle-Peru due to an ankle injury.
“He’s not one of those kids that’s ever down,” Ryan said. “He’s got an unbelievable personality that he doesn’t have bad days. And he could have. But he’s never a woe-is-me type. He wasn’t 100% in the Morris game or the Cahokia game or really the Noble/Bulls game. But he still grinded those games out for us.”
Hodges said it was a little tough after hurting himself against Kaneland at first, but any negative feelings got pushed aside pretty quickly.
“I was a little nervous at first but I have a bunch of guys on the team – we all love each other and they kept my head high,” Hodges said. “And I had some friends that helped me get through the recovery process. Everyone was just keeping my head in the right place and it was awesome.”
St. Francis - also the Spartans - has an explosive offense that can put up points in bunches. They are averaging 35.3 points per game.
And while the Sycamore defense has been stingy throughout the year and has only allowed more than 20 once, keeping the opposing Spartans off the field is the simplest way to keep them from scoring, Ryan said.
“We’ve had really good balance all year,” Ryan said. “I thought we’ve been really good in the passing game and now we’ve really stepped our running game up. So if we can continue to do both, that puts you in a good spot.”
Lee had limited varsity time as a sophomore last year but has been starting since Day 1 this year. He was also a wing last year and is handling the shift to not only the speed of the varsity game but a new position.
“It’s a lot more downhill, just running the ball,” Lee said. “Not so much moving around.”
Ryan said Lee has done a great job.
“Everybody always goes, ‘Oh, just put a running back in there,’ ” Ryan said. “But they’re not the same. There’s nuances to each one of our running back positions whether it be a wing, a tailback or a fullback. And it takes a little time for them to get used to it. And Kevin has really grown into it. And the exciting thing is he’s just a junior.”