Richmond-Burton’s Steven Siegel flourishes this season in expanded role

The constant theme of the five teams Mike Noll has had since taking over as Richmond-Burton football coach has been a bona fide two-way star at fullback and on defense.

The kind of player who leads the team in rushing, tackles and rarely comes off the field. The quintessential small-school, do-it-all and lead-your-team-deep-into-the-playoffs type of player.

It was Mike Kaufman in 2018, who passed the title to Dalton Wood in 2019, who then handed the job to his brother Brock Wood in 2020 and 2021.

Steven Siegel has assumed that role this season, and the 6-foot, 210-pound senior has upheld the tradition quite well. Siegel is second in area rushing with 1,725 yards and has 37 touchdowns as the No. 1-seeded Rockets (11-0) face No. 13 Providence (7-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday in a Class 4A playoffs quarterfinal game in New Lenox.

“We relied on Brock so much last year. Steven became the workhorse this year,” Noll said. “I don’t know that he was ready to do that last year, but through maturation and hard work, he’s ready to carry the load this year.”

Siegel also plays defensive end and has been a force on that side with six sacks, eight tackles for losses, 27 solo tackles, one forced and one recovered fumble and two defensive touchdowns.

“It’s a great opportunity following after Brock, doing the same thing he did,” Siegel said. “We always have that one guy. It starts with the line. They help me by making those holes. I’m just there to run the ball.”

The line consists of center Jacob Gray, guards Hunter Smith and Patrick Willin and tackles Nate Komar and Evan Robinson.

Siegel feels the Rockets’ conditioning program helped prepare him well for the extra workload this season. He likely will finish with twice the number of carries (99) he had last season.

“You want to stay strong through the season,” Siegel said. “I did pretty much the same stuff. We have a pretty good conditioning program. I give credit to that.

“[Playing both ways] is not bad. After a long run, it’s pretty tiring. Getting two or three plays off on defense is nice. I need that after a long run.”

Siegel ran for 774 yards and 15 touchdowns for last year’s Class 4A semifinal team, on which he also played defensive end. The Rockets were 12-1, losing to Joliet Catholic in the semifinals.

Quarterback Joe Miller knew Siegel, moving over from tailback to take over for the Northwest Herald Player of the Year at fullback, would flourish in that position.

“Oh, I had no doubt Steven could fill Brock’s role,” Miller said. “Brock was an amazing back. Brock is bigger, but Steven has some agility Brock didn’t have. Steven, behind Brock, had some great moments. He’s always been a great back. I didn’t think he’d have any troubles taking on that role.

“It makes my job that much easier. It opens up the pass game whenever we do play action. It’s very fortunate to have this reliable back we can turn to. He’s our bread and butter. All year long he’s never really had an off game.”

Noll says Siegel is the Rockets’ best pass rusher and is such a proficient blocker that he could play guard. But he has been an absolute beast with others blocking for him.

“He’s a patient runner. He has good vision, and he can make you miss,” Noll said. “He’s got a really nice burst when he decides to hit a hole and get his pads down and be physical. He’s got breakaway speed. He’s just got a really good short-area burst and explosiveness. He can finish a run too.”

Siegel’s best game came against Marengo when he rushed 23 times for 355 yards and all seven R-B touchdowns in a 48-21 victory. He had another big game against Normal West, a Class 6A team that made the second round of the playoffs, rushing for 150 yards in a 33-26 victory.

With his size, speed and ability, Siegel looks like a strong college prospect. But he is an excellent student and is leaning toward opting out of football next year.

“My freshman year I wanted to do that, hoping I could go D-I,” Siegel said. “But I kind of realized it’s a lot harder to go D-I because there’s so many people and so many athletes around the United States. My junior year I felt I could get somewhere more with my academics. I’ve been thinking I’ll go the academic route.”

Siegel wants to go into the medical field, likely as a physician’s assistant. Marquette is high on his list of prospective schools.

“He’s a great kid. He’s a great student,” Miller said. “He’s a better student than he is football player. He’s a great friend and a reliable person.”

And like Kaufman, and Dalton Wood and Brock Wood, Siegel will be leaving some big cleats to fill.