FIRST AND SHORT

How does Waukesha West produce so many 2,000-yard rushers?

JR Radcliffe
jr.radcliffe@jrn.com

It came in a losing effort, but Waukesha West junior Peter MacCudden racked up 211 yards rushing and cleared the 2,000-yard marker for the 2016 season, finishing with 2,040 yards.

It's not the first time a Waukesha West rusher has achieved that milestone, though it remains a rare achievement.

In the past 10 years, only seven players in the area have cleared 2,000 yards rushing. Sam Santiago-Lloyd of Brookfield East (2,251) and Evander Craft of St. Francis (2,207) both rolled up 2K last year. In 2013, Elijah Fort of Waukesha West (2,191) and Zack Baun of Brown Deer (2,086) reached the mark.

In 2010, Logan Lauters of Cedarburg (2,655) and Joe Schobert of West (2,442) reached the standard. No area rushers hit the mark in the other years, including 2007, 2008 or 2009.

"Over the years we have had some really great offensive linemen, some who have played on at the college level but most who were just very committed high-school players," West coach Steve Rux said of his program's penchant for producing big rushing totals. "The building process for these guys really begins in the offseason with their commitment to strength training. We try to get a pool of guys that will see how they can find a role as every-down players on the offensive line. For example, this year we had two seniors who had previously been on the defensive line but probably would see limited minutes there.  So we talked to them about the opportunity to play on the offensive line. They did great."

Rux has developed a bit of a reputation as an offensive-line mastermind. He said he learned the most about the position as a graduate assistant for the University of Utah in the early 1990s under offensive line coach Tim Davis and head coach Ron McBride, but the former Oconomowoc High School standout played on the offensive line for the Wisconsin Badgers from 1983-87.

"I was undersized and played behind some really great players," Rux said. "I started a couple games in my junior year at center and then every game in my senior year at offensive tackle.  My senior year was (coach Don) Morton's first year, and playing in the split veer allowed me to move to tackle since the big guys play inside in that system. I was lucky to play, and although we did not win much back then during those years of turmoil, I learned a lot about offensive line play. To have any chance to get on the field, I had to know all positions on the offensive line and because I was undersized. My technique had to be as perfect as it could be. Because there were so many transitions between different coaches back then, I was exposed to many different offensive line philosophies and techniques, and some of those I still teach today."

Rux is the offensive-line position coach at West, but he also credits freshman offensive line coach Steve Radjoicic, a former player, and JV offensive line coach Tony Bitto, who's been working with Rux for 17 years.

"Each year, we experiment with some new things but try not to reinvent the system," Rux said. "Some things work and become tradition a base part of our offensive system. Some experiments fail miserably and are shelved."

Even aside from Fort, Schobert and MacCudden, West has produced a number of top rushers, including Steve Spratte, Charlie Congdon, Jair Scott and Aaron Dyselski. This year, Dain Hudson and Jordan Xiong have given MacCudden a rest where possible, since MacCudden also plays a huge role on defense, and they have also racked up big yardage.

"Our best athletes tend to find their way to the RB position by the time they get to the varsity level," Rux said. "If they have vision, speed, durability, and can block in pass protection, chances are they will be pretty good. ... On all of our running plays, we give a landmark aiming point for the back to begin, and once he  hits that aiming point, he has the freedom to run it where he sees it.  Every back has his own style. Schobert was a glider, Spratte and Hudson always ended up where you wouldn't expect, and MacCudden seems to have it all.  We have been fortunate to have some really great backs that have had really great vision. If they don't have vision or the speed to be one of the top two RBs, they usually end up as effective defensive player or at fullback. The fullback in our system has to be one of our most physical players and he has to be a total team guy because he does not carry the ball much."

That included Peter's older brother, Kevin MacCudden, who played fullback at West in front of Schobert and briefly held his own spot on the Badgers roster. Tyler Zirpoli led the way for MacCudden this year, and Rux credits running backs coach Tim Behrendt for developing that part of West's game.

"We try to spread the ball around, but when we feel we need to, we will give the ball to our best back up to 30 times if it is the best way to help our team win."