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Determination a driving force
for Smith
By Chris Davis
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.18.2005
It is hard to cram three years of lost time into one final
season. But Mike Smith figures if he can stay off the ground,
he might come close.
Smith, a Sunnyside senior, has horded rushing yards like they
were necessary for his survival, and in the process, he has
led the Blue Devils to tonight's Class 5A-II state
quarterfinal showdown against Peoria Centennial. "He'll do
anything to get that extra yard," said offensive lineman Jose
Luis Lopez. "He's a fighter and just keeps running."
Reminiscent of a pair of oiled pistons, Smith's legs never
seem to stop moving.
From the handoff, through the line of scrimmage, over
linebackers and into the secondary, they're always pumping,
leading Smith to a place he knows so well when carrying the
ball –– the end zone.
That's why he has amassed 1,813 yards and 24 touchdowns this
season.
"He plays with a lot of heart, and his other abilities just
added to his game," said Sunnyside coach Richard Sanchez.
"He's an extremely strong kid for his size, and it's hard to
get a good shot on him because of his pad level."
While the passion is not new, the numbers are a first for the
5-foot-8-inch, 170-pounder, who never has been the main focus
of an offense. For the past two seasons, he has battled
injuries and played in the shadow of his older brother,
Xavier.
While the elder and bigger Smith's ability to run the ball
garnered headlines and a scholarship to the UA, Mike Smith was
trying to find his role in a Sunnyside football program filled
with talent.
At first, he said, his focus simply was to be on the same
field as Xavier.
"It was tough because I saw my brother playing and I wanted to
be out there with him," Mike Smith said.
A broken left tibia during his sophomore season thwarted
Smith's drive to play with his brother.
As a result, he played tentatively the following season.
"I kept limping when Coach put me in there," Smith said.
"Coach said it was a mental stage. I already had surgery, but
I needed to get my mind back into form."
Eventually, he began to play football instead of worrying
about reinjuring his knee.
And by the end of last season, Smith had become the Blue
Devils' starting fullback.
But his focus soon changed, as he realized that blocking for
someone else wasn't the type of role he wanted as a senior.
"I wanted to lead the team and I want to play at the next
level," Smith said. "Coach (Sanchez) said that the only way I
could do both was to perform."
There were 10 Southern Arizona players who rushed for more
than 100 yards in the first full Friday night of the season on
Sept. 2.
Smith was one of them, but his 106 yards came with little
fanfare. In fact, he wasn't even the leading rusher on his
team. Sophomore Jovan Stevenson rushed for 117 yards.
But Smith's rushing numbers - and his reputation - grew as the
season progressed.
Smith has rushed for more than 100 yards in each game this
season, in part because of motivation from Sanchez.
"Coach kept pushing me, telling me that it wasn't over," Smith
said. "He said that while I thought I was on top, I really
wasn't."
The years of patience with injuries and playing behind his
brother has paid off.
Smith now is Southern Arizona's leading rusher and has nearly
equaled his brother's most productive season at Sunnyside.
Xavier rushed for 1,851 yards as a junior. Even if he doesn't
get a 100-yard game tonight, Mike Smith can still eclipse the
mark.
"It's his pride and heart," Stevenson said. "He just doesn't
go down. There's something in him that says, 'I'm going to
fight for that extra yard.'"
Smith admits that while he knew he was better than what he
showed in previous years, he didn't know he could be this
good.
But Sanchez said he knew his senior would have an outstanding
season.
"I expected it," Sanchez said. "Mike's very competitive. I
knew coming into this year that he was going to be able to do
the things he's done."
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