Opponents would be wise not to sell Waubonsie Valley’s Chrisjan Simmons short or they will run the risk of having the senior running back repeatedly burn them.
Simmons is a workhorse who checks in at 5-foot-7 and 185 pounds, and he has been stepping up big for a team looking to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Simmons might be hard to find at times, running into the heavy traffic and scrums at the line of scrimmage, but it’s not all he has going for him.
“There’s a little bit of that elusiveness, too,” said Adam Pucylowski, who is in his first year as head coach for the Warriors. “He’s able to find some creases.
“Chrisjan does a nice job because he’s got some weight to him. He can jump cut with the best of them. He’s really worked hard at taking the five (yards) to get you 50 and just powering through.”
Simmons did just that Friday night, starting slow but running for 70 yards and touchdowns of 7 and 19 yards in a 28-19 Southwest Valley Green victory over visiting DeKalb in Aurora.
Two pass receptions for 42 yards gave him 112 in all for Waubonsie (4-3, 2-1), which needs at least one more win to become playoff eligible, with dates remaining at home against Lincoln-Way Central and at neighborhood rival Metea Valley.
Senior quarterback Josh Siekierski passed for 221 yards and TDs of 33 yards to senior wide receiver Brock Culberson and 15 yards to senior receiver Owen Roberts for the Warriors.
Winless DeKalb (0-7, 0-2) didn’t take Simmons lightly either, keying on him and holding him to 23 yards rushing on nine carries in the first half.
“It was on me, on our side,” Simmons said. “I wasn’t getting into the gap I was supposed to hit. They were blitzing the gaps and there were a lot of collisions going on, but in the second half, we picked it up and got better.
“They probably do lose track of me. All of the linemen are tall and I’m short and they can’t see where I’m going most of the time.”
He hopes it will be to the next level after visits to Aurora University and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The Barbs rallied from a 14-0 deficit to within 14-13 in the third quarter and 21-19 with 5:31 remaining. Senior quarterback Michael Hodge, filling in for the second straight week for injured junior starter Cole Latimer, passed for 235 yards and two TDs to senior wide receiver Billy Miller.
Junior wideout Davon Grant, who has four offers from Big Ten schools, added eight catches for 135 yards to lead DeKalb.
However, Grant was stopped by senior defensive tackle Stefan Popov behind the line of scrimmage on a 2-point conversion run necessitated by an earlier missed extra-point kick.
“If we don’t get that stop it’s a tie game and maybe we can’t guarantee ourselves a chance of getting into the playoffs,” said Popov, who had two other tackles for loss and shared a sack with junior defensive lineman Leo Hobson.
Simmons then capped a 75-yard drive, breaking two tackles on the way to scoring his second TD with a 19-yard run.
“He was working for some hard yards in the first half and in the second started pounding it, running through contact and keeping those legs moving,” Pucylowski said. “On the last TD, he was patient, breaking tackles in the backfield and right at the line of scrimmage.
“He continues to grow, get better and get those hard yards driving through everything.”
Roberts, who also plays safety, followed by sealing the win with an interception.
“Three games to get to the playoffs and this one was really important,” Simmons said. “We need to keep the momentum.”
Popov pointed to Simmons for being a big part of that.
“Chrisjan always was a dog,” Popov said. “He has heart.”
