BIG SHOULDERS
Rushing for 2,251 yards and 27 TDs on 278 carries, Andrean junior did the heavy lifting on the way to a regional title
Andrean running back Ryan Walsh was supposed to have more help.
Nick Flesh er, who caught 78 passes in 2018, missed two months with a broken collarbone, and an injury cost wide receiver Alonzo Paul three games. So the 59ers had to retool offensively.
Walsh, the 2019 Post-Tribune Football Offensive Player of the Year, had to carry the load.
And the junior did, rushing for 2,251 yards and 27 touchdowns on 278 carries, as Andrean (10-4) made a surprise run to the Class 2A semistate, where the 59ers lost to Eastbrook.
Walsh wasn’t the only force that propelled the 59ers’ run, but he was the strongest.
Andrean coach Chris
Skinner wasn’t surprised by his performance.
Walsh played mostly on defense as a linebacker last year. Skinner had to have him on offense this season. Next year Skinner might use him differently.
The point is that Walsh could be good at just about any position on the field.
“There are guys that play football,” Skinner said, “and there are football players. They like contact. They understand the physicality of the game. They embrace it, and they thrive in that environment. That is Ryan.”
There is nothing fancy about the 5-foot-11, 180pound Walsh’s style. He’s a downhill runner. Most of his yards come inside.
Walsh said he has enough speed to be effective.
“I’m not the fastest guy in Indiana,” he said. “But I’m fast enough.”
Walsh rushed for more than 100 yards in every game this season except against Merrillville.
Against Hanover Central, he ran for 302 yards and five TDs on 19 carries.
Flesher broke his collarbone early in the first quarter against the Wildcats. It was after that game that Skinner decided he had to go all-in with Walsh.
“I talked with the staff and asked them what to do,” Skinner said. “Nick was out. Alonzo Paul was hurt. Ryan had to be the guy. We just put it on his shoulders.” It was a rocky ride.
The 59ers were blown out by New Prairie and Hobart, but they survived and improved.
Paul returned against Hammond on Sep. 13, Flesher returned against Boone Grove in the second game of the playoffs and first-year quarterback Noah Hamilton progressed steadily.
Walsh was there, at a high level, for all of it.
He had multiple big games.
But his performance against Rensselaer in the sectional final, when he rushed for 174 yards and three TDs on 23 carries, and his 251 yards rushing and three TDs against Lewis Cass in the regional final were the biggest. Walsh also returned a fumble 50 yards for a TD against Rensselaer.
For Walsh, it’s all out, all the time. He loves playing both ways, and he can’t say he prefers offense over defense.
He just likes to play. Skinner likes him because he knows the effort is always intense.
“He’ll just play four quarters until his body can’t give anymore,” he said.
Watch out. Walsh said he plans to be better next season.
“I’m going to work on my speed and explosiveness,” he said.