Stadium’s Darius Sum leads WA in rushing yards. ‘He’s just a natural’
The picturesque views at Stadium Bowl are little consolation for defenders tasked with stopping Darius Sum, the Tigers ball carrier seemingly no program can suppress.
Make the tackle while you can, or else Sum is gone. He waits patiently behind an experienced offensive line for a crease. Then, a burst of 11-second, 100-meter-dash speed to escape. It isn’t abnormal for Sum’s house calls to go untouched.
And the box scores? They’re video-game numbers. Through six games, Sum’s 1,226 rushing yards pace all of Washington State, and his 17 total touchdowns rank second. He’s averaging over 200 rushing yards per game, notching at least 100+ yards and a touchdown in each.
Dare we say, matchup-proof?
Stadium head coach Patrick Johnson smiled: “I suspect our next opponents will be making sure No. 1 doesn’t beat them.”
Sum’s best performance to date: 19 touches for 293 scrimmage yards (279 rushing) and five total touchdowns in a 42-21 win over Silas at Stadium Bowl on Sept. 13, netting him a friendly wager among classmates after proclaiming a 200-yard performance was in the cards.
His blend of breakaway speed, vision, and patience makes him one of the South Sound’s scarier runners. Johnson and the coaching staff remain in the process of scouring Stadium history books for school rushing records; in the digital era of MaxPreps stat keeping, there isn’t a single-season record Sum hasn’t already broken.
“This is what we’ve been working for,” Sum told The News Tribune. “I wouldn’t be doing it without my O-Linemen. Great guys, doing their job every single play, day in and day out. Give props to them.
“When they do their job, I’m just going to finish for them.”
Sum’s numbers are good for 11.7 yards per carry, needing only nine totes to erupt for 151 yards and three touchdowns last week over Kentridge and surpass Lind-Ritzville-Sprague’s Brady Boness atop the state’s rushing leaderboard.
“Washington’s leading rusher” certainly has a nice ring to it.
“That was definitely a goal I had,” Sum said. “I wasn’t expecting it, but shoot, I’m doing it.”
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
Sum flashed all-purpose potential as a second-team all-PCL wideout in 2023 — though in his eyes, there’s a unique and unparalleled thrill at running back.
“How do you explain it… It’s one-on-one, or 11 guys chasing you,” he said. “Adrenaline, thrill, everything. It’s fun.”
Sum’s favorite NFL halfback to model? That’d be three-time All-Pro Le’Veon Bell, a patient runner with pass-catching prowess who enjoyed a career campaign (2,215 scrimmage yards, 11 TD) with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014.
Stadium’s top dog is much of the same, willing for lanes to develop before a flash of breakaway speed. He says it’s where he’s grown most as a runner. Simply put — “less dancing.”
“I feel like my freshman year, I was too hesitant,” he said. “I’d see the hole, but I couldn’t get into the hole, you know?
“I’ve just learned how to get north and south instead of east and west.”
Asked just how heavily Sum factors into opposing game plans, Johnson chuckled.
Stacked defensive boxes are the norm. Kentridge’s offense threw the ball just once last weekend, an attempt to churn clock on the ground and keep Sum on the sideline. And the running back’s “quietest” night this season versus Auburn (112 yards, 1 TD) was the result of a pass-heavy game script after early Stadium turnovers forced the Tigers into catch-up mode.
It’s what offensive coordinator Matt Johnson, Patrick’s brother, navigates weekly: When defenses swarm Sum, who gets the ball next?
“(Matt’s) had to be really smart about looking at our (group) and say, ‘OK, if they’re focusing on Darius, do we have a counter to that? And do we have some window dressing-like stuff to make them respect us,” Johnson said.
“We’ve (improved) our passing game to keep people honest. We’ve got some skill guys on the outside and a 6-foot-5 receiver [Case Kelenic]. We’ve got Donovan Gill coming back at receiver and Jalen Olive in the slot. We’ve got guys that you have to cover, that don’t allow you to (single out Darius).”
Another massive piece to the Stadium puzzle: Sum runs behind five senior offensive linemen led by second-team guard Koa Tauaese and Tigers center Hunter Nelson — none of whom play defense.
It’s by design, part of Johnson’s philosophy.
“I want my big guys to play one way, if possible,” he said. This year, the stars aligned. … Being able to have those guys come off (the field) and sit on the bench after a series to talk, get fresh, and wear teams out late in the game, has been great.”
‘BUILD CULTURE FIRST’
It’s a rejuvenated Stadium Football program with improving attitudes and growing belief, Sum says.
“Ever since (Coach Johnson) got here, I could tell that the attitude of a lot of these seniors… it’s just totally different,” he said Wednesday. “They went from, ‘Oh, I don’t even want to play football,’ to ‘Oh yeah, I love this game.’ He changed it. The whole coaching staff, especially Coach Johnson. He put in so much time and work just to change the whole environment.”
Johnson, a Lakes High School grad in 2000, was Foss High School’s head football coach from 2012-14 before coaching stints in Charlottesville, VA and San Antonio, TX, from 2015-2021. He returned to Pierce County for the Stadium job in 2022.
“When we took the job… I say we, because this coaching staff… a lot of them were with me at Foss,” Johnson said. “Some of them played with me at Lakes.
“When we took the job, a lot of people said you can’t win here. As I look at it, we took (the job) with the idea to build culture first. We did that year one. Last year was more about holding guys accountable. And this year, we’ve really tried to focus on discipline.”
Sum arrived at Stadium the same year Johnson did, and they endured an inaugural 2-8 season together. Then, a breakthrough 6-4 campaign in 2023 with QB Kooper Tasler and Sum primarily on the perimeter at wideout.
In a reformed 4A NPSL, the Tigers are 5-1 upon their rise to the state’s largest classification, and Sum’s transition to bell-cow running back behind five senior offensive linemen and all-league TE Diego Cabrera is paying handsome dividends. No opponent has figured out the state’s leading rusher yet.
“We just work,” Sum said. “We’ve got to give props to Coach Johnson. The right play calls. Preparing a lot. Watching film, way more than last year.
“It’s just different. The environment is totally different.”
The adversity only fueled Sum, Johnson said. Teammates voted him captain, and the running back serves on the program’s leadership committee.
“I was thankful that (Darius) trusted the new coaching staff that we were going to be able to turn Stadium football around,” Johnson said, “and make it something he could be proud of and want to be a part of.”
Stadium’s toughest test of the season looms on Saturday afternoon: a trip to Highline Memorial Stadium for a noon kickoff with the undefeated Kennedy Catholic Lancers, a legitimate 4A contender. RB Indiana Jones, the standout all-purpose back, has tallied 860 scrimmage yards and 16 touchdowns through six games of his senior campaign.
“You watch their film, that’s a good group of football players,” Johnson said. “You look at their Twitter pages… that’s a great reputation for that program, great athletes in that program. They play hard.
“All I want to do is be in the fight at the end of the season. Getting a chance to go play in the playoffs, which they haven’t done around here much, or just be in the battle (at every game).
“They’ve bought into that. They show up. They’re a great group of kids, and my coaching staff has just been amazing.”
This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
