Runaway success

Brian Felix doesn't appear remarkable when he is standing, in street clothes, with a group of other students from Juneau-Douglas High School.

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His chiseled physique hidden by loose-fitting clothes, Felix doesn't look extremely large and sometimes he even appears smaller than his listed 6-foot-0, 196 pounds. Instead, Felix comes across as kind of quiet and shy, but with a quick grin as he rides his scooter to school.

It's when he puts his pads on and steps onto the football field that Felix sets himself apart from the rest of his peers. A junior, this year Felix has put together the best season a running back has ever had for the top-ranked Crimson Bears.

He's even done so well that Bartlett coach John Jessen called him "the best football player in the state. The Lathrop QB (Brock Graziadei) is close, but Felix is awesome." Jessen said that two days before Felix ran for 267 yards and a touchdown against his team.

Heading into tonight's state football playoff semifinal game against Lathrop, Felix has rushed the ball 236 times for 1,661 yards and 17 touchdowns. He already owns the school records for rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs, and touchdowns in the regular season and playoffs. And the way he's running, there's a reasonable chance Felix could become Juneau's first running back to crack the 2,000-yard barrier if the Crimson Bears can reach the state championship game.

Five times this season he's rushed for more than 200 yards, and only once in Juneau's last five games has he been held under 200. Last Saturday's effort was 29 carries, 308 yards and five touchdowns, plus an interception on defense, as the Crimson Bears beat the Dimond Lynx 44-14 in the first round of the state playoffs.

Felix's worst game this year was Juneau's season-opener, but that was because he hardly played in the Crimson Bears' 64-0 romp against overmatched Ketchikan. Felix only carried the ball three times for 10 yards in that game.

"The coaches are always joking with me that Ketchikan was the only game where I was shut down," Felix said.

Felix's success has come at a time when Juneau's smallish offensive line has matured; the team produced a trio of good blocking fullbacks in seniors Toni Talamai, Ryan West and Nick West; and the Crimson Bears developed a potent passing attack led by senior quarterback Mark Shilling and senior wide receiver C.J. Keys. In two of Felix's 200-yard-plus rushing games, Keys also had 200 yards of total offense.

While he's the definite star of the team, Felix's low-key attitude makes his linemen want to block for him.

"You work even harder," Juneau lineman Kyle Miller said. "I like watching him run. I just get all butterflies when I see him running down the field after making a hole for him."

"It's great, because as long as you make a little crease, he's gone," lineman Jimmy Brown added. "When Brian's one-on-one with a safety, he'll break it."

Last year, most of Juneau's offensive linemen were smaller sophomores and juniors and they struggled against teams with big lines. But as last fall's woeful 2-6 season progressed, the line improved and Felix ran for 289 yards and four touchdowns in Juneau's last three games. Felix only ran for 507 yards total last year, which was the team's high.

Once the season ended, Felix began working toward this year. During the spring, Felix ran on the track team for the first time and qualified for the state meet in the 200-meter dash and a couple of relays.

This summer, it was a frequent sight for Douglas residents to see Felix running on his tip-toes across the Douglas Bridge while wearing a backpack full of weights. Once across the bridge, Felix joined the linemen in off-season weight-training workouts. They also went to camps, such as the one at Western Washington University.

"I think I got faster, but it was mainly the line," Felix said. "Our line was all juniors and sophomores last year and inexperienced. This year they really stepped it up. We really came together while working out together. And Toni and Nick and Ryan have all made good blocks for me."

Another plus for Felix was new offensive coordinator Rich Sjoroos' commitment to the running game. Sjoroos and junior varsity head coach Eddie Brakes both worked with Felix in the Juneau Youth Football League, so they knew what talent Felix had.

"I think what's come over him is his vision on the field has improved," Sjoroos said. "He has a great feel now for what defenses are going to try to do to stop him, and whether they're going to try to hit him low or high. It's the little subtle things that he can read at a glance that other running backs may need to take a second or two to process. He can sense what the other team is doing."

When things are working, you get results like the game's first play against Dimond. Just when it appeared two Dimond defenders were going to close a hole just off Juneau's right tackle, Ryan West and Talamai took the defenders out of the play. Felix then made a sharp cut through the hole and ran, untouched, 72 yards to the end zone.

"When you run 70 yards and don't get touched, you've got to give some credit to the line," Sjoroos said.

Felix is one of the first to credit the line for his outstanding season. And he's ready to repay them.

"I'll have to buy the linemen ice cream when the season's done," Felix said.

"He makes the line real happy when he buys us ice cream," lineman Alika Bradley added.

• Charles Bingham can be reached at cbingham@juneauempire.com.

Running wild for the Crimson Bears

This season's statistics for JDHS running back Brian Felix

Date, opponent, decision Car-yds TDs

Aug. 8, vs. Ketchikan, W, 64-0 3-10 0

Aug. 15, vs. East Anchorage, W, 42-18 14-217 2

Aug. 22, vs. Palmer, W, 17-0 21-110 0

Aug. 29, vs. Dimond, L, 28-27 25-81 2

Sept. 6, vs. Service, W, 42-35 39-237 4

Sept. 12, vs. Bartlett, W, 35-8 28-267 1

Sept. 20, vs. West Anchorage, L, 21-7 45-268 0

Sept. 27, vs. Chugiak, W, 31-7 32-163 3

Oct. 4, vs. Dimond, W, 44-14 29-308 5

Season totals 236-1,661 17