Mustangs' Williams Off and Running

Downers Grove South running back Josh Williams admitted to being a little tired late in Friday's game against state power Glenbard West. But no one watching the contest – certainly not Hilltoppers coach Chad Hetlet – noticed any drop off in the junior's play.

Williams, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound burner, did all he could to keep his Mustangs in the game against a Hilltoppers squad loaded with returning players back from last year's 7A state runners-up squad.

The DGS running back scored touchdowns in each half and his one-yard leap in the fourth quarter got the Mustangs close before Glenbard West (3-0) managed to hang onto a 21-16 victory.

Even in defeat, however, Williams and his teammates showed that 2010 should be more of the same for a program that has reached the playoffs in 25 of the last 26 seasons and finished first or second in conference every year since since 1984, when the Mustangs took second in the state in Class 6A.

"The word is elusive," Hetlet said after watching Williams run through his defense for 111 yards and two scores in 27 grueling carries. "There's not a more elusive player that I've seen. He was a nightmare. He took a pounding and you've got to swarm him every time. I'm glad we won't play him again."

After an ankle injury cost him plenty of time his sophomore year, Williams looks primed for a breakout campaign this fall.

With a starting offensive lineman out with an injury and with standout wide receiver Ryan Oruche suffering an ankle injury that limited him to just two rushes and one 5-yard catch, Williams put the Mustangs' offense on his shoulders and almost led Downers South to an upset of the Hilltoppers.

After helping throw a scare into Glenbard West, Williams now hopes to help the Mustangs bounce back from two tough losses against powerful Bolingbrook and Glenbard West.

"We're going to do the same things we've been doing. We practice hard and we can't take any team lightly," said Williams, following a practice this week in which he worked out both on offense and defense as a cornerback. "It's all a mindset. We expect nothing less (than to get back to the playoffs). Our goal each week is to go out and win games."

A running back since the third grade, Williams played on the Mustangs sophomore squad as a freshman before becoming a major contributor – when healthy – on DGS's 9-3 team that reached the 8A quarterfinals in 2009.

With last season's experienced quarterback Chandler Whitmer now at the University of Illinois, more of the load has fallen on Williams this fall. But the softspoken football and track athlete doesn't expect to become the team's biggest leader overnight.

"All of our players are supposed to be leaders," he said. "I have almost the same role as I had last year."

But the talented back sure knows how to play and talk like a leader.

"It's not about the yards," said Williams. "I just want to win game."