Midseason report: Darnell Miller thrusts himself

Every morning, Darnell Miller walks his 10-year-old brother, Fredrick, to elementary faculty, then walks another 20 minutes to Santee High in downtown Los Angeles. Before soccer observe, when the bell rings in the afternoon, he sometimes jogs to decide up his brother, then walks him home or takes him to observe.

This is a peek into the life of the 17-year-old Miller, a soft-spoken senior who leads the City Section in dashing at midseason with 1,159 yards and 13 touchdowns for 4-1 Santee.

As an instance of his expertise, the 6-foot, 170-pound Miller made such a constructive impression in a 43-7 loss to University that the opposing coach, Bryan Robinson, said, “He’s the No. 1 running back in the City Section.”

Miller rushed for 209 yards in the defeat. He also performs basketball, runs monitor and has a 4.6 second 40-yard time.

He used to play youth soccer at age 6 and was so scared of being tackled that he saved operating away from defenders when he had the ball.

He moved from Memphis to Los Angeles at the end of 2018. He didn’t play soccer his freshman yr at Santee. He performed level guard on varsity basketball. The soccer coaches observed him.

“The coaches made me come out,” Miller said. “They kept asking me and I said I’d give it a try. Now I love it.”

He was a receiver last season until switching to operating back at midseason after an injury to a teammate. He also performs defensive back.

“He’s a natural at running back,” coach John Petty said.

Raised by a single mom, Miller relishes his function watching over his fifth-grade brother who sometimes joins him on the soccer bus to street video games. The two are so quiet and shy that it would take a third particular person to get them to converse up. Playing soccer has helped Miller develop into more vocal but his performances are talking for him.

Miller has a warning. “I feel I can still get better,” he said.

Let’s review some midseason excellence with some player-of-the yr candidates:

• Quarterback Luke Fahey, Mission Viejo. Having guided the Diablos to wins over Santa Margarita, Folsom and San Diego Lincoln, Fahey has shown accuracy and great judgment. He has accomplished 74% of his passes with 12 touchdowns and one interception.
• Taylor Lee, Oxnard Pacifica. The junior quarterback has gone on a landing throwing barrage with 19 in his last three video games for unbeaten Pacifica. Tougher competitors begins in the Marmonte League.
• Madden Williams, St. John Bosco. The senior receiver resides up to expectations in enjoying his best in big video games. He has 13 receptions for 331 yards and 4 touchdowns getting into Trinity League play.
• Jaden Walk-Green, Corona Centennial: A junior security who began the season unknown, he has made an affect with his athleticism. He begins in heart area for the baseball and is flexible on the soccer area, batting down balls, making tackles and serving as the Huskies’ kicker.
• Mark Bowman, Mater Dei: He’s a senior tight end exhibiting everybody why he is perhaps the best in the nation. The Monarchs haven’t throw many passes to him because they’ve so many top receivers, but he had two landing catches last week against Bishop Gorman and contributes on nearly every play with his blocking.
• Isaiah Arriaza, Damien. The Spartans are 5-0 behind their senior quarterback. Arriaza has handed for 1,491 yards and 14 touchdowns.
• Rocco Tompkins, JSerra. The linebacker and operating back is only 5-10, but what a first 5 video games he’s had. He leads the Southern Section in tackling. “He’s a tackling machine,” coach Victor Santa Cruz said.
• Madden Riordan, Sierra Canyon. On maybe the best protection in the Southland, you don’t mess with Riordan, a defensive back who has two interceptions and 16 solo tackles. He had 10 interceptions last season.
• Khary Wilder, Gardena Serra: The defensive lineman has contributed six sacks and 17 solo tackles while coming prepared to trigger havoc every recreation.
• Max Meier, Loyola: The defensive lineman has seven sacks and helped out on 40 tackles while exhibiting Stanford has stolen a rising expertise.
• Caden Jones, Crean Lutheran. The junior quarterback and star level guard has accomplished 76% of his passes for 1,432 yards and 10 touchdowns with zero interceptions for the 5-0 Saints.

Players exceeding expectations: Sophomore quarterback Chase Curren, Crespi; senior quarterback Jack Thomas, Palisades; sophomore quarterback Gino Wang, JSerra; junior receiver Paul Turner, Birmingham.

Surprise groups: 1. Los Alamitos (7-0), 2. Beaumont (4-1), 3. Norco (5-0), 4. Moorpark (5-0), 5. Crespi (5-0), 6. Torrance (5-0).