Chatfield's Ben Carrier has been a running back revelation

CHATFIELD — Jeff Johnson could pretty much count on it being Ben Carrier's reply. That's just how the senior is, always ready to do whatever he can to help.

What Chatfield football coach Johnson was asking of Carrier just as the season began was to switch positions, from wide receiver to running back. Injuries had hit the Gophers at that position and Johnson needed someone to step up.

So, of course, Carrier — being the generous and accommodating type — put up no fight. That was despite having not played that position for two years.

"I asked him if he'd move back to running back and he said, 'Absolutely I can,'" Johnson said. "He's just a very unselfish, team player. He shows a lot of leadership and maturity."

Carrier explains himself: "I like being unselfish, and football is a team sport, that's why I like it. I like to help out the team wherever I can and make us better all around."

To say that Carrier has helped out these state semifinal-bound Gophers would be a massive understatement. He filled in at running early on, then was so dramatically effective there, that there was never a thought to moving him back to wide receiver once people got healthy.

He was just too good.

Never in the history of Chatfield football — at least to anyone's recollection — has the program ever had someone put up the yards-per-carry numbers that this 5-foot-10, 175-pound speedster has. Carrier, who shows equal parts shiftiness and straight-ahead speed, has rushed for 1,353 yards on 118 carries, with 16 touchdowns.

There is some commonality there among Chatfield's ball carriers, who have all found gaping holes to run through as they operate behind arguably Chatfield's best-ever offensive line. D'Andre Williams is averaging 8.5 yards per carry and quarterback Carson Rowland 6.1 yards per carry.

But Carrier's mark of 11.5 yards per carry stands alone, likely all time.

Johnson, knowing the kind of explosive athlete Carrier is and having witnessed his field vision as a receiver, figured things would go well for him at running back.

But he wasn't counting on this.

"One thing we always knew about him was that he was very good with the ball in his hands," said Johnson, whose 11-0 Gophers play Staples-Motley at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the Class 2A semifinals at US Bank Stadium. "He has very good vision and knows how to make people miss. We saw that at wide receiver. At wide receiver, though, you are only touching the ball three to five times per game. We just thought, if we move him to running back, once he touches it even more, he can be even more explosive. His average per carry is the most I've ever seen. A lot of that goes back to our offensive line and shows you how well we are blocking, including at wide receiver and tight end."

And yes, a lot of it also simply relates to Carrier's gifts. He's a player. And he can really run.

"Ben is fast, but nobody knew quite how fast because he plays baseball in the spring (rather than run track)," Johnson said. "We timed him in the 40 this summer and he hit in the high 4.5's."

As productive as Carrier has been at running back and also at linebacker on defense, it's been who he is that Johnson appreciates just as much.

This isn't just a raw, talented athlete, this is someone who's carved himself into an integral leader. He shows that on the field and off it.

On it, Johnson points out how Carrier is continually relaying ways how his team can exploit a given defense. Most often, it's not Carrier suggesting he be given the ball, but a teammate. That speaks to his unselfishness.

"He's always saying things like, 'Fake the handoff to me and let Rowland run it,' " Johnson said.

"Or, 'I think it's open to hit Tobin (McMahon) down the field.' He's always coming up with things like that. And you need to hear that from your senior leaders. It shows a lot of maturity."

Off the field, it's the same stuff, Carrier continually pointing teammates in the right direction, doing it in a vocal but respectful way.

Carrier insists this entire team exudes that same all-for-one vibe. He says that's the best explanation for where they're at, one win away from playing for a state championship.

"On this team, everyone picks each other up," Carrier said. "Everyone has the same goal. It's to win a state championship."