After last Friday’s victory over Lakewood in the CIF semifinal, Melvin Richardson was elated, smiling and celebrating with family and friends.  He had certainly earned the right.  The senior had just carried the ball 20 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns, providing the difference on offense for Poly—the Jackrabbits’ other three backs were a combined 13 for 45 against the stingy Lakewood defense.  The explosion came in the wake of pre-game buildup that had centered around another running back, Lakewood’s Jerry Stone—Stone had a magnificent season, but was limited to 118 yards on 18 carries, and held out of the end zone.  Richardson said that the press surrounding Stone had motivated him during the week—”I wanted to show them who Melvin Richardson was,” he said after the game.  “I wanted to show that I was the best running back on the field today.” 

It was an effusive confidence that Richardson hadn’t displayed postgame before—he’s usually quiet, and reserved.  Which may be part of why he’s not talked about as much as the Jerry Stones of the Pac-5—but he should be.  Richardson is a multi-faceted back, with the power to go up the gut and the speed to turn the corner—and for the last two seasons, he’s done both against big-time defenses.

Last season in the playoffs, Richardson averaged 137 yards per-game (up from his season average of 109), and scored 6 TDs, leading Poly’s offense as the team won its 17^th CIF championship—the playoff performance was a fitting cap for a great junior season, as Richardson rushed for 1,315 yards, scored 15 TDs, and averaged over ten yards per-carry.

This year his carries have gone up, as have the number of touches for Daveon Barner, Poly’s other top back, a Warrick Dunn-type shifty runner, the perfect complement to Richardson’s physical style.  Throughout the season, Richardson has expressed gratitude that he’s sharing the load—”We really motivate each other in practice,” he says, “and it helps to keep us both fresh that we both get the ball.”

The carries this season have been split nearly evenly between the two, as Richardson has 174 carries to Barner’s 172—but while Barner has been very effective, with 7 TDs and a superior pass-catching ability—Richardson has gained nearly 200 yards more than Barner, and has triple the TDs, with 21 on the season so far.  More importantly, his power has given him a boost against stout defenses, such as the one they’ll be facing on Saturday against Tesoro.  In the first three games of the playoffs, Richardson has scored six of Poly’s seven touchdowns (two in each game), and is averaging 104 yards a game.

It will take a complete game from Poly to knock off Tesoro and advance to the State Championship—but it will probably take a lot of Melvin, too.  This season, he has more than ten carries in eight games—in six of those games, he’s broken one for 30+ yards, and in five of them he’s scored from that distance or greater.  In the five games where he has less than ten carries, he’s only broken off a 30+ yarder once.

In other words, don’t be surprised if all of Angel Stadium can hear Poly head coach Raul Lara’s call going into the second half: “More Melvin!”

Richardson sizes up his best move in Poly’s first meeting with Lakewood this season.

On his first carry, he goes off-tackle left, and finds 60+ yards of space down the sideline.