AURORA — Five years had gone by since Josh Wright previously lined up as a running back. He ran for four touchdowns in a youth-league championship game, said his father, Timothy.
That seems like a lifetime ago for Wright, 17, but he has hardly missed a step. A safety throughout high school, he has been making strides in his newfound role for Overland.
In three games, the speedy senior has surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark each time, and he broke the school’s single-game records for rushing yards and touchdowns during a 47-14 victory over Rangeview last week.
“I don’t think anyone expected him to go off for 313 yards and six touchdowns on 13 carries,” Overland coach Seth Replogle said. “But we knew he had the ability to do that. He has the breakaway speed.”
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Wright said there was only one thing on his mind throughout the game.
“I just told myself: ‘Just run. That’s all there is to it,’ ” he said. “I didn’t care about stats, how many carries I had, none of the statistics. ‘Just run.’ That’s what I had in my head.”
Wright gives the Trail Blazers a second explosive weapon in the backfield. Senior quarterback Austin Conway, who committed to play basketball at Wyoming next year, ran for 1,130 yards and threw for 1,847 last season.
“It’s like a yin-yang thing where we balance each other out,” Wright said. “The defense has to key in on him and myself, so they can’t stop both of us.”
Their coach calls the duo his “two-headed monster.”
“Defenses have to account for Austin, and that just opens up our other athletes,” Replogle said.
Speed always has been part of Wright’s repertoire. The fourth of seven children, he comes from a long line of defensive backs. His father spent time on the Broncos’ practice squad in 1994 before playing arena football for several years. His cousins include former San Francisco 49ers all-pro cornerback Eric Wright and Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley. Josh Wright’s grandfather, Alex Burl, was inducted into Colorado State’s Athletic Hall of Fame for football and track.
Wright hasn’t received any college offers, but he said he has drawn interest from Utah State, Weber State, Wyoming and a few NCAA Division II schools.
There’s more he wants to accomplish on the high school level at Overland.
“We have a lot of talent,” he said. “I think we can do some big things this year.”
Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or
The Wright stuff
Overland RB Josh Wright has rushed for more than 100 yards every game this season. Here’s a look at his statistics.
| Opponent | Carries | Yards | Y/C | TD |
| Smoky Hill | 14 | 127 | 9.1 | 1 |
| Heritage | 17 | 175 | 10.3 | 1 |
| Rangeview | 13 | 313 | 24.1 | 6 |
| Totals | 44 | 615 | 14.0 | 8 |
