Even though he already carries a full plate, Marist junior John McAuliffe didn’t flinch.
Nobody knows the offense better than McAuliffe, who was a wide receiver, kick returner and part-time quarterback. But then he was asked to become a full-time running back.
His answer? Good to go.
“I think the coaches were just trying to change things up a little bit,” McAuliffe said of moving to the backfield. “They made the change, and it has really worked out well for me.”
The 6-foot, 175-pound McAuliffe continued his ascent Friday as a primary playmaker for the RedHawks, running for 131 yards and two touchdowns in a 54-28 win over De La Salle.
McAuliffe, who has the size to pound the interior and the quickness to get outside, nailed a 48-yard run in the second quarter to produce his team’s longest play from scrimmage.
That helped host Marist (2-5) break a four-game losing streak by scoring five touchdowns in the first half of the CCL/ESCC crossover game against De La Salle (3-4) in Chicago.
“He’s a great football player,” Marist coach Ron Dawczak said of McAuliffe. “As a running back, his vision and his acceleration through the hole are just different.
“He finds the hole and gets through it very quickly. He has great lateral quickness, with the ability to make a cut and then accelerate.”
McAuliffe, who had just a handful of carries before his breakout effort against St. Ignatius, has accelerated his success. He had his third multiple TD game against the Meteors.
Despite Marist’s 30-27 loss to St. Ignatius on Sept. 15, McAuliffe scored two TDs and gained 113 yards on 10 carries. He has been the team’s lead running back ever since.
“I have pretty good vision and I can hit the hole hard,” McAuliffe said. “I don’t really care about the big play. I care more about getting the touchdown at the end of the drive.
“If I get four yards a carry, I am happy with that.”
So far, McAuliffe has exceeded those benchmarks. He has run for 570 yards and eight TDs, averaging 6.9 yards a carry. He also has 11 catches for 88 yards and a TD.
Senior quarterback Owen Winters has noticed the difference.
“He stepped up huge after that Iggy game,” Winters said of McAuliffe. “I’ve known him for a long time. He’s an insane athlete — has a great heart. You can’t not have him on the field.
“He just doesn’t go down. He’s a freak athlete who never stops playing.”
Sports are McAuliffe’s guiding passion.
He played for his father, Tom, on an Orland Park Pioneers team that featured two standout quarterbacks in Mount Carmel junior Jack Elliott and Sandburg junior Anthony Shelton.
McAuliffe’s older brother, Tommy, also played quarterback for the Pioneers. He’s now a sophomore college student at Florida Gulf Coast.
“Growing up, my parents brought out that competitive part of my life,” John McAuliffe said. “I always competed with my brother, and it was a huge part of who I am.”
Eventually, Dawczak recognized McAuliffe as an underutilized talent who could give Marist’s offense with a much-needed jolt.
“He is a dynamic player,” Dawczak said. “We just wanted to give him an opportunity to touch the ball more than he was as a receiver.”
“As a running back, my style is to try and do everything out there,” McAuliffe said. “I can change it up when I have to.”
Like life, football is a game of happy accidents and discoveries. Playing quarterback has aided the process of being that presence in the backfield.
“I understand the position and I know all the reads,” McAuliffe said. “Playing quarterback made it really easier to jump into running back because I know where the holes are.
“I know everything by heart, so no matter the position, I could do it myself.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
