Zak Thornton is making up for lost time. After gaining 430 rushing yards in seven games during an injury-shortened season last year, the Randolph-Macon running back opened his sophomore year by rushing for 162 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries to lead the Yellow Jackets to a dominating, 42-16 victory over Denison last Saturday.
“Zak?s gotten off to a great start,” Randolph-Macon coach Pedro Arruza said. “He had a very good offseason and came into camp in tremendous shape, which obviously helps.”
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Sophomore quarterback Brandon Braner threw for 223 yards and three scores against Denison, while junior Rodney Nelson made three touchdown catches as the Yellow Jackets overwhelmed Denison from the opening kickoff.
“All three of them did have a really good week,” Johns Hopkins defensive tackle Patrick Kay said. “They?re all relatively young, so we?re going to try to take advantage of that.”
The 6-foot, 210-pound Thornton started the first seven games for Randolph-Macon last year before sustaining a knee injury against McDaniel on Oct. 21. He left the game in the third quarter after running for 71 yards and two first-half touchdowns.
Randolph-Macon held a 14-10 lead with 10:24 left in the third, when Thornton rumbled for a two-yard carry and was met by McDaniel defenders Mike Weick and Ryan Mellinger. Arruza called timeout, and Thornton came off the field for the final time, ending his freshman season.
With Thornton out, McDaniel rallied for a 24-14 victory?and the Yellow Jackets lost their final four games to finish the season 2-8.
Johns Hopkins was able to hold Thornton to 51 yards on 18 carries last season en route to a 21-14 win. The Blue Jays allowed only 12 rushing yards in their season-opening victory over at Hampden-Sydney, but Arruza envisions the Thornton continuing his success at Homewood Field.
“He’s a tough, physical runner who plays extremely hard,” Arruza said. “He’s not exceptionally fast or quick, but he’s tough as nails. He loves the game of football and plays with great passion. Those are things that are not measurable but make him the player that he is.”
