Football: Rankin's Castillo rides emotions

After his first few carries in each of his games in the eighth grade, Jorge Castillo would get worn out.

He would feel absolutely spent because of the energy he used on each play, and a couple of years later, Rankin's sophomore running back is still a self-described "emotional player."

The difference is that now, Castillo doesn't feel it until the fourth quarter.

"Back then, it was crazy," he said. "I would get so pumped, so excited and I wanted to hit some-body. I would waste energy, and now I've learned to play with emotion, but there's a limit."

There's a high roof on what kind of a career he can have, too. He rushed 19 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns in a win against Sterling City last week. For the year, he's tallied 1,374 yards and 22 touchdowns, averaging about nine yards per carry.

With one game remaining, Castillo should surpass the season mark for rushing yards in the pro-gram's six-man football era that began in 2006, head coach Danny Davis said.

"He's got high expectations," Davis said. "We've told him, ‘You're not going to score every time you touch it.' He's going to get his yards because he's really powerful. ... We've had to teach him to be patient, to be relaxed and not use so much energy."

That is not easy for Castillo.

And it is not necessarily the touchdowns or the yards that rile him up and take its toll. Along with playing linebacker on defense, it is seeing a teammate deliver a big hit or getting caught up in the game.

Moreover, when he got a few carries last year - he started on defense but played offense sparsely - he wasn't only pumped up like he normally is. He was also a little worried.

"I touched the ball once during playoffs and the only thing that ran through my head was ‘Don't fumble,'" Castillo said. "Now, it's ‘Yards, touchdowns, touchdowns.'"

He's gotten plenty of those. And he's likely gotten respect from around District 8 Division I. Be-fore the season started, he was a 5-foot-6, 180-pound back who had never had such responsibility tucked and cradled in his arm.

But Davis didn't have a problem handing Castillo such a tall task.

"He's quick," Davis said. "He's not super fast, and I would consider him more of a power back than a speed back. But when he gets a little room and you have to tackle him one-on-one it's hard, and I was expecting him to be our go-to guy on the ground."

Even in the offseason, seeing that he was a much bigger part of the offensive schemes, Castillo relished the new role.

"I was really pumped about it," Castillo said. "I was excited knowing I was getting the ball be-cause no one knows who I am. I was excited to show people who Jorge Castillo is.

"I accepted it, and I said, ‘Bring it.'"

It is the attitude he's kept throughout the season, especially as the team's playoff hopes rest on a victory at Garden City on Friday. A year after the Red Devils reached the state semifinal, Castillo is out to disprove the doubters, those who said that the team that had lost too much talent from last year's squad.

"We want to get pretty far to prove people wrong," Castillo said. "We were picked last in our district, and it would be great if we can show them that we're a good team, too."

PERMIAN BASIN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

JORGE CASTILLO

>> School: Rankin.

>> Height: 5-foot-6.

>> Weight: 180 pounds.

>> Class: Sophomore

>> Position: Running back.

>> Pregame song: ‘Fresh Azimiz' by Bow Wow.

>> Highlights: Castillo rushed 19 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns - and caught three passes for 41 yards and one score - in a win over Sterling City.

WEEK 9 HONOR ROLL

>> Kermit's Chris Pando rushed 22 times for 155 yards and five touchdowns in a victory over Alpine.

>> Crane's Lloyd Chisum was 9-of-11 passing for 317 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Sonora.

>> Fort Stockton's Francisco Jaquez rushed 23 times for 242 yards and four touchdowns in a victory over Fabens.

>> Seminole's Bubba Lopez had five catches for 125 yards and one touchdown - and one carry for 20 yards and one score - in a win over Andrews.