Moa stops dancing, starts racking up the yards

CEDAR RAPIDS - Miles Moa won't admit to having any moves away from the football field. You won't see him doing "Gangnam Style" or "The Harlem Shake," or moonwalking.

"I wouldn't dance for anybody," the senior running back from Cedar Rapids Kennedy said with a laugh.

Getting him to have that mindset on the football field has helped him rack up all kinds of yards and touchdowns the past month and his team rack up all kinds of victories. Kennedy (7-3) plays Davenport Assumption (9-1) in a Class 4A playoff second-rounder Monday night at Davenport's Brady Street Stadium, and you'd figure Moa will need to have another big game if the Cougars want to pull the upset.

The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder has gone off for 886 yards and 10 touchdowns in Kennedy's last five games. That included a mammoth 300-yard performance in the regular-season finale two weeks ago against Iowa City High.

What's been the key to this surge? A good offensive line that has really come together, for one.

For two, Moa's straight-ahead running approach. Bottom line is there's no dancing allowed.

"He's real elusive," said Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis. "I think he's finally using that to his advantage. I think if you watched him as a sophomore and again last season, you'd see him constantly looking to cut. At this level, that doesn't work anymore. I think it took him most of last year to figure that out."

"They want me to run north and south, just like every coach wants their running back to run north and south," Moa said. "I get out of that state of mind sometimes, where I just try to be a playmaker and stuff. But I just need to realize I just need to run hard north and south. The coaches need to remind me of that once in awhile."

Moa played behind hard-charging Alex Hillyer last season but has been the main guy in Kennedy's unique Stacked-I offense this season, especially lately. He lines up as the third of three running backs, using his quickness to his advantage.

He said it took him awhile to really feel like he was getting it going, but a 186-yard, three-touchdown performance against Cedar Rapids Jefferson Oct. 4 lit the fuse, if you will.

"I really wasn't happy with my season," Moa said. "But after the Jefferson game, I kind of gained that confidence back ... Ever since that game, the o-line and me knew out assignments and we just started focusing. I don't know. We're all just synching together really well right now."

Moa plays with a chip on his shoulder that's all about size. He's not big, which actually might be an advantage for him in the Stacked-I. He can hide behind his line and fellow backs.

But he feels he's been told he can't be a good back because he's too small. That has provided constant motivation.

"Most running backs, like (Iowa City High's) Xavier Washpun and all them, they're pretty big guys," he said. "But I've always been looked at as this small kid who can't do big things like the bigger guys who are running backs. I've always been told I can't run as hard as them.

"I love proving people wrong."