The ‘overlooked’ 2,000-yard rusher: Lakewood’s Rahmel Anderson

Is it possible to lead the state with more than 2,000 yards rushing and still be underrated?

Lakewood head coach L.J. Clark certainly feels that’s the case when it comes to Piners senior quarterback Rahmel Anderson.

He erupted for a school-record 2,182 yards last season to lead all of New Jersey, but it came during a 4-7 season in which the undermanned Piners did not play any teams ranked in the Shore Conference Top 10. The number was big, but it felt like it was compiled in relative obscurity.

“There’s not too many people in the Shore who ever had 2,000 yards rushing,” Clark said. “People say look at the quality (of opponents), but we had 20 kids on the team. We had two O-linemen who never played football in their lives. Plus, everybody and their mom knows he’s getting the ball on every play, and he still put up those numbers.”

“I definitely do feel that way, but it just gives me more drive and power for this season,” Anderson said about being underrated. “It just gives me motivation.”

Anderson is out to prove it was no fluke. He started the 2024 season right where he left off by rushing for a Shore Conference-best 253 yards in Week Zero along with three touchdowns and pair of 2-point conversions in a 22-20 win over Ewing.

“They will try to put four linebackers in the box and send everybody to come after me, but I believe in my linemen and my IQ to see those holes and get those yards for us,” Anderson said.

A record-setting season

Not only did Anderson put up school-record numbers for the Piners last year, he did it after coming into the season not even knowing he was going to play quarterback.

Lakewood had another player slotted to start, but he transferred.

“Obviously he set the bar pretty high, but it was more so out of necessity,” Clark said. “We were just really short on skill kids. We didn’t know what to do, so we went back to what I know, which is to put my best athlete back there (at quarterback).”

“Last year it was my first year at quarterback, so it was hard,” Anderson said. “But as the games were going on, I was getting better. This whole offseason I’ve been working on my game and feeling more comfortable with the offense.”

The most impressive stat might be that Anderson led the Shore Conference with 309 carries – 73 more than any other player – and only fumbled one time. He also was only 15 years old, playing at 155 pounds as a junior. He doesn’t even turn 17 until next month.

“Becoming so durable, it came from working out,” Anderson said. “Running hills, running in sand, having weight vests on – I was just working and grinding so hard.”

His monster season put him about 1,600 yards away from Lakewood’s career rushing record set by former Temple star Amir Tyler.

“I’ve had some pros, and boy does he run hard,” Clark said about Anderson. “Amir Tyler, Chapelle Russell, Tyrice Beverette – he’s in that ballpark.”

As for how his 2,182-yard season stacks up, the Shore Conference record is also the modern state record. Former Freehold star Ashante Worthy ran for 2,860 yards in 2017, passing the state record set by current Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor for Salem.

The overall state single-season New Jersey record is an absurd 4,756 yards set in 1950 by John Giannantonio for now-defunct Netcong High School, which remains the national record for most rushing yards in a season.

New season, new goals

The only number Anderson has his eye on this year is wins. Lakewood has not had a winning season or reached the state playoffs since 2017.

“Everybody is disrespecting Lakewood, saying we don’t have no talent, so I’ve been taking that personally,” Anderson said. “We want to bring Lakewood history back and bring us to the playoffs again.”

The ingredients are there to do it between Anderson, the offensive line, some new weapons at the skill positions, and the schedule. The Piners added 6-foot-4 receiver Chris Rosario, a baseball player who came out for football, as a deep threat in the passing game.

“Everybody plays Cover 0, Cover 1, and sends the house to stop (Anderson),” Clark said. “Ewing tried to sell out a couple times, and we threw it deep and got a pass interference call.”

Juniors Zion Jones and Jonathan Gonzalez are also running threats out of the backfield. The offensive line returns plenty of experience, including three-year starter Adrian Rodriguez at left guard and 310-pound right tackle Victor Nava. Senior Jhonny Gonzalez (right guard), senior Raoul Castillo (center), and junior Anthony Campos (left tackle) round out a group looking to pave the way for another prolific season.

Next up is a game against Asbury Park on Friday. Anderson knows the Blue Bishops well considering he was teammates with many of them while playing American Youth Football for Asbury Park.

He’s looking forward to the challenge.

“This season I’m out to prove I’m not someone to overlook,” he said.

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