Jakob Arnarsson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Westwood High School for AZPreps365.com.

MESA — When Westwood senior running back Keshawn Barkus sees a defender running downhill into his gap, he doesn’t panic. In fact, he relishes those moments. It’s what he lives for.

Some backs use their agility to make defenders look silly, contorting their bodies so that laying a finger on them seems impossible. 

That’s not Barkus’ style. He seeks the contact. He wants the defense to feel him. 

“Running through somebody,” Barkus said of his preference. “I like it.”

He prides himself on being a difficult person to bring down. One defender presents an opportunity to create more yards after contact.

“I think I'm one of the only guys in the state who isn't getting tackled by the first couple of guys,” Barkus said. “It takes a whole team to take me down.”

It’s a style of play that’s seen him lead all of 6A in rushing for two years in a row. Last season, Barkus tallied 1,648 yards along with 18 touchdowns in his junior campaign. 

Entering the regular season finale, he’s rushed for 944 yards in eight games. It puts him second in all of 6A to Cooper Yackley, after Barkus missed the Warriors' most recent matchup against Shadow Ridge.

It’s allowed head coach Brandon Large to build an offense around him and their rushing attack. At the heart of his success is his preparation.

“The way that he works in the offseason, he's always in the weight room,” Large said. “He's trying to get stronger. He's trying to make sure that his body is prepared to take the beating that it's going to take in 6A football with the amount of carries that he gets.”

That work didn’t start on the field. It didn’t even start in the weight room. Instead, it began in a gymnasium. 

After his sophomore season, Barkus wrestled. It got his body leaner, as well as helped him develop balance within his body. After that, he ran track to build speed.

“He lost a little bit of weight, changed his body, and then put weight back on the right way, and then he ran track and got faster,” Large said. “And you can see, he's gotten a lot more elusive as he's matured, and that's been really good to see.”

That constant work ethic and drive show up on game day. Barkus never shies away from a defense. Even now that he’s become the focal point of an opponent's game plan, he takes it as a sign of respect. 

“I really don't take it as any pressure,” Barkus said. “Being the guy that they got to prepare for just makes it better on me, knowing that I can go into the game with full confidence.”

For his senior season, that individual effort has led him to become an important leader for the Warriors. He sets the tone, showing the kind of effort Large expects out of everyone. 

“When they see him grinding, even though there's nobody behind him to take his spot, I think that just shows everybody on the team that, like, ‘ok, we all have to work. We all have to do this,’ so that's been good,” Large said.