Daily Journal Sports File Aragon fullback Matu’u Pulotu, right, has found gotten into a rhythm over the last three weeks, rushing for 297 yards and four touchdowns. Against Menlo School Friday, Pulotu rushed for a season-high 103 yards and three scores on 20 carries.

After only a couple carries by Aragon fullback Matu’u Pulotu, the murmuring began on the Menlo sidelines.

“That guy’s big.”

That is an apt description of Pulotu, a senior listed at 5 foot 9, 245 pounds. He’s officially listed as a fullback but the term “battering ram” might be more appropriate. Pulotu spent most of Friday night running over and through the Knights’ defense on his way to his best performance of the season. Pulotu rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.

For his efforts, Pulotu is this week’s Daily Journal Athlete of the Week.

“I really don’t like to avoid contact. I like to just run at them,” Pulotu said. “As we started running more plays, I saw that they (the Menlo defense) didn’t want a piece of me anymore.”

Pulotu’s physical play presented a dilemma for Aragon coach Steve Sell. The plan at the beginning of the year was to feature Pulotu at running back, but it became clear early on the Dons needed Pulotu to anchor the defensive line.

“We had said we’re going to play Matu’u on offense, but this is as small as we’ve been (on defense) in at least two decades,” Sell said. “It became apparent we needed him on offense (instead of defense).”

Pulotu, to his credit, said he wanted to do whatever was most beneficial for the team. So despite expecting a breakout year offensively, he was more than happy to do the dirty work on defense.

“I thought I would get a lot more carries than my junior year,” Pulotu said. “I just tried to do whatever I could to help the team.”

Sell said the Aragon defense improved as the year went along but it wasn’t until halftime of the Dons’ 38-35 loss to Menlo-Atherton that he determined the team’s best defense was to keep the ball for as long as possible on offense. After carrying the ball eight times for 35 yards in the first half against the Bears, Pulotu’s number was called eight more times in the second half, during which he rushed for 65 yards to give him an even 100 yards for the game.

It was at that point Pulotu’s season took off. He rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in a 21-20 win over Terra Nova two weeks ago before punishing Menlo School last week. Time and again, he literally ran over Menlo defenders, looking like a man among boys.

“He can be dominant,” Sell said. “When he gets six, seven, eight yards a carry, he’s truly wearing down a defense. This is beating up a defense where in the second quarter, kids are reluctant to stick their nose in there.”

Not only was Pulotu’s running giving Menlo fits, so was his blocking. Sell said Pulotu was instrumental in the Dons racking up a season-high 291 yards on the ground. Pulotu’s blocking helped Isaiah Harris rush for 74 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and Sifa Tonga put up 61 yards and a score on just four carries.

“His blocks were the de-cleating kind. The holes became massive because of him,” Sell said. “He was the key to all of Isaiah’s runs and all of Sifa’s runs. Even if he didn’t make a good block, kids were going out of their way to avoid him.”

Pulotu said his blocking is just an extension of the way he plays the game — regardless of whether he is on offense or defense.

“I just like to get my running backs some yards,” Pulotu said. “I just treat every play like I have the ball — run at full speed.”

And pity anyone who gets in his way.