Aknin: Thunder and lightning

"I'm never satisfied," Aknin said. "I made 1,960 yards, I would have loved to gain 2,500 yards."

Aknin is one of those players who does everything he can within his power to improve his game. He got called up to the Scots' varsity squad three games into his sophomore season and promptly gained 100 yards or more in the final seven games of the season. He was banged up his junior year, yet still finished only 200 yards behind the Peninsula Athletic League's leading rusher that season, Matangi Tonga. This year, Aknin stayed healthy and it resulted in his best year to date.

"I didn't realize how fast I could lose everything," Aknin said of his junior season. "It fueled the fire and it inspired me to work harder to be ready for this season.

"This year I had a lot of confidence in myself because I worked so hard. I trained for 11 months."

It showed on the field. Occasionally, he could be brought down with an ankle tackle. More often than not, however, it took three, four and sometimes five defenders to bring him down.

But don't take your eyes off him. Just because he was surrounded by a defender didn't mean he was down. The perfect combination of speed and power, it was not uncommon for Aknin to break loose from a gang tackle and go the distance. He rushed for 295 yards against Gunn in the second game of the season and later eclipsed that mark with 327 yards against Jefferson.

"I just don't stop my feet," Aknin said. "If someone gets in front of me, I just run them over. That's what I train to do. I knew I could hit people and I knew I had speed. But it really surprised me after the game to see the yardage."

Despite his monster year, Aknin is not sitting on his laurels. Following the final game of the season, Aknin took a week off before going back to his training routine of running and weight lifting. His insatiable drive to always improve himself came from his father, Jacque, who died about six years ago.

"He told me to never be satisfied. I think he raised me with the mentality to never settle for less. Be the best you can be," Aknin said. "After he passed away, I really wanted to make him proud. He loved football."

Aknin is already preparing for his freshman year of college. College of San Mateo is on his radar, as are Sacramento State, Sacred Heart in Connecticut and Miami-Ohio University. He said he's gotten letters from UCLA and USC but as of now, nothing has materialized on that front.

It doesn't matter to Aknin. He knows that whatever school he chooses it will get a player completely dedicated to the sport of football and there will be no one that will out-work him.

"It's not just a game. It's a way of life. I think about it every time when I wake up in the morning," Aknin said. "Football has taught me to be dedicated in all parts of my life. It all carries on to other things.

"I love football more than anything."