Chaffee running back Estes runs like he has something to prove

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Chicken breast, potatoes, yams, red meat, tilapia and teasing.

It's all part of the high-octane fuel that keeps Tyson Estes lean -- physically and mentally.

It keeps him pumping in the weight room, darting and explosive on the football field.

Once teased for his diminutive physique, the 165-pound senior running back has chiseled at his 5-foot-6 frame with a relentless work ethic.

He's been looming large on the football field, using a combination of quickness and speed to average more than 100 yards a game in the Red Devils' 2-1 start.

Chaffee senior running back Tyson Estes lifts weights Wednesday at Chaffee High School. (Laura Simon)

"He's fast, but he's quicker," said senior teammate Zach Dannenmueller, who was part of a Class 1 state-champion 800 relay team with Estes in the spring. "He can get around the field quicker. And whenever he breaks one, he's quick and gone. That's when the fast kicks in."

Estes has put on about 20 pounds of muscle since his junior season, and he has used it to his advantage.

"He's stronger. He's faster. He sees the field better," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said about the senior edition of Estes.

Estes bolted for three touchdowns and 215 yards in a Week 2 rout of Portageville.

"I always had small-man complex," Estes said. "I'm not that big. I always wanted to be bigger. I can't grow vertically, so I figured I'd grow out a little bit more."

He's been on a mission since getting his father to buy him a weight set in the fifth grade. A quiet kid who liked to play video games, Estes had tolerated the teasing about his small stature in elementary school and had grown weary of being smaller than the other kids.

"After a couple of months of doing that, I thought I was really big, but I wasn't really getting anywhere," Estes said with a smile. "But I just stayed consistent with it."

There was not a day off from being small, and in turn, Estes has not taken off many days to enhance his physique.

He's supplemented his workouts with accelerated training classes at Fitness Plus since his freshman year. He estimates he's taken 20 six-week sessions during that span, working to make himself more efficient and explosive on the track and football field.

He bought a training sled, loaded it down with weights and pulled it up a hill in his backyard nearly every day this past summer.

"He's put in more work than anyone on the team," senior quarterback Jordan Yahn said. "Ever since I've known him, he's always worked hard. It's good seeing that hard work pays off in the end."

In addition to the weights, Estes says he's eating more calories and eating smarter.

"Nutrition is probably 75 percent of the reason the way I feel like I'm as strong as I am," Estes said. "That's one of the most important things that I do -- watch what I eat."

Estes can bench press 270 pounds and can pop off eight reps at 225 pounds. He can squat around 400 pounds, power clean 225 and dead lift about 450 pounds.

It's turned an already quick player into an explosive one.

"He's a self-made player," Vickery said. "He has worked so hard. He's gone to that speed stuff and he's in the weight room all the time. He works as hard as any athlete I've ever seen.

"He's become one of our leaders because the kids see how hard he does work."

Estes has transformed himself from about a 115-pound freshman into a running back that opposing coaches take note of when planning for the Red Devils.

And that's just what he wants.

"I feel like I have a huge investment," Estes said. "And that's what I think about every day when I come out here. I've worked way too hard to be mediocre or average.

"When I play football I'm not trying to be average. I've got a chip on my shoulder. I'm trying to prove something to somebody because I've always been looked down upon. It's always been important to me for other people to look at me and say, 'That guy is a great football player right there.'"

Estes opened eyes last year when he helped resurrect a previously dormant running attack with a pair of 200-yard rushing games in district play.

The Red Devils scrapped a spread offense midway through the season and implemented a Power-I attack, also featuring some wishbone and wingback formations.

Estes had just 196 yards through seven games last year, but then ran for 210 yards against St. Vincent in the opening week of districts.

He ran for 191 of those yards in the second half, along with four touchdown.

"It all came in the second half," Yahn said. "I was wondering where it all came from. I didn't think it was going to be there, and all of a sudden he breaks it off and just keeps on going."

Estes ran for 208 yards the following week against Cleveland ROTC, a 41-18 victory that clinched Chaffee's first playoff berth since 1983.

He had 145 yards in the second half against Cleveland.

"The more he carries, the better he gets," Vickery said.

Estes often launches himself into the line with what appears to be reckless abandon. If he finds a seam, he's a threat to go practically untouched for a touchdown. He ran for 94 yards in a loss to Hayti last week, but he nearly broke a couple runs, just getting tripped up by the last defender.

"Whether there's holes there or not, he's 100 mph," Vickery said. "And he gets to the hole as fast as anybody. If there's a crack, he'll get through."

Estes is a fan of small running backs, and he enjoyed watching video of Central games last year.

"One of the big guys I look up to is coach [Rich] Payne," Estes said. "I just loved watching his games last year."

Payne, who led the Tigers to a 9-2 record last year and now is an assistant on the Chaffee staff, used a wingback attack that featured 5-4 James Poindexter, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards.

"I liked watching James Pointdexter," Estes said. "I look up to small guys. Maurice Jones-Drew in the NFL.

"Shorter guys, I feel like they can hide behind the line better. And the defense can't really see them and you can just like burst. I feel like I have that asset."

And Payne has enjoyed watching Estes live this season.

"He's a powerful young man," Payne said. "He's got good moves and acceleration. He runs with a sense of authority, which is what you want out of a back, whether he's big or small."

Estes, who also plays outside linebacker, has been a two-way starter since his junior year.

He is hoping for the school's first winning season since 2007 and only the second since 1990. The Red Devils graduated just six seniors from last year's team that finished 4-7 and lost to Thayer in the Class 1 regionals.

"I know we went to playoffs last year, but I really think we have a chance to be better than that this year," Estes said.