HARLINGEN — Harlingen High running back Izaiah Bell entered the 2022 campaign hungrier than in years past. The previous season, his junior year, Bell spent several games on the sidelines due to nagging hamstring injuries.
The senior running back spent the offseason preparing his body for the toll of a long season, spending countless hours with team’s athletic trainers.
“It sucks being injured and being taken away from some games,” Bell said. “It cuts films and cuts reps. I can say I was hungrier than ever. I was making sure I was doing the best things I can possible outside the field so I could stay injury-free. I was making sure to go through rehab and therapy so I could stay strong and be healthy for the whole season.”
Bell’s offseason work showed on the gridiron, as he became one of the Valley’s most dominant players this season. The dynamic running back finished the year with 1,779 total yards and 32 total touchdowns to help guide the Cardinals to a perfect regular season and a third-round playoff appearance.
He is the VMS All-Star Football Player of the Year.
“The trainers got me right,” Bell said. “They did everything they could to get me back on my feet. They promised me that I would get a full senior year. They worked me hard, and that was the main thing. I knew that if I did my part, everything on the field would come together. That is just what we do on this campus. We work hard and do everything 110%, and everything else will play out. … To win this award, it feels great. You work all offseason and all through the year trying to better yourselves for the team. You have to play your part. Everybody plays a part, then it all comes together. I couldn’t do it without my awesome offensive line. They did everything for me, so I had to give everything for them.”
Bell didn’t carry the ball as much as most of the Valley’s leading rushers, averaging only 13.7 carries per game. Of the five rushers ranked in front of him in yardage this season, only Mercedes’ Tyrell Trevino averaged less carries per game (13.3).
The reason for Bell’s low rushing attempts, however, was due to the Cardinals’ dominance, with the senior running back normally seeing only one half of action after helping Harlingen High build a big first-half lead.
When the lights shone the brightest, however, Bell was ready to shoulder the load. His best performance came in arguably the biggest regular-season contest in the Valley this year, the Battle of the Arroyo.
In front of a sold-out crowd, which included Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine’s Matt Stepp and Ishmael Johnson and the Great American Rivalry Series, Bell carried his team to victory, carrying the ball a season-high 23 times for 286 yards and four scores.
Three of the touchdowns came during the fourth quarter after San Benito took its first and only lead of the game.
“The adrenaline rush during those games is different,” Bell said. “Seeing the crowd and seeing the fans, you know, big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. I’ve always been told that. Whenever my team needed me, I want to come through always. … During the San Benito game, they put it in my hands. I made some mistakes that game, but I was able to regroup and do what I was supposed to do. That game was probably the best game I had experienced. It was a live game. It was competitive. They came in as the No. 2 defense in the state in points allowed. Supposedly they were supposed to beat us this year, but obviously that didn’t happen.”
Bell leaves big shoes to fill for the next Harlingen High running back, finishing his final year with 178 carries for 1,548 yards and 29 touchdowns, adding 12 catches for 217 yards and two scores, and completing 2-of-5 passes for 14 yards and a touchdown.
As for his own future, the senior athlete has garnered the attention of NCAA Division II program Texas A&M Kingsville and future NCAA DII member Sul Ross State, just one year after being uncertain of what football held.
“You can’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do anything,” Bell said “Just work your hardest every day you have and don’t take it for granted. Have a plan but work your hardest. Football don’t last forever, but make it fun while it lasts.”
