MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon/Plankinton’s Reed Rus epitomizes a small school football player. 

A jack-of-all-trades player, Rus is the quarterback on offense, plays linebacker on defense and boots punts on special teams. 

So it’s rare when Rus, a 6-foot-4, 205-pounder, is not on the field impacting the game in a number of ways. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“It’s awesome,” Rus said. “I love being out here. I would never want to be sitting on the sidelines.”

But long before he was scoring touchdowns and making tackles, Rus was a regular on the sidelines as the team’s waterboy. It started his journey as a Titan and he’ll occasionally return to his waterboy roots.

“We tease him all the time that you can’t take the waterboy out of him,” MVP coach Brent Olson said. “He will at the end of games and practice go pick everything up and start putting things away. That’s just the kind of person he is and the kind of kid he is. He’s got all the accolades as far as all-state, all-conference, all those things, but he’s just a great person.” 

Mount Vernon/Plankinton's Reed Rus carries the ball against Jim River on Sept. 9 in Mount Vernon. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Rus, a four-year starter, was a Class 11B all-state athlete last season. The label was fitting given Rus’ skill set and abilities on the gridiron. Last season, he rushed for 559 yards and 12 touchdowns, while throwing for 484 yards and seven more scores. Defensively, he racked up 35 tackles.

It’s more of the same this season. Through four games, Rus has 322 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. He’s added 206 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. On defense, he’s logged 25.5 tackles.  

He’s averaging 80.5 rushing yards per game on 14 carries this season for Mount Vernon/Plankinton, a run-heavy team. 

“I don’t think it’s a secret that if the game is close in the fourth quarter, that he is going to get a majority of our carries,” Olson said. “One, we know he is going to protect it and take care of it and two he fights for yards. It allows us to maximize the blockers when the quarterback keeps it, but he’s also an all-state kid and that’s why we give it to him.”

In Mount Vernon/Plankinton’s 30-7 win over Jim River on Sept. 9, Rus had his most carries (25), rushing yards (117) and rushing touchdowns (four) of the season. He did a bulk of his damage bouncing off and slipping past tacklers on quarterback keepers. 

“We passed the ball a couple times and it didn’t even go very well when we did,” said Rus, who attempted just four passes against Jim River. “We just got back to running it and it went well.” 

The Titans, who are ranked No. 5 in Class 11B, improved to 4-0 with the win. Mount Vernon/Plankinton will play at Rapid City Christian on Sept. 17, followed by dates with Tri-Valley, Wagner and Winner to close out the regular season. 

Mount Vernon/Plankinton's Reed Rus carries the ball against Jim River on Sept. 9 in Mount Vernon. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

When he’s not finishing out his senior season, Rus will be busy on Saturday afternoons this fall. Rus, who is also an outstanding basketball and track and field standout, has drawn attention from local college football programs. He’s also a 1,000-point scorer in basketball and a state placer in the hurdles and high jump. 

He’s mentioned NCAA Division II college football programs Augustana University, Northern State University, University of Mary and Minnesota State University Moorhead as possible game day visits this fall. He’s also planning a game day visit to the University of Iowa, where his uncle Chad Greenway was an All-American linebacker.

As far as his position in college, it’s no surprise Rus is willing to play wherever.

“I am thinking for sure probably some sort of linebacker,” Rus said. “Maybe ‘D’ end or tight end. Wherever they want me pretty much. I don’t care where I play.”

Mount Vernon/Plankinton's Reed Rus gets ready to throw the ball against Jim River on Sept. 9 in Mount Vernon. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)