Tim Iannello is an ASU  Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Marcos de Niza for AZPreps365.com

Quiet, humble and team-oriented is the best way to describe Marcos de Niza senior running back Yakeen Baylis.

In his third year on varsity, Baylis is on fire. He broke his school's single-game rushing record two weeks ago against St. Marys while rushing for 236 yards and four touchdowns.

“It’s not just me, it’s our O-line,” Baylis said about breaking the record, “I don’t really like to take the credit for it.”

Only four games into the season Baylis has 591 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. Baylis does more than just carry the ball for Marcos. Sometimes he also plays cornerback because of his athleticism.

“Through his ability and trust we depend on him a lot,” second-year head coach Eric Lauer said.

Baylis is the star of this team, but he does not like to be in the spotlight. After a long run or touchdown, you won’t see him celebrating like you would most football players.

“He is very humble,” Marcos Athletic Director Lenica Ruiz said, “Nothing is about him. It's about his team.”

Being humble is just what his team needs after only winning three games last year. This year, they are already sitting at 2-2 with hopes of making the playoffs after going 3-7 last year.

“I really just want to win this year, for my teammates. I don’t like to be selfish,” Baylis said.

This team has its eyes set on winning the state championship this year, and Baylis helps give them that opportunity.

Just two weeks after his record-breaking performance, Baylis was again turning heads with his play. On Friday, Baylis rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns while adding 79 receiving yards and another touchdown in a 28-7 win over Tempe.

Baylis has been asked to do a lot more on offense than rushing. Lauer kept Baylis in the backfield on most of the passing downs to be an extra blocker.

“Watching film today you appreciate more how he blocks when we throw,” Lauer said.

Baylis has developed a lot over the first offseason with Lauer. He has lost close to 20 pounds since last season to get more separation on runs. Baylis did this by joining the track team to work on his speed, which in turn resulted in the loss of weight.

“One of the things that’s hard to do is get kids to do things they don’t want to,” Lauer said. “So he ran track and that’s where the weight came off.”