HOUSTON, Minn. (KTTC) \u2013 Houston football\u2019s Lee Klunder runs the ball with a specific attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cI run angry,\u201d Klunder said. \u201cI don\u2019t like to go down on first contact, and I\u2019ll run through arm tackles all game.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Lee usually runs angry, then on Saturday he was furious.<\/p>\n
262 yards on 16 carries for the junior, finding the endzone four times in a 50-6 homecoming win for the Hurricanes. It\u2019s a performance that is as impressive as it was energizing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe linemen get fired up because they know if they make their blocks, that he has a chance to take every one of them,\u201d head coach Cody Hungerholt said.<\/p>\n
That feeling is reciprocated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a product of my line,\u201d he said. \u201cThey believe in me, I believe in them. When we get together, special things happen I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Special things like a special performance; a game made more special by the fact that it was a return to action for Klunder after missing the previous week with an injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a night and day difference when we have him out there and he\u2019s able to run the ball for us,\u201d Hungerholt said.<\/p>\n
Klunder has dealt with bumps and bruises in his junior season, but whatever pain he\u2019s felt is outweighed by his desire.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be out there for my boys,\u201d Klunder said. \u201cI\u2019ve played football with them since fourth grade, and we\u2019ve done a lot of things together and I want to make those memories with them before they go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making memories in the sport he loves. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe just loves football. He loves the grind of it. He loves working year-round for it,\u201d Hungerholt said. \u201cJust seeing him in the weight room, how hard he works year-round to be able do this is probably the thing that sticks out the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klunder aspires to play college football \u2014 a goal he\u2019ll continue to chase with his work ethic and runs that are angry. But with performances like he had on Saturday, he\u2019s learning to gain maybe the most important trait of all.<\/p>\n
\u201cConfidence for me has kind of been one of those things that I\u2019ve always just kind of lacked,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen it comes to sports, I\u2019m always hard on myself. But that (his performance), I feel like just really sets the momentum. I\u2019m ready to bring that into the next couple games and the playoffs and continue on with that.\u201d<\/p>\n