Jake Miller loves to play the game of football.

The Kidder County junior is loving it even more this season.

After playing on teams that won a combined two games in 2006 and 2007, the 165-pound junior running back-defensive back is having the time of his life as one of the key players on a Kidder County (formerly Steele-Dawson) team that has opened the 2008 campaign 3-0.

"It definitely feels good, the way we've started," said Miller, who has rushed for 459 yards and seven touchdowns this season. "The last couple of years were really tough on us, but that's all behind us now. We're doing the best we can to try and turn it all around."

Low numbers forced coaches to thrust Miller and a host of other underclassmen into the starting lineup in 2006. The end result was a 1-7 mark in what was the last Class A 11-man season for Steele-Dawson. Last season, the Pirates re-entered the 9-man ranks and opened with a win over Tri-County. However, seven straight losses followed.

Miller, who started mostly as a wide receiver his freshman and sophomore years, said he and his teammates never got discouraged. They knew things would get better some day.

"We knew the experience was going to pay off," he said. "We went up against teams that were much older and bigger than we were, and we got beat bad most of the time. But we were young and we knew our day would come if we just hung in there and kept working. We're starting to see it pay off this year."

The Pirates have defeated Tri-County 36-22, Strasburg-Zeeland 20-6 and Sargent Central 28-20 in overtime. Miller and the running game have led the way.

Miller rolled up 194 of the team's 425 rushing yards on opening day. The following week, he ran for 146 yards and a pair of TDs against Strasburg-Zeeland. Last Friday night against Sargent Central, he had 119 yards and three scores, including the game-winner in overtime.

Miller is averaging better than 12 yards per carry.

"Jake is a hard-nosed kid who is strong, quick, shifty and hard to corral," Kidder County coach Jack Biesterfeld said. "He works hard to get everything he can out of every carry. He's our go-to guy, and he's delivered every week."

Yet Miller isn't the only back in Kidder County's veer offense that opponents ought to be concerned about. Junior Steve Rohrich (4.6 yards per carry) and sophomore Norm Nicholson (4.3 ypc) have been solid, and junior quarterback Wes Nicholson (198 yards, 6.6 ypc) is a proven threat.

Senior Jaymes Six is the Pirates' starting tight end, but has made sizeable contributions as a running back.

Junior Clayton Enzminger provides added depth.

"We're deeper in the backfield than we've been in the past. That takes a lot of pressure off of our main back," Biesterfeld said. "We have good kids back there, but it all starts with the offensive line (Joel Shipley, Andrew Birrenkott, Matt Aichele, Kylin Schnabel and Six). They're getting the job done. If they're not opening the holes, we're not making the yards."

Biesterfeld said the Sargent Central game was one example of how much the Pirates have matured. They trailed 14-0 in the first quarter, but pulled even at 20-20 in the fourth. In overtime, Miller's third TD of the night and a two-point pass completion put Kidder County on top 28-20. The Pirates' defense then stood firm, keeping the Cadets out of the end zone to end the contest.

"In other years, we probably would have packed it in. When you're so young, it's hard to think that you can come back from two or three touchdowns down," Biesterfeld said. "Now the kids are more experienced, and they believe they are good enough and physically capable of coming back. Against Sargent Central, we didn't lose our composure. We didn't drop our heads. We just kept fighting and fighting and got the win. We showed a lot of character in that one."

It's also a big year for Kidder County in terms of numbers. The Pirates have 30 players - only five seniors - on their roster, compared to just barely more than 20 in each of the previous two seasons.

"In the past, we had a few games, some 11-man, where we had less than 20 kids dressed," Biesterfeld said. "It makes a world of difference having more kids out. We have more depth, and we're not having to put in a freshman or sophomore when he's not ready. It's just good to see the program moving in that direction."

The Pirates will put their 3-0 mark on the line Friday night against unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Napoleon-Gackle-Streeter. The Imperials outlasted Oakes 26-20 last week to extend their region winning streak to 16 games.

"Napoleon has been at the top of the region for a long time, and they're up there again," Biesterfeld said. "There's a reason for that. They have great kids who make plays and know how to win. We're going to give it our best shot. Win or lose, this game will show us where we're at."