The Herrin Tigers’ offense is loaded and ready to keep running.

Ranked No. 9 in class 4A by the Illinois Associated Press coming into the season, Herrin returns two senior running backs who gained more than 1,000 yards as juniors. Head coach Jason Karnes and his Tigers are in pursuit of their fifth straight playoff appearance.

Fullback Brent Milner ran for 1,164 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2013, and tailback Chase Merrill added 1,266 yards and 17 scores of his own. Milner gets most of his touches on dives and inside trap plays, while Merrill takes the majority of his runs off tackles.

The two were named First Team All-Southern Illinois River to River Conference running backs in 2013, and Merrill was named to the Second Team as a sophomore in 2012. Milner and Merrill were two of four Tigers to earn Honorable Mention on the Illinois High School Football Coaches’ Association 2013 All-State Team.

Milner and Merrill feed off each other’s success on the field as a devastating one-two punch out of the backfield.

“We work together,” Merrill said. “I love when Brent gets more yards than me. He looks really good, and then when he gets good, they key on him and I get more yards.”

Having two high profile runners in Merrill and Milner does not limit the Tigers offensively. Junior Gavyn Gosha, senior Chris Butler and junior Gavin Jordan also contribute on the ground for Herrin. Senior Josh Haynes is a capable receiver as well.

“Everybody’s important,” Karnes said. “We have five or six guys that I feel like can potentially carry the ball.”

The Tiger skill position players enjoy the benefits of playing in an offense that is difficult for opponents to scheme against.

“It’s nice to have them as a safety valve,” Haynes said. “We know that if we need five yards, they’re going to get it.”

Herrin added three new starters to the offensive line, including 6-foot, 270-pound freshman Gage Wells. However, the Tigers did not miss a beat up front Friday night, opening holes for the Tigers to run for 295 yards and 4 touchdowns in a narrow loss to Waterloo High School, a non-conference opponent.

“For having three guys that never played varsity football, we’d grade them at probably a B,” Karnes said. “They did a pretty good job for their first varsity game, but we’ve got room for improvement.”

Milner led Herrin with 162 rushing yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, including a 90-yard scamper following a goal-line stand by the Tiger defense. Merrill ran the ball 19 times for 93 yards and a touchdown of his own.

Herrin finished 8-3 last season, losing in the second round of the playoffs to Althoff Catholic High School 21-14. Milner and Merrill have worked hard in the offseason to improve themselves as football players and better their chances for a return trip.

“They worked so hard in the offseason,” Karnes said. “They want to improve on last year, but they’ve got to be well-rounded running backs. They’ve got to be able to catch the ball and block, too, and I think they’ve gotten better at that. It should be a great season.”

Thomas can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @tdonleyde