He may not look like your prototypical running back.

Eli Bolton goes 5-foot-7 and weighs 150 pounds, although the Northside senior said he fell short of his off-season goal of gaining more weight.

“I wanted to be 160 before the season started, but it didn’t happen,” Bolton said. “But I weigh 20 more pounds than I did last year, so I know that helps a lot.”

However, Bolton does pack plenty of toughness and hasn’t let anything stop him from doing what he wants to do on the field. That includes injuries.

Going into this season, Bolton was dealing with a re-aggravated sprained ankle. It affected him during the Grizzlies’ first three games, especially their second game against Greenwood.

But despite the constant pain, Bolton still rushed for 105 yards, including a pivotal 65-yard run late in the third quarter which set up a touchdown to help Northside post a 31-16 win.

“I was still hurt during the Greenwood game, but it was mainly my adrenaline (which got Bolton through the game), so I didn’t feel anything,” he said. “It was a very important game to me; I wanted to make sure that we got the chance to beat them my last time.”

Bolton was also one of the few Grizzlies that actually didn’t mind having a week off. Northside’s bye week allowed Bolton to heal up, and he now says that he is at least 90 percent healthy.

“It’s good now, honestly. ... I tweak it every once in a while and then I feel it, but now I’m all good now,” Bolton said.


“It was very difficult to deal with. It was painful at first, but I worked through it and now we’re here.”

Bolton’s ability to run the football, even while injured, doesn’t come as a surprise to Northside coach Mike Falleur.

“Everybody’s seen Eli; he’s not the biggest guy in the world,” Falleur said. “But I’ve said this many times, pound for pound, probably the toughest kid I’ve ever coached, so what he’s done has not surprised me at all.

“The thing he does a good job of, too, that nobody sees is he does a great job pass protecting and does a great job when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands of blocking for the other guys, so he is a team football player.”

Bolton is second on the team in rushing with 203 yards and has scored three touchdowns.

“He’s exactly what you want him to be; he runs the ball hard, he’s low to the ground,” Falleur said. “Very seldom are you going to tackle him on the first attempt.

“Even though there might be a guy 300 pounds versus whatever he weighs, you’re not going to tackle him on the first hit; he’s just that kind of a runner.”


A returning starter, Bolton went through the trials and tribulations last season playing for a rebuilding Grizzly squad that eventually found their stride down the stretch.

“I’m glad that we’re all returners because we all got a feel for it last year,” he said. “It’s also not a lot nerve-wracking like it was last year, it seems more easygoing and we’re a lot more confident in what we do.”

Bolton is just as active off the field. He possesses a 4.0 grade-point average and wants to become a veterinarian. In fact, he currently interns at Kitties and Kanines veterinary clinic and also has four dogs at home.

Today, Bolton will be counted on heavily as the Grizzlies begin 7A-Central play with a trip to Bryant in a match-up between two highly ranked teams.

“From here on out, he’s going to get his due share because it’s for real,” Falleur said.

Bryant is coming off a narrow loss to Fayetteville last week.

?(Bryant is) a very, very good, big and physical football team, so we’re going to have our hands full. ... We’re going to definitely know where we will stand, both offensively and defensively after (today),” Falleur said.

“Offensively, they’re pretty close to 50/50 running and passing. They’re a little bit more 53 (percent) passing, 47 running.”

Northside is also on the road next week at Little Rock Central.
