Chris Miller is a humble guy.

The Lockport senior believes you should do something to be interviewed.

So in his second-ever varsity game at running back, Miller once again went out and did something. He scored four touchdowns Friday as the Porters dominated in a 34-0 home victory over Plainfield North.

It was the third straight time the teams met to open the season. Lockport won the other two by six and seven points.

“I’d say I deserve it this time,” Miller said while being interviewed following the game. “But there were also no points on the board for them, so it was a great job by our defense.”

Yes, it was. Lockport dominated the line of scrimmage and won its opener for the fifth straight season.

But on offense, the Porters found a force in Miller, who was a linebacker. Due to injuries, he had to fill in at running back in the final game of last season. In that game, he had 29 carries for 290 yards and five touchdowns to help the Porters rally from a 19-point halftime deficit for a 36-32 victory over host Homewood-Flossmoor.

Friday, he didn’t have to carry the ball that many times, finishing with 13 carries for 126 yards and four TDs.

“Chris did a great job,” Lockport coach George Czart said. “If he stays healthy, he can have a special season.”

Even with the offensive explosion, the game was sloppy to start. After a pair of punts, the Porters threw an interception on their second possession. Senior Tommy Spalding had the pick for the Tigers.

Then Lockport defensive back Matt Kies got a pick of his own and returned it 15 yards, setting up the Porters at the Plainfield North 24.

“It was just that our offense had gotten down after throwing an interception,” Kies said, “so I want to turn that around. I saw their quarterback’s eyes and made a move to get the ball.”

Kies’ pick set up Miller’s first TD. That came five plays later from 4 yards out.

Later in the first half, Miller caught a 17-yard pass from senior quarterback Brendan Mecher (5 of 7, 50 yards) to the 1. He plowed in on the next play to make it 13-0.

Following Miller’s second score, Plainfield North senior running back Mariell Macon broke free for a 53-yard gain down the right sideline. But in the first half, the Tigers had 52 total yards. So, other than Macon, who finished with eight carries for 67 yards, they had negative yardage in the first half.

On the first play of the Porters’ first possession of the second half, Miller galloped down the left sideline for a 69-yard touchdown.

“When I just see green in front of me, it’s the coolest experience,” Miller said. “I just love it. I worked out on the hills this past summer, and I’m faster than I was last year.

“I just want to thank the offensive line and the man upstairs. Thanks and glory to Him.”

Miller added an 11-yard touchdown run with 1:03 left in the third quarter and sat out the rest of the game.

Lockport, which had a total of 277 rushing yards, got a final touchdown on an 11-yard run from senior Rayden Cherco.

The Tigers were limited to three first downs and 94 total yards. They did have a couple of nice sacks by senior defensive ends Jacob Jimenez and Anthony Babino in the first half, but couldn’t move the ball.

Senior defensive tackle Michael Pratt and junior defensive end Cornell Bass had sacks for Lockport.

“The whole defense was solid,” Pratt said. “We practice hard, and we play hard, no excuses. We’re going to be strong and solid. We have our small details down pat, and that’s how we do it. We start strong and stay disciplined.”

The last time the Porters had a shutout to start a season was in 2021. They had five of them that year, including a 34-0 one over Glenbard West in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs en route to a state championship. This was their first shutout since then.

“We’re a different team than last year,” said Czart, whose team missed the playoffs last season. “We controlled the line of scrimmage and had a nice pass rush. When we do that, we’re going to be successful.”