Richmond-Burton linebacker/fullback Blake Livdahl plays big-boy sports in a compact frame.

Don’t count out a miniature bull terrier in a fight against a mastiff.

Don’t count out Livdahl in a one-on-one battle against a bigger varsity football player.

The mighty junior, who can ball and maul on a football field or wrestling mat, gave another example of his unmeasurable competitiveness Saturday in the Rockets’ 31-6 win over Monmouth-Roseville in a Class 3A state quarterfinal game in Richmond.

Note, for example, the stiff-arm he used to discard a defender on his second touchdown run.

“I think it’s more heart than anything,” Livdahl said. “You just got to have heart, and you got to believe. You got to believe that you can be big.”

Don’t always believe everything you read.

Take Richmond-Burton’s 2024 football roster.

“Last year they had me at 5-10,” Livdahl said. “But we’re nowhere near 5-10.”

Livdahl stands at 5-foot-7, not even 5-9 as listed on this year’s roster. At an accurately listed 185 pounds, he’s compact and can crush.

Rockets coach Mike Noll smiles when Livdahl’s name is mentioned, like when talking about his 54-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter against Monmouth-Roseville. Livdahl busted through the middle of the line and took off down the left sideline. With one tackler to beat, Livdahl decided to take him on one on one around the 10-yard line.

Livdahl won the battle. TD, Rockets.

“I was wondering if he was going to try and make him miss or just stiff-arm him, and he chose to stiff-arm him,” Noll said with a grin.

“It was amazing,” Livdahl said. “I was waiting for [tight end] Logan Johnson to get to his downfield block, but then I decided I could be in there [end zone], so we’re going to stiff-arm him.”

Livdahl has been more of a defensive force for R-B after playing for Harvard his freshman year. Along with teammate and fellow running back Hunter Carley, Livdahl earned all-state honors this season and brings the same tenacity to the football field as he does to the wrestling mat.

Livdahl finished second at 175 pounds in the Class 1A state meet last winter and, as an eighth-grader, was the 2023 IESA state champ at 167 pounds.

Against Monmouth-Roseville, Livdahl rushed for a season-high 122 yards on 10 carries. He also scored on a 7-yard run and has seven TDs on the season. He shares fullback duties with fellow junior Riley Shea, who’s another two-way star for the Rockets.

“I like defense a lot,” Livdahl said. “I like hitting people, but fullback is so much fun getting the ball. The opportunities to go score are always there, especially with this team. I can’t thank the O-line enough.”

Livdahl and his defensive teammates are a big reason why the Rockets are in the semifinals for the first time since 2021, when they lost to Joliet Catholic in Class 4A. R-B hosts perennial Class 3A power Byron in a battle of 12-0 teams at 2 p.m. Saturday.

If not for one late, running-clock touchdown allowed in each their past two games against Aurora Central Catholic and Monmouth-Roseville, respectively, the Rockets would have four shutouts in a row.

R-B led Monmouth-Roseville 31-0 when Titans all-stater Nick Huston (144 rushing yards on 25 carries) scored from the 1 with 4:12 left in the fourth quarter.

“I thought, in the first half when we were trying to figure out how to get moving on offense, the defense did great,” said Noll, whose Rockets led 10-0 at halftime. “They just didn’t give them a thing. We were all over them.”

That gang-tackling style of ball is how the Rockets have played defensively all season. They have given up only 92 points (7.7 a game) but now have maybe their biggest test of the season in a Byron team that features all-state running back Caden Considine and an offense that averages 50 points a game.

Mike Kusek coordinates R-B’s defense.

“I thought our defensive coaches did a great job this week,” Noll said after Saturday’s win. “[The players] play hard. They’re real good with their eye discipline. We try to get three to the ball all the time. They just listen to what we say, and they do it.

“Getting guys to the ball is the key,” Noll added. “You can never tackle the other team’s best running back with one. So you got to get two and three, and sometimes we get four and five.”

The Rockets are two wins shy of accomplishing what they did in 2019 – a perfect season.

Belief is big. The Rockets’ mighty linebacker/fullback knows that.

“All I can say is I’ve never been on an undefeated team before,” Livdahl said. “It feels amazing.”