By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

LA CROSSE -- Marcus Moeder sits in a chair in the La Crosse athletic office. He speaks in quiet and measured tones. It's Moeder's custom, whether he is on the football field, in the weight room, or during classes. Beneath the perpetual calmness, though, is a burning desire to win and an ability to consistently succeed under pressure.

"On the outside, he is definitely very calm," said Jon Webster, the Leopards' second-year coach. "He is almost like a professional when it comes to getting prepared for his competitions in all the sports. If you look at him in the eyes, you can see that there is a strong fire inside him that he is going out there for one reason."

Last year, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Moeder collected his second 1,000-yard season when he rushed for 1,520 yards, averaged 8.2 yards per carry and collected 14 rushing touchdowns for 7-3 La Crosse. On defense, he picked off four passes and made 71 tackles. Moeder, a Hays Daily News Super 11 selection, saved his best performances for the season's biggest two games.

"I have just been competing my whole life," Moeder said. "I really don't get nervous or anything like that. That's the place where I want to be. I just feel like I am more comfortable doing all of that stuff than just sitting back and watching someone else do it."

La Crosse was 4-1 when it met its big rival, Ness-Dighton, then 5-0. Moeder responded with 251 yards rushing and intercepted a pass as La Crosse won 30-6. In a 60-26 playoff loss to Elkhart, Moeder picked up 280 yards and scored three touchdowns.

"He knows he has to step up and really put the team on his shoulders," Ness-Dighton coach Faron Kraft said.

In his first two seasons, Moeder was another component in the Leopards' dominant three-year run. From 2006-08, La Crosse went 32-3. The quiet Moeder rushed for 420 and 1,010 yards in his first two seasons.

"I think his calmness is a lot of his confidence in himself and his work ethic," said Ryan Cornelsen, who was La Crosse's football coach for six years.

Webster, who was the defensive coordinator in 2008 before he took over as head coach, immediately noticed Moeder's quiet demeanor. Moeder was always at the front of the line in summer workouts.

"He never complained," Webster said. "I have never heard that kid complain once in the almost two years I have been here. That's what stands out to me about Marcus. Athletic ability aside, he is the kind of kid that I want to be around our other kids. He is just a standup young man."

In 2008, La Crosse finished ranked No. 2 in Class 2-1A and lost to eventual state champion Smith Center in the third round of the playoffs. After the game, Moeder immediately started to think about 2009. La Crosse graduated all of its top playmakers, save Moeder, and Cornelsen left for Hays High School. In the first meeting Moeder and Webster had during the summer, Moeder told his new head coach he wanted the ball 30 times a game.

"I was just like, 'I can't let this happen to the next senior class. I wanted the ball,' " Moeder said.

Last fall, Moeder played with an injured left pinkie finger for the final five games and Webster said the running back "played through a lot of pain." Still, he rushed for more than 100 yards in the final seven games, including the 251-yard effort against Ness City.

"From right there to the end of the season, he really was our leader," Webster said.

A month later, Moeder kept the Leopards in the Elkhart game. He finished with 280 yards, 10 1/2 tackles and an interception, a performance he called the best of his career.

"There was one play where I think he ran 30 yards sideways and gained 15 going north and south," Webster said. "Watching that much effort and watching him pour that much into everything he had for his teammates, he went out there to battle there for his teammates. That was a great individual effort by a kid."