If it’s not Richards quarterback Eric Jacobs making the play on the field, it’s likely his friend, teammate and running back, Jordan Lewis.
After a year at Thornwood, Lewis is back at Richards and immediately is an impact player again — getting high marks from his starting quarterback and head coach.
“Jordan Lewis is the best running back in the state,” Jacobs said after the Bulldogs’ 21-18 win against host Glenbard North on Nov. 7 in the Class 7A second round. “He helps me a lot. I mean, he opened up the pass game for me.”
“We pride ourselves on being tough at Richards,” Bulldogs coach Tony Sheehan said. “And he is tough, and probably one of the toughest kids.”
The Jacobs-Lewis tandem combined for all three touchdowns against Glenbard North, helping the Bulldogs (9-2) advance to a 7A quarterfinal at home against Downers Grove North (10-1). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Nov. 14.
Lewis had 37 carries for 292 yards and two touchdowns. His 1-yard score gave Richards a 14-10 lead right before halftime and he had a 63-yard run in the third quarter.
“He gets the long runs, he gets the dirty runs,” Jacobs said.
“He wants the ball and he wants to be in that moment,” Sheehan said. “You can see that he just wants to take the punishment and he wants to deliver the punishment and keep going.”
The Bulldogs were down 10 with 9:13 to go in the second quarter but were far from done.
Jacobs capped off a 99-yard drive with an 8-yard rushing touchdown for the Bulldogs’ first score.
“We don’t try to linger on anything that happened to us in the past,” Lewis said. “We just try to focus on the future and keep playing together.”
Jacobs rushed for 121 yards and threw for 72 in the win.
The duo credits their blockers for clearing way for big plays.
“My O-line kept setting up the play and I (saw) they wanted to bite down towards the middle,” Lewis said. “So I told my O-lineman to hit the middle and I was gonna bounce off of him and it worked.”
“My O-line, they do really well blocking,” Jacobs said. “When they block, man, it opens up a field of just good opportunities.”
The Panthers answered back with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 3:36 to go in the third, but Richards’ defense finished strong.
“Our defense did an amazing job,” Lewis said. “We relied on our defense and our defense did the job and they got us the ball back every time.”
“I just told them I thought I was going to have a heart attack, but you know, these kids are resilient,” Sheehan said.
“We just want to keep it going with each other. We don’t want to take it for granted,” Jacobs said.
“We’re not done yet, and I’m just proud of the way they keep fighting and get after it,” Sheehan said.