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player ready...As much as good hands and a quick reaction time, it’s a requirement to playing cornerback.
A short memory.
Jacobs junior Jukauri Bland needed it last Saturday, when he allowed a 79-yard touchdown pass by Batavia during the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.
“I didn’t see it coming and he ran right past me,” Bland said. “But I had my whole team behind me afterward.”
He had their backs, too.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Bland earned redemption with a clinching interception in the closing minutes of a stunning 28-14 upset. Not a bad time for his first interception of the season.
“Third-and-long, they ran a flea-flicker,” Bland said. “My safety, Conrad Beech, was helping, he had the man covered, and I jumped over the guy. I got it when we needed it the most.”
It has Jacobs (7-4) in just its second state quarterfinal in program history and first since 1979. The Eagles host Fenwick (10-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday.
It’s been a season of change for Bland and the Eagles’ secondary. Bland and his family moved from Schaumburg in June, just in time for summer camp.
“I’m not going to lie, I was kind of nervous,” Bland said. “I had to make a name for myself. I was at a new place with new athletes.”
Bland quickly made did in 7-on-7s, joining a secondary with returning starters Trevor Fitzsimmons at cornerback and Beech at safety.
Then Beech was hurt at a preseason scrimmage and missed half the season. Loren Strickland, another safety, moved exclusively to offense after Week 1.
“It was a little bit of a revolving door,” Jacobs coach Bill Mitz said. “Jukauri had to feel his way, but he hung in there. That group has really jelled.”
The move worked out for Strickland, too. He’s run for 777 yards and eight TDs, including 179 yards and three rushing TDs against Batavia.
“I’d talked about maybe trying to play both ways, but after the Huntley game the first week, we realized that wasn’t going to work,” Strickland said. “If that’s what I needed to do for the team, that’s what I was going to focus on.”
Bland played safety as a sophomore at Schaumburg, but has fit like a glove at cornerback.
Good in coverage with smarts and a solid tackler, Bland is fourth on Jacobs in tackles with 50. Jacobs’ defense has had its share of ups and downs, but the Golden Eagles have allowed just 22 points in two playoff games.
“We put Jukauri on teams’ best receivers and he’s pretty much done his part,” Mitz said. “We have it again this week.”
Indeed, Bland and Jacobs’ defense has another tough assignment Saturday.
Fenwick, led by quarterback Jacob Keller, has scored at least 31 points in nine of its games. Fenwick’s only loss was to Loyola, the top-seeded team in Class 8A. The Friars boast a pair of 6-5 receivers in Mike O’Laughlin and Jack Henige.
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Bland, for one, says to bring it on.
“We can play with any team,” Bland said. “We have a good run defense, our line and linebackers have been playing insane, and a good passing defense. We just have to make it happen.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for The Courier-News.