Junior running back Nick Herman had a whole week to think about it for St. Rita. And that meant he had a whole week to be nervous about it.
Due to the injury of DJ Stewart, Herman knew he was going to get a bulk of the carries Friday night against St. Laurence. And let’s just say he had some butterflies brewing.
“I was nervous all week and I was a little nervous before the game,” Herman said. “But as soon as I got the ball for the first time, it was all good.”
Herman’s icebreaker was a 20-yard run to open the CCL/ESCC crossover game. He ended up with 152 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries for the host Mustangs in a 20-9 victory.
And Herman wasn’t the only one who had added responsibility for St. Rita (5-3), which became playoff eligible with the win.
Sophomore Steven Armbruster stepped in for injured quarterback Jett Hilding, throwing for 73 yards connecting with Samuel Gyimah for a TD. Left-footed senior kicker Ryan Mottl converted a pair of field goals.
Aaron Ball, who came in with 911 yards, left due to an injury with 9:07 remaining in the first half after his seventh carry and did not return for St. Laurence (6-2).
Junior running back Harley Rizzs picked up some of the slack with 52 yards on nine carries. He scored the Vikings’ lone TD.
Herman, meanwhile, entered the game with 330 yards and three TDs on 50 carries. He also knew how big this game was.
“We really needed this game to get into the playoffs,” Herman said. “I had to come and play when one of my teammates was out of the game (Stewart). I had to focus and keep running.”
Herman ran for 121 yards in the first half as the Mustangs grabbed a 17-0 lead, but the yards were tougher to come by in the second half. He grinded out 31 yards on 11 carries.
After St. Laurence closed the gap to 17-9 with 8:41 left in the fourth quarter, Herman responded with a 55-yard kickoff return to give the Mustangs the ball at the Vikings’ 41.
It set up a breathing-room 30-yard field goal from Mottl with 2:24 left.
“That was huge for the team because we were a little bit down,” Herman said of the return. “I was hoping to get past the 50. It was clogged for a second and then I ran.
“I stopped and one of their players overpursued me.”
The 6-foot, 180-pound Herman, a Frankfort resident, was originally a lacrosse recruit. When he took a visit, he said he wanted to attend St. Rita and play both sports.
First-year football coach Martin Hopkins is glad to have Herman around.
“He answered the bell,” Hopkins said. “He chipped away and chipped away. He’s explosive with the ball in his hands. You give him the ball and he can turn a one-yard run into seven or eight. Sometimes, he can turn a seven or eight into a 30 or 40.”
“He brings speed an athleticism,” Armbruster said of Herman. “We just know that when the ball is in his hands, he’s going to make the play.”
Herman, who has gotten a jump on recruiting, has been talking to Harvard, Virginia Tech and North Dakota State.
He said he’s leaning toward a business degree, but he also wouldn’t mind being behind a microphone.
“Everyone says they want to be a sports announcer or analyst,” Herman said. “But I would also want to be a business guy. Economics. Stocks. All that stuff.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.