This is the real Jeremija Hixson.
And this fully healthy, ultramotivated version of the senior defensive end is bad news for Warren’s opponents. On a defense that entered the playoffs with three straight shutouts and has a handful of individual standouts around him, Hixson is primed to show how good he can be over the final weeks of his varsity career.
“When I’m playing my best, I’m setting up plays for our linebackers, trying to keep the quarterback contained, making it easy for our defensive backs,” Hixson said. “Coach (Bryan) McNulty always says to do our one-eleventh, to just do our jobs and focus on our keys. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do.”
Hixson didn’t look like a complementary player during 10th-seeded Warren’s 39-3 win against 23rd-seeded Oswego in a Class 8A playoff opener in Gurnee on Friday. He flashed time and time again as the Blue Devils won their eighth game in a row.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Hixson got home for quarterback sacks twice on his own and shared a third sack with longtime teammate Aidan Porreca. Hixson also blocked a punt in a situation he read well.
“The guy I was against didn’t seem very fast, so I thought I could get his hands and then bull-rush him,” he said. “Then I thought the personal protector was going to set toward me, but once I saw him step in, I put on the gas and said to myself that I had to block it.”
Hixson made it happen, adding a play to a personal highlight reel that he might not have envisioned when he hurt his right shoulder during Warren’s win against Mundelein on Sept. 29. He sat out the next week and needed the final two regular-season games to fully reengage.
It was pretty clear against Oswego (6-4) that Hixson is back to full strength, just in time for the playoff push. Warren (8-2) will play seventh-seeded South Elgin (9-1) in the second round.
“This was the first game I felt like myself again, and I felt so much more confident tonight because I was able to move my man,” he said. “It was mostly just feeling weak, and I wasn’t able to drive as hard. But after I got back from my weak period, this is what happens.”
As he spoke, Hixson was motioning to the playing field, where the Warren defense has put on a clinic. As with most good defenses, the magic starts up front, with Hixson on the right side and the hard-charging Porreca on the left.
“I’ve been playing with him for almost 10 years, and he’s definitely grown a lot,” Porreca said. “Now, not only is he physical, but he’s also a technician. He works every day on the little stuff, things like hand placement and seeing the right cues through his guy. Guys like him are guys I want to play with.”
Hixson also wrestles. He advanced to the blood rounds in the sectional at 195 pounds as a junior and has high hopes for the coming season. He knows he’ll go into it with one skill that he can utilize in both sports.
“It’s that punch,” Hixson said. “You’re trying to get your hands out, whether it’s an offensive lineman or someone you’re wrestling. You try to keep him spaced out from you so he can’t get his hands on you.”
Hixson typically lets his actions do his talking, and he’s content if other defensive teammates receive more attention than he typically gets. But there’s no doubt Warren is better with players like Hixson.
“He’s a subtle athlete,” McNulty said. “If you see him from a distance, you don’t think he’s as big as he is, until you see him up close. You don’t think he’s as fast as he is until you see him run.
“He’s kind of a quiet kid. He’s the type of hardworking, tough kid from the area that we love having.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.