Heavy Hitter (Jeb Olsen)

November 03, 2010 6:04 PM


Every great player in nine-man football plays both offense and defense.  But watching Jeb Olsen, sometimes it's hard to tell which one he's playing.  It doesn't matter which side of the ball he's on, Olsen is gonna make a big hit.

"You gotta have a crazy guy like that on your team," said quarterback Sam Jolley.  "Jeb's got that mentality that, 'If you're gonna try to hit me, I'm gonna hit you harder.'  So he might have an easy run into the endzone, but he might slow down a little bit and if this guy's gonna try to hit him, he's just gonna drop his shoulder and bring the hammer."

It might seem counterintuitive, but Olsen has made it work his entire high school career.

"He plays with no regret and that's what a high school football player should do," said Hawks coach Lenny Schroeder.  "Every down is your last down and that's the way he plays."

Don't confuse him for a bruising running back though.  Olsen is a speedster too, breaking touchdown run after touchdown run for the Hawks.

"He can cutback and turn a play for zero yards into 60 yards," said Schroeder.

Olsen has had so much success that earlier this season he became Canistota's all-time leading rusher.  Olsen has rushed for more than 2500 yards, but he is quick to share his record with his teammates.

"It felt really good," said Olsen.  "And the main reason I could do that was because I have really good blockers on my team and we all worked hard to get it."

Ultimately the record is Olsen's.  But it's one that his entire team can take pride in.