Which way did the howling wind blow Friday night at Oswego?
Definitely in the direction of Jeremiah Cain.
An athletic 6-foot-2 senior who can high jump 6-7, Cain starts on both sides of the ball at cornerback and wide receiver for the Panthers. He demonstrated why in the fourth quarter.
“I had a boost of adrenaline as soon as I heard our call for blitz — corner blitz,” Cain said of the play that turned into a sack and a forced fumble. “I was just ready. I was ready to go.”
The first of two heads-up plays by Cain in the span of 50 seconds in the fourth quarter turned the momentum in a tight 21-13 Southwest Prairie West victory over visiting Plainfield North.
Oswego had just fumbled the ball away before Cain blitzed senior quarterback Justus Byrd and knocked the ball loose, which was recovered by senior defensive end Jordan Sweiss at the 16.
That came with 7:39 remaining. Two plays later, Cain caught a pass on a slant route and sprinted into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown that snapped a 7-7 tie with 6:49 left.
“That just brought so much happiness — just to feel that after everybody being down,” Cain said. “We needed that boost of momentum.”
Cain suggested the pass route he used on the TD catch from senior quarterback Brett Connolly.
“I told coach beforehand I could make it look like a fade and turn it into a slant and it’ll be open,” Cain said. “It just so happened to be open coming back, so I did what I had to do.”
Things then got even better for Oswego (5-0, 1-0) as senior linebacker Carson Cooney tipped a pass in the middle of the field. Senior safety Donovan Williams returned the interception 34 yards for a TD to seal the win despite a late TD pass by Plainfield North (2-3, 0-1).
“It was a great play by Jeremiah,” Cooney said. “He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen. We practice that stuff every day, too. Stripping the ball, getting it out and making defensive turnovers.”
The second-half surge made up for a slow start, according to coach Brian Cooney, Carson’s dad.
“If you were going north (into the wind) you had one game plan, and when going to the south, it was another,” he said. “I was extremely proud of how the kids came out in the second half.”
Cain, who has committed to Northern Iowa, helped the Panthers rebound from a 7-0 halftime deficit. He was working his job this summer when he got the call with the scholarship offer.
“Sophomore year, I was pulled up to varsity to play cornerback but I ended up getting hurt a lot,” he said. “Junior year, they told me I’d be playing both sides, so I had to condition a whole bunch.”
He followed the workouts of one of his heroes, and it has served him well.
“I look up to Travis Hunter,” Cain said of the Colorado standout. “Seeing him and all his workouts and all the stuff he does, I just try to model myself after him.”
It has been working well so far.
“He was able to use those long legs and speed to get to the quarterback and knock that ball out and then coach (Ben) Kleinhans takes a shot with him and gets a touchdown,” Brian Cooney said. “That 45 seconds or so was a Jeremiah Cain highlight.
“Then we get the big defensive play with the big long kid (Carson Cooney) getting the tip and our safety in the right spot to take it to the house. That was a huge moment swing between the fumble, a TD and a pick-six.”
Cooney did plan to speak to Cain about the final TD, when Cain jumped the route and got beat.
“I just wanted a pick so bad,” Cain said. “And it came back to bite me.”
