Merrillville sophomore running back Cameron Jordan was ready when his opportunity arose.
After standout junior Jac’Quarious “JQ” Johnson left the field with a slight ankle injury on Friday night, Jordan didn’t miss a beat.
“It’s just the preparation for the week,” Jordan said. “It’s preparing right and having that mindset. So it feels great.
“I just did what the coaches taught me to do. I hit the holes and ran hard.”
Indeed, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Jordan ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries as the Pirates topped host Hobart 36-0.
Jordan did all of that in the first half, with Johnson not returning after carrying the ball three times for 16 yards on the game’s opening possession, capped by a 6-yard TD run. Jordan had 62 yards and a TD on six attempts in Merrillville’s season-opening win against Andrean last week and took another step against Hobart.
“JQ went down with a little ankle,” Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said. “He probably could’ve played, but we had the game in hand at that point.
“Cameron’s just a sophomore, and he’s getting a heck of a lot better. He’s getting better at breaking tackles. He’s a good athlete, good in space. But just kind of the between-the-tackles stuff, he’s really improved. That’s him and (running backs) coach (Denzel) Pierce working really hard. I’m excited that he’s continued to improve. We know how good of a running back JQ Johnson is, and having a second one is huge.”
Jordan impressed senior defensive lineman Adam Camphor.
“He makes people miss,” Camphor said. “He explodes through those tackles. Amazing.
“I trust both Cam Jordan and JQ Johnson. I know when they have the rock, something’s going to happen.”
Sophomore running back Trey Wilburn also made things happen for the Pirates (2-0), adding a rushing TD in the third quarter against the Brickies (0-2).
Merrillville used both of its junior quarterbacks, Darnell “DJ” Bowles and Jordan Sanders. Bowles started, Sanders played the second series and both then took snaps throughout the game. Bowles threw for 67 yards, and Sanders threw for 91, including a 30-yard TD to senior wide receiver Xamere Martin.
“Sanders started Week 1, and he was sick this week, missing school on Monday and Tuesday and practice,” Seiss said. “Obviously preparation is huge for the quarterback position, so we went with DJ. The second series, he actually was helping JQ get an ankle brace, and then Jordan went out there and did a good job.
“That was the one position we didn’t have experience coming back, so we have to continue to get guys reps, see what they can do and go from there.”
Merrillville, ranked No. 1 in the Class 5A state coaches poll, defeated Hobart for the sixth time in as many games since the series resumed in 2019. On Friday, the Brickies played without standout senior running back/safety Willy Shearer for the second straight game. He’s sidelined with a sprained knee.
“We knew Hobart was young, and not having Shearer they were a little limited,” Seiss said. “We just had to go in and take care of us. We wanted to do better from last week. Last week, we felt we didn’t play as well as we could’ve, just being more clean. We still made mistakes, but from Week 1 to Week 2, we showed pretty good growth.”
Shearer could return as soon as Hobart’s Northwest Crossroads Conference opener at Munster next week, when Merrillville plays Crown Point in a massive matchup to start the DAC schedule. Crown Point’s only loss last season came against Ben Davis in the Class 6A state championship game.
“We’re excited these first couple of games are over with and we get into DAC play,” Seiss said. “It’s going to be exciting. They’ve won the league the last couple of years. They’ve been really good. We get them at our place. It’s going to be a great environment.”
The Pirates know players like Jordan can rise to the occasion.
“We’ve played in a lot of big games, whether it’s conference games or the success we’ve had in the tournament,” Seiss said. “You treat this like that and use it as a learning experience to hopefully get the lead in the DAC and get going.
“We know they’re going to be good. We know they’re going to be physical. We know they’re going to be well-coached. We’re excited to prepare for them and play them.”
