Football
Favorite athlete: Julio Jones
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Our Lower Moreland win my junior year, really close game and I played every down of the whole game.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: The funniest moment for me was in my junior year during a game I caught a pass and actually started running backwards for about 4 yards. Luckily, I was able to turn around and get a few yards. My Coach, after I got on the sideline, said “good job, but never do that again.”
Music on playlist: I’m a big fan of classic rock and Rap.
Future plans: I am planning on going to college for the next 4 years and study business entrepreneurship.
Words to live by: “You can be good at anything if you work hard and stay consistent.”
One goal before turning 30: I want to have 5 rental properties.
One thing people don’t know about me: I am an avid collector of old coins and rocks.
By GORDON GLANTZ
While not many people these days remember Grantland Rice, once known as the Dean of American Sports Writers, they do know his famous quote. “It’s not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game” has endured in various forms since the 1920s.
It has applied to many athletes in all sports, up to and including New Hope-Solebury H-back/defensive end Jacob “You Can Call Me Jake” Peterson.
While the senior got a late start suiting up for the Lions, not hitting the gridiron until last season, his impact and leadership for a young team still finding its way this season has been hard to deny.
Head coach Dale Smith just returned as the school’s head coach this season, and found it hard to believe that he was a relative newbie to the game.
“Jake Peterson played soccer his whole life,” said Smith, who was previously an assistant at NHS before returning this season. “This is my first year with him but, just from watching him on film, you could see that he was just a natural. He should have probably been playing his whole life.
“He’s what I call a ‘thumper.’ He’s not afraid of contact at all. He’ll just stick his head in there.”
A year ago, despite being new to the game, Peterson paced the Lions with more than 700 yards on the ground. This year, in a slightly different role, he has a little more than 300.
“He’s a little bit more involved in the passing game this year,” said Smith. “They were predominantly a running offense last year. This year, I’m using him equally in both the passing and the running games.”
Getting Defensive
The Lions’ defensive coaches decided to best utilize Peterson’s stout size (6-1, 220) and toughness by converting him from linebacker to defensive end.
“His progression, on both sides of the ball, has just been phenomenal,” said Smith. “Like I said, here is a kid who should have been playing football is whole life.”
As far as being in the thick of it at defensive end, Peterson has no complaints.
“It’s a lot of contact, but it’s just so much fun,” said Peterson. “Last year, I was a linebacker. This year, my defensive coach said that I was a big kid and that I could handle going up against other big guys. I’m loving it so far.”
Peterson felt a real turning point came in a recent narrow loss to Morrisville.
“After that game, I feel like it really peaked for me at defensive end,” said Peterson, who recorded 15 tackles and several tackles for a loss.
In addition to his natural skills, Peterson adds intangibles to the team.
“He’s a leader for us,” said Smith, who added that Peterson came back for 7-on-7 competitions in the summer, ever though he was at church camp. “He didn’t miss a lifting session. He has been there to help push the kids, and be a vocal leader when he needs to be. He’s a great kid.”
Because he is only a second-year player himself, Peterson can empathize with his younger teammates, which helps him as a leader.
“I know exactly how they all feel,” he said. “It’s their first time stepping on a high school football field. It can be pretty intimidating.
“I feel like I now know my stuff pretty well, so I’m always up to answering everybody else’s questions. I enjoy teaching.”
Because NHS only rosters 29 players and has 26 healthy, key players such as Peterson rarely come off the field for the Lions, who are currently 1-5.
“It’s been a rough start to the season,” said Peterson. “We lost a couple of seniors. We are a pretty young team, with a lot of sophomores and freshmen.
“We have a lot of potential, but we are just a little green when it comes to football. We are working through that.”
The 11-year Itch
A native of Hamilton, N.J. who also lived a few years in the Atlanta area, Peterson recalls the decision and transition from soccer to football.
“I played soccer for 11 years,” said Peterson. “When I came to New Hope in ninth grade, I played soccer for a year.
“When I was younger, I was really good at soccer. I was always bigger than everybody else, so I could use my body a little bit. As soon as I got to high school, I realized that I really wasn’t that good at soccer anymore.”
Peterson had grown up fan of football, first of the Atlanta Falcons and then transitioned over to the Eagles, and he was intrigued by the idea of switching fall sports.
“I always watched football and always thought about playing football,” said Peterson. “Going into my junior year, I thought, ‘I’ll always be able to play intramural or rec league soccer, but I’ll never be able to play real tackle football.’ I figured, ‘Let’s try it.’ I went out for it my junior year, and it’s been the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life of playing sports.”
His story is not a unique one, as many who discovered football late were just captivated by the camaraderie with teammates that it provides.
“In most sports, the teams are close, but it’s different with football,” said Peterson. “You are all putting your hearts and souls out there on the field.
“It’s not quite like it’s a war zone, but you’re getting hit, and you are trying to prevent your teammates from getting hit. You are going to play all out for them, and they are going to play all out for you. That’s what I really like about football. It just presents a certain brand of camaraderie.”
When Peterson first took the idea to his parents, Shelley and Karl, the future entrepreneur had to do a bit of salesmanship.
“Yeah, it was a bit little of a discussion,” said Peterson, adding that his parents have since become all in on him playing football. “It was more with my dad. He was also always a soccer player. He played one year of football in high school, and he hated it.
“He said to me, ‘If you are going to play, you have to stick it out all the way through and play the whole season.’ I was, like, ‘You’ve got a deal. I can do that.’ Turns out that I loved it, so it wasn’t really a problem.”
While it was just yesterday, it also feels like a long time ago at this point.
“It’s so weird to think about it now, because it all feels so automatic now,” said Peterson. “When I was starting, I didn’t even know how to buckle my pads or run this route or that route. I had no idea what any of that stuff meant, because I had only watched football on a surface level.”
Giving Back
Off the field, Peterson also stands out, boasting a 4.0 GPA.
“I’m a pretty studious kid,” said Peterson, who has developed an extensive coin and rock collection. “I take my academics pretty seriously, and I always want to do well.”
Although he wouldn’t 100 percent rule out playing football at the collegiate level, most of the schools he is looking at – Penn State, Delaware, Rutgers, Syracuse, Villanova, Pitt, etc. – are not realistic.
“I’m considering it, but the whole thing for me is that I want to go to a school that will really challenge me, academically,” said Peterson, who also played baseball one year at NHS and is thinking about joining some of his friends on the wrestling team this winter. “I know I wouldn’t be playing at Penn State, although that would really be awesome.
“Playing in college is a whole other level of commitment, and you really have to want it, for sure.”
Peterson wanted to thank his friends, teammates, coaches and especially his parents for their guidance.
That includes going down South to the Carolinas in the wake of Hurricane Helene last year to volunteer.
“We heard a lot of stories, especially in North Carolina, because we have a lot of friends down there,” said Peterson. “We heard how extensive the damage was, and my dad came up with the idea of going down there during Thanksgiving break and helping the people who really needed it.”
The Petersons and another family then went into the eye of the hurricane’s remnants and helped the victims rebuild.
“Honestly, it was an amazing feeling,” said Peterson. “Prior to the trip, I was against going. I wanted to just have Thanksgiving break, and I was just so exhausted from school and everything.
“But, once we got there and we were able to make that much of an impact, it was just awesome. It makes you feel amazing.”
