Jack Lochner almost decided not to play football this year so that he could focus on his role with the Niles West baseball team.
But after some encouragement from his family and coaches, he realized playing football likely would help him be better on the diamond in the spring.
Lochner, a junior quarterback from Morton Grove, tested that theory in Niles West’s 51-14 loss Friday at Buffalo Grove. He ran for one touchdown and threw for another as he kept competing for 48 minutes.
“Just about everything that could go wrong went wrong, but he kept his composure and kept fighting, running into the end zone on our last possession,” Niles West coach Jesse Pierce said.
Lochner has been an All-Central Suburban South baseball player the last two years. He hit .382 last spring, which led him to consider focusing solely on baseball.
“I talked to my father and my coaches, and they encouraged me to do both,” Lochner said. “Football is very competitive, and it will make me better in both sports.”
The Wolves (0-4) are happy he reached that conclusion. Buffalo Grove (3-1) pressured Niles West all night, which made Lochner compete even harder so his teammates would do the same.
Lochner completed eight of 18 passes for 124 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown strike to Christian Lewis. He was also his team’s leading rusher despite taking several tackles for loss. He was intercepted three times, and that pushed him harder.
“I’m a varsity captain as a junior, and that’s a great honor,” Lochner said. “I have to keep playing hard to help my teammates overcome adversity. The coaches can tell us what to do, but we have to do our part.”
Pierce said Lochner’s attitude of perpetual competition is the kind of leadership the team needs to start showing more success and earn wins.
“He leads by example all the time,” Pierce said. “He keeps fighting no matter what goes wrong. We need to execute better.”
