It’s one of the feel-good stories of the fall season, but junior running back/defensive back Simeion Harris and his friends believe there’s more to come for Sandwich.
A football program that goes from being unable to field a varsity team because of low numbers to playoff qualifier with three regular-season games left is heartwarming.
But so is the tale of how Harris, a slender two-way player, came to feel right at home in the small town while developing into a key cog under the Friday night lights.
“When he first got here, you could tell he didn’t want to be here that first day,” Sandwich coach Kris Cassie said of their first meeting at a summer workout. “He was really shy, nervous.
“I remember his dad bringing him in and telling him, ‘Get used to it because this is where we are.'”
Harris had spent most of his early years on the East Side of Aurora. Anthony and Jasmine Harris briefly moved to Plano before finding their home in Sandwich.
The younger Harris recalled Josh Lehman, now a junior outside linebacker for Sandwich, helping to break the ice.
“I was in the weight room — had my hoodie on and sweats,” Harris said. “I was sitting there, didn’t know anyone and didn’t really want to talk to anyone, but Josh came up and said, ‘Hey, you come work with us,’ and started asking me questions.”
Lehman said he understood what Harris was going through.
“I had moved a few times, living in Somonauk and Wheaton, and I knew what it was like to be the new guy,” Lehman said. “None of us had ever seen him before. I thought I’d make a new friend.”
Fast forward, and 16 juniors on the team have been big for Sandwich’s turnaround.
“It took ‘Sim’ a week to a week and a half to come out of his shell a little bit,” Cassie said. “I started to see the potential that this kid had, and I was like, ‘Whoa, this dude has an opportunity to be special here.”
The 5-foot-10, 132-pound Harris leads the team in rushing with 794 yards on 87 carries. He has scored six touchdowns, caught one pass for 39 yards, returns punts and also has two interceptions on defense.
“When one of your star players can be your leader, hold himself and others accountable, you have something special,” Cassie said. “He works his tail off — he really does. And he buys into what we’re doing here and makes his teammates better.
“While he may be on the light side, he’s weight room strong. He’s field strong. He takes care of his body. So, honestly, he’s so darn tough, I don’t worry about him out there no more than any other player.”
Harris’s freshman year, the Indians lost games at both levels with players in and out with COVID-19. Last season, the junior varsity played and went 8-1, with Harris running for 1,300-plus yards.
“Sophomore year, not having a varsity, we wanted to make a statement,” Harris said. “Prove people wrong that we could be an actual good football team.”
The Indians (5-1) are doing it again, becoming playoff eligible with last week’s 27-0 win over Harvard. They’re preparing for their final home game Friday against Rochelle (4-2) and have road dates remaining at Marengo (3-3) and Woodstock North (2-4).
Every win, of course, improves their playoff seeding.
“It could maybe even lead to a home playoff game,” Lehman said. “That would be awesome. What we’ve been through taught us to come together as a family to work together to win.
“It’s earned us a lot more respect.”
Meanwhile, the bond grows between Harris and his coach.
“He’s one of those people you had to earn your way with him, earn your respect,” Cassie said. “Once you’ve got it, he’s the first to have your back. That’s how I think of Simeion.
“He’ll see me with that stressed look on my face and I get that smile, that award-winning smile, and he’s like, ‘Coach, how you doing today?’ He can pick up that vibe. ‘You look a little bad today coach. Gotta keep you going.'”
