Just as sports teams need skilled athletes, they also require leadership. And that leadership doesn’t always have to come from a star athlete. The Hilldale Hornet football team has just such a player in senior Jacob Jones. The linebacker and fullback didn’t start playing football until he got to high school but as he talks about the game it’s not the fame or spotlight that is important to him.

“I just love the physicality of the game and being here with my brothers and having a good time with them,” said Jacob. “I have a great time playing football but it’s also hard work that seems to get harder every year.”

He recognizes that his role this year as the only senior on the team that has been in the program for the last four years is one of leadership.

“As a senior I try to keep everyone on their feet and make sure we’re doing the right thing, pushing each other, and teaching the underclassmen stuff they might not know or get yet so we can be the best team we can be. I can be vocal or lead by example-it just depends on the circumstance. A good leader is someone who encourages others and not just put them down.”

His coach David Blevins appreciates the things that Jacob does behind the scenes.

“He’s a great leader,” said Blevins. “Anytime we go anywhere he’s always the last one out to make sure the locker room or bus are all picked up. He does the little things that most kids don’t these days.”

As Jacob Jones plays his final season on the gridiron, he knows how he would like to be remembered by those underclassmen he’s mentoring.

“I would like to be thought of as a leader and a brother. Someone that people could come up to and say ‘Jacob I need this or that and I’ll say I’ve got you.’”

Jacob plans to go on to college after high school and eventually get into sports medicine of some sort and while he may not directly impact the numbers on the scoreboard in each game, he’s nonetheless an important part of keeping the Hornets going in a year when youth and inexperience are a big part of Hornet football.