Next Man Up.

It’s a common phrase in sports when a starting player is injured.

And this past Friday night, it fit Lehighton’s Jacob Ferguson to a tee.

Ferguson, a senior playing his first year of varsity football, had a game some players can only dream about in the Indians’ 42-26 victory over Jim Thorpe.

Filling in for Lukas Croizier at tailback, Ferguson carried 19 times for 233 yards and two touchdowns to help his team capture the Route 209 trophy.

That performance — one that Croizier will always remember — earned him the Times News Football Player of the Week.

“He’s a senior, but it’s his first year, and it has taken him some time to get comfortable with everything he’s doing here, just learning the nuances of the game,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. “We kind of knew at this point of the season that he had his feet wet enough — he’s had some significant carries throughout the course of the year — that we felt really comfortable with him.

“He brings a different mentality, a different skill set to the table. We knew that what Jacob does is also a recipe for success, so we were pretty confident. I wouldn’t have guessed 233 yards, but we definitely knew that he was going to be able to carry the load.”

The first-year player, who is one of the Indians’ top wrestlers during the winter season, also was confident he would succeed in a starting role. But like his coach, he didn’t envision the final numbers.

“The week prior when (Lukas) actually got hurt ... and he told me he wasn’t going to be playing and I was going to be starting, I knew I was going to have a great game. I just have that kind of confidence ... I expected to have a good game, but I didn’t expect that. I was stoked when I knew I had the opportunity. I wanted to prove it to myself and prove it to my team what I could do.

“It sunk in how good a game I was having when my wrestling coach, who was on the sideline, told me I had 85 yards and it was just the end of the first quarter. I was like, ‘Oh my Lord!’ I knew I had a couple breakaway plays, but I didn’t think I had (233 at the end).”

With his team trailing in the third quarter, Ferguson reached the end zone on a 10-yard run that eventually tied the score. Later in the fourth frame with the contest still in doubt, he broke free for a 41-yard touchdown burst that extended the advantage.

“He’s just a tough kid,” said McCarroll. “You could say it comes from wrestling, but he’s just a tough kid. It’s fun to watch ... He’s not the biggest kid, but he definitely kind of runs behind his pads naturally, and has big strong legs. Not too many times did one tackler bring him down. I think he’s built for the position, and I think he just had a career night on Friday.

“One thing with him that’s kind of funny — when he was in open spaces it was almost like he didn’t know exactly what to do, whether he should cut or try to run somebody over. In the tight spots, he knew. He was looking for contact, and those kids kind of thrive on that. And it was almost like he was a little bit uncomfortable being in open space. Between the tackles, he’s downhill. He’s a physical kid and he looks for contact.”

Part of Ferguson’s success was due to the improvement of the team’s offensive line.

Known for their size, the guys in the trenches have continued to get better throughout the course of the season.

“I have to give a shout out to the o-line,” said Ferguson, who now has 553 rushing yards on just 50 carries. “Without them, I’m not doing anything like that.”

“Our line is really clicking,” said McCarroll. “We’ve had size the past two years, but finally this year they’ve really kind of put it together, they’ve gelled ... it seems every game the last couple weeks we can pinpoint every one of the starting linemen having a pretty devastating block. And that can be sometimes demoralizing for an opponent. So hats off to those guys for doing a great job.”

As impressive as Ferguson’s outing was, it was also bittersweet. The contest was his final home game of not only his, season but his abbreviated varsity career.

“I’ve talked about it a lot to my friends ... and I wish I had been playing since my sophomore year,” said Ferguson. “My freshman year I was a little small to be playing football, but if I’m getting (233) yards in the first game I ever started, I can’t imagine what I’d be doing if I started my sophomore year.”

“We’ve had a couple kids over the years that have just kind of focused on one sport ... and then either their junior or senior year they kind of give it a shot,” said McCarroll. “I think he played in seventh grade ... but of what I’ve been told and of what I remember, he wasn’t a big kid. He was pretty slight. So he didn’t have the physique that he has right now.

“He’s certainly found the weight room in the years between when he played and now, and you can tell. And that happens a lot. Kids mature, their mentality changes. I would love to have him for more than a year, but for however long we get these kids, we just hope that they enjoy the experience .... That was a storybook kind of night for a kid that came out for his first year. He just got his number called that night and answered the bell.”