Roughly 11 months ago, St. Rita running back Nick Herman got his first varsity start when he filled in for injured starter DJ Stewart in a pivotal Chicago Catholic League crossover against St. Laurence.
Herman ran for 155 yards and a touchdown, helping the Mustangs to their only win — and clinching a spot in the Class 7A playoffs — during a painful last five weeks of the 2023 regular season.
With Stewart now in his freshman season at Drake, Herman is the starting back for the Mustangs; and in the season-opener against Sandburg, he made sure everyone knew.
The senior from Peotone carried the ball 13 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns and had two receptions for 17 yards as St. Rita scored four second-half touchdowns and defeated Sandburg, 27-17, on August 30 at Doyle Stadium.
Herman said his spot-start last season was a confidence-booster that carried over to this season.
“Coming into this year, I got a little bit bigger,” he said. “Knowing my role was going to change from being the second back to the main back, I knew I had to get my body in better shape to get more carries.”
After a quiet first half on offense for St. Rita, which trailed 3-0 after two quarters, Herman broke the ice with a 49-yard scoring run with 9:47 left in the third quarter.
“When I get into open space, I turn my brain off and run as fast as I can,” Herman said. “I see green and I just run fast.”
Mustangs coach Marty Hopkins said Herman’s athletic ability is obvious.
“He just had the unfortunate opportunity to be behind a 1,000-yard rusher (in Stewart),” Hopkins said. “We always tried to get Nick on the field and now you can see how much he believes in himself a lot more.”
Mustangs junior quarterback Steven Armbruster went 10-for-21 passing for 132 yards and one touchdown, that being a 31-yard hook-up with to Lucas Davis.
Brandon Johnson Jr. ran for a score for St. Rita.
The Mustangs defense acquitted itself well against what should be a formidable Sandburg offense. Defensive end J.P. Danaher had two sacks and cornerback Andrew Elwood had an interception.
For the Eagles, this is the fourth straight season they have started the season with a loss.
“You look at the first half and it was a very physical half, and we matched it,” said Sandburg coach Troy McAllister. “In the third quarter we did not match their physicality. It’s cliche, but it is a four-quarter game and we need to match physicality and take it to teams.”
Eagles senior quarterback Anthony Shelton threw for 194 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Shelton found Jeffrey Bellik and Charlie Snoreck (5 receptions, 61 yds) with scoring passes.
St. Rita hosts Mount Carmel (0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6.
Sandburg will host Oak Forest (0-1) in its home-opener.