There was a time not too long ago when Jake Miller and Garret Jacobson did not get along.
And that might be putting it nicely.
When Olpe faced St. Marys in the semifinals of the Class 2-1A State football playoffs last November, Olpe’s Miller lined up as a defensive lineman across from St. Marys’ Jacobson, and the two went at it all game long.
St. Marys came away with a 22-20 victory that night in a game each player called one of the toughest and most physical he’d ever played.
“I hated him when I was across the line of scrimmage from him in that game,” Miller said.
But now, all Miller can do is laugh at the notion that he didn’t like the affable Jacobson, as the two now are good friends since becoming teammates last Friday when they reported to camp for the 34th Annual Shrine Bowl.
Both players are on the East squad, which has been practicing at Welch Stadium in preparation for Saturday’s game in Hays, and both players have come to enjoy each other’s company in the few days since they first met face-to-face instead of helmet-to-helmet.
“We’re teammates now, which is kind of funny,” Miller said. “There’s no grudge or anything. We’re just two players out there getting it done.”
Added Jacobson, “He (Miller) is a real easy-going guy. He ain’t like he is on a football field.
“He’s one of my best friends out here. He competes when he’s on the football field, and he’s a heck of a nice guy to be around when he’s off the field.”
Proving that there are no ill feelings toward each other, the two rode next to each other on the plane ride to St. Louis last Saturday on the annual trip to visit children at the Shriners Hospital.
Inevitably, the conversation turned to that playoff game nearly nine months ago.
Olpe stepped onto St Marys’ home field with a 12-0 record, and after a grueling, physical, back-and-forth grudge match on a bone-chilling night, it was St. Marys that came away with the a two-point victory and a berth in the State title game.
It was during that game that Jacobson found out just how ferocious a football player Miller could be. Miller racked up nearly 20 tackles — by his count — and had what he called “the best game of my high school career.”
“He’s a competitor,” Jacobson said. “I’ll tell you what, he was probably the best defensive lineman I played against all year.”
Miller’s fire has not gone unnoticed this week by the East squad coaches during practice.
During a drill Monday night between the offensive and defensive lines, Miller went so hard after the “quarterback” — who happened to be one of the squad’s kickers — that Miller ran into him and nearly knocked him to the ground on the track surrounding the Welch Stadium turf.
“He (Miller) is a very intelligent football player willing to do anything,” East head coach Blake Pierce of Seaman said. “He doesn’t appear to be intimidated at all by coming from a smaller school and competing against guys from the higher classes. He’s done a really nice job for us on the defensive line.”
The Shrine Bowl will be the first football game Miller has played in since that playoff game last season in St. Marys. With Jacobson on his side this time, along with the rest of the East All Stars, Miller hopes to go out on a winning note with a victory over the West squad.
But Miller and Jacobson both recognize the game for the higher purpose that it serves: to raise money for the children they met in St. Louis at the Shriners’ Hospital.
“Going and seeing the kids in the hospital in St. Louis was an eye-opener,” Miller said. “This isn’t just about showcasing athletes. It’s for those kids. I just want to go out there and go hard and try to raise some money for them.”
That much Miller and Jacobson can agree on, as teammates and as friends.