Nov 19, 2024
DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Lewisburg’s Jeremiah Davis looks on during a game earlier this year against Hughesville.
Jeremiah Davis approached Danville defenders the same way he does life. He went right at them.
Davis encountered tragedy as a young age, losing his father Thaddeus seven years ago. Following an electric freshman year which included three return touchdowns, Davis faced more adversity when he tore his ACL during the preseason and missed his entire sophomore campaign.
Through the tragedy; through the pain, Davis kept moving forward. He could have easily put his head down, but Davis held it up and kept attacking challenges. And now he will graduate as one of Lewisburg’s all-time great football players.
Davis capped a spectacular senior season with a memorable performance last Friday, running for 267 yards and three touchdowns against the state’s top-ranked 3A team. He did all he could to will Lewisburg to a district championship but Danville rallied and scored with :47.2 seconds remaining, capturing a fifth straight title with a thrilling 28-24 win.
DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Lewisburg’s Jeremiah Davis picks up yardage during a game earlier this year against Hughesville.
Still, the fact that so many were talking about Davis as much as Danville winning a remarkable fifth consecutive gold medal speaks volumes. He was that good … again. Davis ran through, around and past defenders and his 77-yard touchdown with less than four minutes left had Lewisburg tantalizingly close to its first district crown in 14 years.
Not that Davis needed a gold medal to validate himself as a champion. His performance on and off the field constantly does that.
“We knew he was going to be that guy. We knew we were going to jump on his shoulders and try and ride our way through this game,” Lewisburg coach Eric Wicks said. “He’s only one man and he works as hard as he can.”
That work helped Davis rebound from his ACL injury and put together consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He grew stronger as last season progressed, finishing with 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. That was just a prelude to what was coming as Davis continued toiling away throughout the offseason.
Davis grew stronger, faster and shiftier. He also became a nightmare to defend. Starting last season, Davis topped 100 yards in 15 of his final 16 high school games. Playing against defenses designed to slow him, Davis kept making magic happen behind an imposing offensive line and took a blow torch to the Lewisburg record book in the process.
MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspodnent Lewisburg’s Jeremiah Davis (3) runs a sweep on Loyalsock’s Jaydn Wagner (12) in the first quarter during a game against the Lancers earlier this season.
Davis finished his season season with a program record 2,177 yards, record 29 rushing touchdowns and record 31 total touchdowns. The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder also is one of three 3,000-yard rushers in Lewisburg history, closing his decorated scholastic career with 3,286 yards and 38 touchdowns. All but 98 of those yards came following the ACL injury, a testament to Davis’s dedication and will.
“It definitely is something I take pride in. I feel like I played a part in our team’s success this year,” Davis said. “It’s special to have something to leave my legacy here until it’s broken. It’s a big deal, so it’s special.”
So was Davis’s performance against Danville. Davis always is the first to credit his offensive line for his success and he did so again Friday, rightfully so because that unit was outstanding. But Davis took what the line created and consistently added so much more.
Running with power every time, Davis rarely went down on first contact. He also rarely went down without a fight, generating ample yards after being hit. Danville features one of the state’s premier defenses and knew what was coming, but Davis still proved virtually unstoppable.
By halftime Davis had gone over 100 yards and he continued growing stronger as the game progressed. Carrying the ball more than he ever had in a game, Davis scored two fourth quarter touchdowns, each giving Lewisburg the lead. In two playoff games, Davis produced 267 yards each time, totaling 534 yards and eight touchdowns against Mount Carmel and Danville.
Add in a 337-yard tour de force against Mifflinburg in the regular-season finale and Davis generated 871 yards and 13 touchdowns in his last three games. To put into perspective how impressive that is, those numbers would represent a quality entire season.
His final high school touchdown was a thing of beauty. Davis took the hand-off and started left, before making a quick cut and exploding through a big hole on the right. As fast as Danville’s defensive backs are, none could catch Davis once he hit that hole and he went 77 yards untouched, giving Lewisburg a 24-21 lead.
Danville denied Davis and Lewisburg the Hollywood-like ending as Madden Patrick led a game-winning 69-yard touchdown drive on the next possession but that does not take away from what Davis did.
“I’ve been playing against Jeremiah since midget football. We have always been battling on the field against each other,” Patrick said. “Coming into the game we knew we had to limit their big plays. At times I believe we did that, but sometimes you just need to tip your cap on some of the runs he had. He’s a great athlete.”
The numbers Davis produced and the records he broke mean he will long be remembered at Lewisburg. His true legacy, however, is not the records but how he achieved them.
Forget about the numbers. If future Lewisburg players simply follow the example Davis set, they can achieve some great things.
Chris Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse.
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