Jordan Thomas shining during Ironwood Ridge's uneven year

There’s an effortlessness to Ironwood Ridge’s Jordan Thomas when the ball is in his hands.

The junior running back makes people miss in the open field at will, often leaving incoming defenders scratching their heads. Thomas’ skills were on full display Friday night as he combined for 240 total scrimmage yards and scored all three of the team’s touchdowns against the Cienega Bobcats.

“You see the importance of getting him involved,” Nighthawks coach James Hardy said. “JT had a big opportunity, and he made the best of it.”

Despite Thomas’ excellence and an admirable performance from quarterback Tyler Haynie, Ironwood Ridge fell to Cienega 31-21, bringing their season record to 2-4. It’s been an uneven year for the team in its third season under Hardy.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that play both ways, so we have to grind it out,” Hardy said. “They put the work in consistently.”

Thomas is one of the team’s two-way players, also lining up in the secondary. A frustrating start to Ironwood Ridge’s season hasn’t stopped Thomas from shining when he gets his number called.

His three touchdowns against the Bobcats doubled his season total and is now tops on the team.

The junior’s most jaw-dropping run came in the second quarter. He needed only a sliver of daylight to break a 75-yard touchdown. Once Thomas got a step on the Cienega defense, no one was catching him.

“I felt like this game was a good outing for me, but obviously just disappointed with the loss,” Thomas said.

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The running back is now over 400 rushing yards and close to 200 receiving yards.

“I’ve had some good games this year, some not so good ones,” Thomas said. “I just want to keep going, keep getting better.”

There’s certainly some talent outside of Thomas on the Ironwood Ridge roster. Senior backfield mate Landon Billings is having his best season as a high schooler. Prior to the Cienega game, Billings actually had a higher yards-per-carry average than Thomas.

“We really set each other up well,” Thomas said. “I’m just one person on our offense and we have a lot of guys that make plays.”

Thomas’ play has started to earn him potential college recognition.

“A couple Ivy League schools like Colombia have reached out to me,” he said. “I feel honored because that means you’re not just an athlete, but you’re also smart as well.”

As the Nighthawks aim to close out the last month of the season on a high note, keeping Thomas involved and finding different ways to get him the ball will be critical.

“When you have playmakers like that you have to do the best you can to get them the ball,” Hardy said.