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Jersey Shore’s Kyle Tomb fights off knee injury, plays both sides of ball

(JUDI PINKERTON/FOR THE EXPRESS) Jersey Shore's Kyle Tomb stiff arms Selinsgrove's Teague Hoover during Saturday's District 4 Class AAAA championship game. Tomb tore his ACL last summer, but continues to play two-way football for the Bulldogs.

By CHRIS MASSE

For The Express

Fellow Jersey Shore students often ask Kyle Tomb the same question. They know he tore his ACL last summer, but cannot comprehend how he continues playing two-way football each week.

As many times as Tomb has heard the question, he still has not provided an answer.

“I go into school and they ask me how am I doing it and I always say, ‘I don’t know,'” Tomb said. “I don’t know how I’m doing it. I wish I knew.”

However Tomb is doing it, he is doing it quite well. So many times, an ACL injury ends an athlete’s season, but Tomb has played all 12 games this season and is a major reason Jersey Shore once again in District 4 Class AAAA’s best team. Despite the torn ACL, Tomb keeps getting better and he ran for 158 yards and a touchdown last Saturday as Jersey Shore edged Selinsgrove, 20-17 in overtime while capturing the program’s third district championship in six seasons.

That Tomb is playing at all is both courageous and impressive. That he is making such an impact, starting at both running back and defensive end, almost seems beyond belief.

“He’s come back and he is back,” Jersey Shore coach Tom Gravish said. “To not be 100 percent and battle the way he has and to always be positive says a lot. He was inspiring to his teammates.”

Tomb ran for 1,662 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, helping Jersey Shore go 7-4 and reach the district semifinals. He expected even more in 2018 and was working hard throughout the summer. Tomb also is a wrestler and was building toward a successful season on the mat. Time seemed to stop, however, when Tomb was working on some wrestling drills and heard his knee pop.

Almost immediately, Tomb knew the diagnosis. More than pain, Tomb felt fear. What could be a memorable senior athletic year looked like it was over before it started.

Tomb’s doctor told him that the could try playing through the pain and put off surgery until after the season, but it would be a difficult task. All Tomb knew was that a door was open. He intended to kick it down and work his way back onto the field. Remarkably he was ready for the season opener.

“The doctor asked whether I wanted to play defense or offense but I went back and I said I think I can do both,” Tomb said. “Playing offense and defense makes me happy and that’s what I want to do.”

Not surprisingly, Tomb did not look like his 2017 version at first. Not only was this a physical challenge, but it was a mental one. He could not cut as effectively, his explosiveness toward the hole was limited and Tomb had to fight the voice in his head saying that maybe this was too much.

Through eight games, Tomb did not rush for more than 69 yards in a game, although he did score three touchdowns in a vital Week 5 win at Shikellamy. But while running the ball remained a work in progress, Tomb did not miss a beat defensively. He helped solidify a strong defensive line and produced six tackles for loss during the regular season, while adding two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

By Week 9, everything started coming together. Tomb had grown accustomed to running with the torn ACL. He was able to cut again and exploded through the hole. He felt powerful again and started hitting tackles as hard or harder than they hit him. Tomb ran for 114 yards against District 9 Class AAA champion Bald Eagle Area, scored four touchdowns against Central Mountain, produced 88 yards in a half against CMVT and then ran through and around Selinsgrove.

His performance last Saturday helped Jersey Shore flip the script from Week 2 when the Seals won, 31-10. Tomb felt reborn this time and helped the Bulldogs erase a 14-point deficit and some late-game drama to win their second championship in three seasons.

“Now I can make cuts on it and it doesn’t even feel like an ACL tear,” Tomb said. “Some people come after my leg because they see that big brace on my leg but it doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Kyle Tomb has come up clutch these last couple games. He’s really bounced back from his injury,” two-way senior starter Koby Peacock said. “He’s been running the ball right down their throats. We banked on him a lot in the Selinsgrove game and he ran hard for us, getting in the end zone and running kids over just like he has been doing his whole career.”

Despite the injury and the time it took growing accustomed to playing with it, Tomb still has run for a team-high 794 yards and 12 touchdowns. As great as his statistics were last year, Tomb has been even more impressive in 2018 considering what he has played through. He also has worked his way up the Jersey Shore all-time career rushing list and enters Friday’s state tournament game against Pottsgrove with 2,982 yards.

Tomb provides production and something equally as powerful. He is providing constant motivation. The three-year senior starter leads through words and actions. When Jersey Shore trailed Selinsgrove at halftime last Saturday, Tomb was one of the most vocal captains, riling up his teammates and convincing them they could win. Tomb than put words into actions throughout a second half that symbolized his entire high school football career.

“Kyle has done an outstanding job with his leadership. He has gone to a different level with his leadership the last three weeks,” Gravish said. “He’s helped keep the coaches’ message right out there for the players. Some of the things he said Saturday were spot on.”

Last summer, it appeared Tomb might not have a senior season. Then the injury and a 1-3 start had it looking like it might be a nightmare season. Now it has become a special season. Jersey Shore won league and district championships in the same season for the first time and will try winning its first state tournament game Friday. None of this would have happened without Tomb.

He and others might not know how Tomb is doing this, but the gutsy senior has made it work. He perfectly represents everything this hard-nosed, resilient team.

“I’m just running as hard as I can and our whole team is motivated,” Tomb said. “I love playing. This is one of my favorite sports and I don’t want it to end. This whole team is going to play as hard as it can and I think we can do big things.”

Tomb already has.

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