Jackson's Ruch cherishes following in footsteps of football standouts

There certainly have been bigger running backs at Jackson High School.

Nathan Norman, Glen Brunke and Devree Flint are a few 230-pound horses that have bulled over opponents the past 15 years.

And there certainly have been faster running backs at Jackson, most notably fleet-footed Mario Whitney who often went untouched on his touchdown jaunts.

But scales and stopwatches do not measure the instincts and passion for running a football that Jackson senior running back Ethan Ruch possesses.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Ruch has good speed, quickness and a firm grip on reality.

Jackson running back Ethan Ruch strains to break the tackle of a North County defender during their game Friday in Jackson. (Kristin Eberts)

He ripped off 167 yards against Rockwood Summit last season and topped that mark with 172 yards in the first game this season against O'Fallon Christian, but he has no illusions about college football.

"It would be nice, but I don't know if I'm prepared," Ruch said. "Talented might be a better word. If something would come up, I would do it, maybe. It's not something that I'm just striving for."

What he really is focusing on, and cherishes, is the moment.

Like the moment he puts on his Jackson uniform, complete with his game-day black headband that bears his No. 3. The moment he steps onto the field in front of the loud home crowds. The moment quarterback Bobby Clark stuffs the ball in his arms. The moment he spots the hole.

"It is the best feeling in the world," Ruch said about running with the ball, his eyes lighting up. "Because ever since I can remember, my mom and dad were always taking me to games. That's all I wanted to do growing up is be a Jackson Indian and be out there on that field.

Jackson senior Ethan Ruch is averaging 5.9 yards per carry this season for the Indians.

"And to be a running back, that's what I always wanted to do, to be the running back for Jackson. Just to come out here and be able to do it is just amazing."

Ruch was among the youngsters in the stands when Whitney was earning a scholarship to the University of Missouri. His mother, Vicky, would take him to the games, where he would alternate between watching the game and playing football with friends.

"When you're that young, it's a pretty influential time in your life. Yeah, I just thought [Whitney] was something else," he said.

Ruch also was a big fan of running back Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs, which was the favorite team of his father Chris Ruch, who died four months ago.

"[Whitney] was bigger to me than the NFL ever was, really," Ruch said.

Ruch owns an autograph from Whitney, and he even has a picture of himself running in flag football with the former Jackson star just feet away serving as a referee.

"That probably had a pretty big impact on it," Ruch said of Whitney's influence on his own desire to be a Jackson running back. "When I went to the games, I already knew I liked football, but watching it and being around the players, it made me love it that much more. It made me want to strive and do that one day. I told my mom and my dad that I was going to do that one day, that I was going to be out there one day. They were like, 'OK.'"

And Ruch has kept his word. He's been a running back since starting in the game in second grade. He's played the position for all but his sophomore year, which was his first year of varsity football.

His own style

"He's not a big, bruising back for us," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "But he is a heads up runner. He's kind of a slasher, but once he gets into the open field, he can turn it on. He's got decent speed."

Senior guard Michael Riney has blocked for Ruch for two seasons.

"It's good to know he's back there because he's quick enough," Riney said. "You're not going to stay on your block real long. He's going to find that seam, and when he hits it, he's going to hit it hard. Once he finds that hole, he's hard to catch because he's fast."

Ruch is the Indians' leading rusher, averaging more than 100 yards a game entering tonight's game against rival Central.

Among Ruch's more memorable moments last year was a 26-yard touchdown run that was the decisive blow in a 20-13 win against Central in the season finale. In covering those 26 yards with 1 minute, 52 seconds left in the game, Ruch helped assure that Jackson would not suffer its first winless season in its 115-year history.

With 139 yards against Central, Ruch had his third 100-yard game in five weeks. He accumulated the bulk of his 600-plus yards rushing last year over the stretch, bouncing back from an early season concussion to add some much-needed life to a stagnant offense. He gladly helped lighten the load on Clark, the team's punter.

"I'm always very, very upset when we punt," Ruch said. "I hate punting. I hate it. [Clark] does a good job at it, but I hate to punt."

Growing pains

Ruch started as a defensive back and saw time at receiver his sophomore year, when Jackson went 8-6 and reached the Class 5 semifinals. He scored his first varsity touchdown that year when he pulled in an option pass from senior running back Adam Zweigert to account for Jackson's lone points in a 35-7 loss to Hazelwood Central.

"I just wanted to come up and I wanted to play," Ruch said. "So wherever they were going to put me, I was going to play. Even if I wasn't the best one out there, I was going to try my hardest."

His role grew last year -- faster than his confidence -- when he moved to running back.

Ruch credited a talk with Hitt before a breakout 141-yard performance against Farmington in Week 6.

"He came to me before we left for Farmington that day," Ruch said. "And he said, 'Ruch, sometimes you get the ball and sometimes someone just touches you and you go down. It's time. Let's see two or three guys bring you down. Just run harder.' I just said, 'OK.' I kind of agreed with him. So I just ran hard and the line just started opening up [holes]."

The talk helped Ruch confront his intimidation that had lingered from his sophomore season.

"I just had that determination that I wanted to prove to him that I could do it," Ruch said. "He said prove that you can do it, and I tried."

"He had a great game against Farmington, and really from that point on he picked it up, kept his shoulders down and ran through tackles," Hitt said.

Ruch again has been the primary weapon in Jackson's offense with 312 yards rushing in Jackson's 2-1 start. He has 65 percent of the Indians' rushing yardage and averages 5.9 yards a carry. He also has at least one reception in each game.

"That's all it really is for me is confidence in my head that there's no one here older than me," Ruch said. "I've got more experience than all these kids."

Ruch also had added about 5 to 10 pounds on his frame, which also has helped his confidence.

"It's helped out a lot in my book," Ruch said of his physical maturation. "When I was a sophomore out here I was intimidated a lot. I had a lot of the older guys just tell me don't be intimidated. But it's kind of hard. ... Everything is just so much faster from ninth-grade football. When you come here to high school, everyone's bigger, stronger, faster. Sometimes you just have to hold on to your butt."

Coming of age

Ruch has come a long way in two years, and he now is among the team's leaders.

"I want to be the guy they rely on," Ruch said. "I like having that burden on me, that pressure, I guess. I like it. And I want us to win."

His will to win is not lost on his teammates.

"He goes hard," Riney said. "He's not afraid to hit anybody. He'll try to run them over. He's not going to back down from anybody."

Hitt has noticed a maturity.

"He handles the game a lot better this year than he did last year," Hitt said. "He's a little more intense in the game this year."

Part of the maturing process came unwanted. His father died in May after suffering from neuropathy for some time.

Chris Ruch was an avid follower of Ethan's football career.

"When he was feeling good, he came up and sat in the concrete bleachers underneath the press box," Ruch said. "And if he didn't come, I'd always bring the film home and we'd watch it together. But he loved to watch me play. He followed me in the paper, listened on the radio."

Ruch said he believes his dad still is watching him.

"It made me want to dedicate a lot to him, knowing he would want me to do the best I could all the time -- practicing, playing, running, doing everything," Ruch said. "And my mom has a big impact on it, too. But after that happened, it just bumped everything up another level."