Orlando Centinel Nov 16,2017
Boone football senior Jay Swegheimer embraces life's journey
Jay Swegheimer acquired a passion for Boone football at an early age, soaking in the sounds of the crowd and echoes of the public address announcer from his back yard on Friday nights. He grew up just a few blocks from the school.
He’d soon become a regular at games, idolizing players from the 2007 squad that reached the state finals and dreaming of one day following in those footsteps.
That same back yard has become home to pregame tailgate gatherings in recent years, hosted by Swegheimer’s grandfather, Tom Kohler, who’s compiled a scrapbook of memories reflecting Jay’s journey with the Braves.
As a dominant force at defensive end the past two years, it’s hard to imagine there was a time when he considered walking away from the game before ever realizing his potential.
Swegheimer leads Boone (9-2) into Friday’s Class 8A region semifinal at Wekiva (10-1)
at 7:30 p.m.
“He’s been a Boone kid through and through. Whenever I need a defensive play, he steps up, or he puts his teammates in position to make a play,” said Boone defensive coordinator Travis Gabriel. “He’s a dominant force. Having him on the field makes life so much easier.”
Last week the 6-foot-5, 225 pound senior was instrumental in helping the Braves open an early lead at Flagler Palm Coast. He forced two turnovers and returned a fumble and interception for touchdowns in the first half of the program’s first playoff win since 2008.
That effort was hardly a surprise to anyone that’s been paying attention. If Swegheimer is not directly involved in a game-changing play, he’s making it possible for the likes of defensive end C.J. Reeves, linebacker Devonte Booker and defensive back Jack Dixson to rise to the occasion.
Falcons, and everybody brought a great attitude into the season.”
Swegheimer is so humble and such an introvert that when the 2007 Boone team was honored during a home game late in the season, he was too shy to approach his boyhood idol, Jamarcus Allen, who was a defensive tackle on that team and the reason he asked his grandfather to sign him up for football 10 years ago.
Although Swegheimer prefers to lead by example and deflect much of the attention, he boasts a
résumé of plays this season that includes two forced fumbles in a 21-10 loss at Apopka.
There was also the time in the second half against Ocoee when he broke open a close game by recording three sacks, two that resulted in fumbles, and batted down a pass to help force a punt. He also recorded six sacks in the first half against Freedom and batted two passes that were intercepted and taken back for touchdowns against Orlando University.
Timber Creek defensive coordinator Marc Jackson has seen Swegheimer’s impact up close as a district opponent.
“He’s just got a good feel for the game,” Jackson said. “He knows when to speed rush, he knows when to play the run, and he knows when to jump up and knock balls down out of the air. And the kid plays hard all the time.”
That hard work is fueled by being snubbed when it comes to the world of college recruiting.
Although he’s received quite a bit of interest from Football Championship Subdivision schools and has gotten some attention from FBS programs, he wrestles with the thought of what else needs to be done to entice more major colleges to give him a chance.
Such are the things he contemplates while walking to school in the mornings and home after practice. Yet those thoughts pale in comparison to what’s occupied his mind in years past, when as an eighth-grader he struggled with understanding his place in the world after learning more about his biological father. Or when he considered giving up football to explore his newfound faith after his freshman season.
“I was pretty depressed and I didn’t really know where to go in life at the time,” Swegheimer said. “I was really lost in the world, and I eventually found Christ going into my freshman year, and that was really huge for me.”
Jim Swegheimer, Jay’s father, attended Boone as a freshman and sophomore before moving with his dad to the Evans school district when his parents divorced. At Evans in the early 1980s he played on the offensive line alongside future Florida Gator and NFL player Jeff Zimmerman.
Jay was just two years old when his dad died following a prolonged personal struggle, and he does not have a single memory to connect him with that football lineage.
What he does have at this point in his life is fulfillment where there was once a vivid void, and an appreciation for the coaches, family and friends who have helped guide him along the way.
“It’s all about my effort. Every time I step on the field I’ll pray to God, and I don’t know how many people say this, but if I step on the field and I die in that moment, I’m not afraid of it, because I know that I’ll be going to heaven,” Swegheimer said.
“There’s nothing more inspiring to me than that,” he said. “If it’s my time to go, then I’ll go. And that’s what I feel like really separates me from other players. And that’s what a lot of the kids on our team are like, they’re willing to risk their bodies for the team.”
