Crouch, a junior receiver whose ‘hands are unbelievable,’ piles up TD catches for undefeated Jacobs

As junior receiver Owen Crouch looks back at his breakout season for Jacobs, there’s a play that stands out as the one that turned everything around, both for him and the team.

Two weeks ago, the Golden Eagles erased a 17-point deficit to rally past Burlington Central and remain unbeaten. Crouch’s 74-yard touchdown catch from Austin Stennett cut the deficit to 20-10.

“I’ve been thinking about this year,” said Crouch, who finished with five catches for 111 yards in the 31-27 victory. “I think that catch was the turning point for me, set the standard for how I want to continue the rest of the season.

“I definitely feel like we never mentally lost that game. We didn’t put our heads down. Having that and knowing we can come back is really good going into these big games we have coming up.”

The 5-foot-11, 150-pound Crouch followed up the big game against the Rockets with five catches for 135 yards and TDs of 69, 19 and 18 yards in Friday’s 49-6 win over McHenry.

The win gives Jacobs (5-0, 5-0) a chance to take control of the Fox Valley Conference race Friday against Huntley (5-0, 5-0).

What has impressed Jacobs coach Brian Zimmerman the most is Crouch’s route running and great hands. He agrees Crouch’s long TD to ignite the rally against Burlington Central was big.

“That kind of sparked the comeback that night,” Zimmerman said. “He’s as precise a route runner as we’ve had. He’s very shifty. He’s a very, very tough kid. He’s taken some hits.

“And the one thing about him is, he’s going to catch it. His hands are unbelievable.”

Crouch credits work through the years with Stennett, a junior quarterback, for honing those skills.

“I work a lot on my route running and catching ability,” Crouch said. “Those are the two things I really focus on. Every day, me and him are putting in work together, testing what we like, what we don’t like.

“It’s really good to have him by my side just to figure things out together.”

Stennett has taken a big leap as well this season for the Golden Eagles, who are known for running the ball. They have become more explosive and offensively diverse.

That bond with Crouch has been a huge factor.

“I’ve had Owen as one of my receivers since my first day of freshman year,” Stennett said. “We’ve really developed a strong connection the past few years. I think that showed the past few weeks.”

Now, Jacobs heads Friday to Huntley with a chance to remained among the undefeated.

“This is a big game,” Zimmerman said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere, their homecoming game, probably 5,000 people. For us, it’s just continuing to do what we’ve done, put our heads down and get to work this week.

“We have an impressive group of guys that wasn’t picked to do this by anybody. They’ve done a great job.”

Crouch, meanwhile, wants to stay even-keeled going into one of the biggest games of the season.

“They’re a good team,” Crouch said. “They’re 5-0, but it’s just another week for us. We want to go 1-0. That’s been our mentality the whole season.”

The Crouch has moved from being mostly on the junior varsity last season to Jacobs’ leading receiver this fall. And he’s not taking his breakout season for granted.

“It’s nice because I was a JV player waiting my turn, but now it’s finally here,” Crouch said. “It’s good to see all that work I put in the past couple years pay off.

“It’s really nice to see everything come together. My confidence has definitely been growing.”