Sophomore fullback Caden DuMelle knew he had something cooking Friday night. But in the heat of the moment, he just had no idea how successful he was for Jacobs.
DuMelle scored four touchdowns in the first half against Crystal Lake Central, an accomplishment in itself. When the game ended, he had a program-record 302 yards.
“I didn’t think that I was close to the rushing record,” DuMelle said. “Honestly, I just hope it’s the start to it all — keep it rolling and just be able to do what I’ve been doing.”
DuMelle came up to varsity at the end of his freshman season and had some success.
At the start of this season, he was in the rotation at halfback for Jacobs (4-3, 4-3) until coach Brian Zimmerman decided to try DuMelle at fullback a few weeks ago during practice.
“We started running some trap plays and off-tackle plays with him at fullback, and he was really good,” Zimmerman said of DuMelle. “He churns his legs.
“He reminds me of (2021 graduate) Ben Ludlum a lot. Same running style, both compact.”
DuMelle’s breakout at fullback has him knocking on the door of 1,000 yards for the season heading into Friday’s Fox Valley Conference game against McHenry (0-7, 0-7).
The fact he’s been compared to Ludlum is something he doesn’t take lightly.
“He was kind of my mentor freshman year,” DuMelle said. “I’d say it’s awesome that coach ‘Zim’ thinks I’m like him.”
If anybody on the current roster can relate to what DuMelle is doing, it’s Paulie Rudolph.
DuMelle’s emergence has allowed Rudolph to concentrate on linebacker. When an injury happened on the offensive line against Crystal Lake Central, Rudolph jumped in at guard.
That meant Rudolph was opening holes for DuMelle during the historic performance.
“It was nice to actually block for him,” Rudolph said. “I felt like I had a part in it. It was awesome to see. When I make a hole and he’s running 50 yards for a touchdown, it’s honestly like I scored the touchdown.
“I love it. He’s a great kid.”
DuMelle knows he has a great role model to look up to in Rudolph.
“He’s one of the people on the team where you could put him anywhere on the field and he would be one of the best players,” DuMelle said. “I love Paulie. He’s a great blocker. He does great things. He’s always wanting that work.”
A 55-yard TD run by DuMelle on a fourth down early in Friday’s 41-14 win set the tone for the rest of the game. He also had a 56-yard TD run.
“On the fourth down when I broke that big one, I thought, ‘This is the game,’” DuMelle said. “I think it was after the second touchdown that I was like, ‘They can’t stop me.’
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“Coach ‘Zim’ kept feeding me the ball, and I was just going to work with it. It was awesome.”
DuMelle’s performance made calling plays easier for Zimmerman and his coaching staff the rest of the night.
“Our motto is if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” Zimmerman said. “It’s been fun to watch DuMelle grow, and what he does is open up a lot of other options for the other backs.
“You have to have two or three guys to bring him down every play. He’s got natural instincts.”
DuMelle has quickly established himself as one of the most productive backs in the area. And he realizes he’s in the perfect program for his abilities.
“Everybody knows we run the ball a lot,” DuMelle said. “It’s a great place to be if that’s what you want to do. I just hope that I can keep doing it.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.