Ryan Swanson doesn’t know what position is listed by his name on Antioch’s roster, and it doesn’t matter to him at all.

The senior defender started at strong safety last year but lines up somewhere different virtually every week this season.

“Playing safety is where I started out, but honestly I’m really a hybrid at this point,” Swanson said. “On Mondays, we watch film, do some conditioning, and at the start of our walk-through, I find out where I’ll be that week, which I love.

“As long as I’m playing football, I’m good.”

Actually, the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Swanson is very good, no matter where he is deployed on the field. He ranks second on the team with 65 tackles, and his versatility gives Antioch an advantage in countering other teams’ strengths. The third-seeded Sequoits (10-0), who were ranked No. 7 in Class 5A in the final poll by The Associated Press and will play sixth-seeded and third-ranked Carmel (9-1) at home in a second-round playoff game at 1 p.m. Saturday, have outscored opponents 535-139 this season.

In a very general sense, if Antioch is playing a pass-heavy team, Swanson may stay in the secondary. If an opponent runs the ball more, he will likely be creeping into the box. But his position can even vary by possession.

“His versatility allows us to put him in spots that will help us win,” Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. “He’s like a linebacker when we need him to be, and he’s good in coverage, and he’s about as tough of a kid as we have. He was even our long snapper before he hurt his finger.”

Swanson’s injured finger on his right hand, suffered during a Northern Lake County Conference game against Grant in Week 7, prompted the school’s trainers to craft a club from remnants of a dodgeball, padding and tape. Swanson has worn it for the past three games, and although his gripping ability was compromised, he still managed to intercept two passes in the regular-season finale against Round Lake.

“I can’t even tell you how it happened, but I hit a kid and then looked at it, and it was twisted,” he said. “Getting off blocks has been a bit harder, so I’ve just been lowering my shoulder. But I wasn’t going to miss any time.”

This isn’t the first finger injury that Swanson refused to let stand in his way. He also plays lacrosse, which he will continue at St. Ambrose. During the spring season earlier this year, he said he sliced off a small tip of his right index finger using a mandoline in his kitchen.

“There was a playoff game the next week, so I put gauze over it and taped it up and played,” he said.

Those injuries are short-term issues. But Swanson was diagnosed with Type I diabetes in second grade. He gets insulin through a pod placed on his skin, a process that doesn’t stop during games.

“It’s on my mind before games because I want to make sure my (blood sugar) levels are in a good spot,” he said. “If I’m on the lower side, I’ll have a juice box or Gatorade, and then I don’t worry about it when I’m playing.”

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Close at hand for just about every game Swanson has ever played is his father, Thor Patrick Swanson, who has been coaching him and many of his friends since they started tackle football in first grade. Thor Swanson is Antioch’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach and also is the boys lacrosse coach.

“That’s my crew,” Thor Swanson said. “There are 14 kids who I’ve coached almost every year since they were 7 or 8. That’s 11 or 12 years of being with the same families, having team dinners and parties. It’s gone by fast.”

Ryan Swanson said he has always appreciated having his father alongside him.

“He holds me to a higher standard, and he expects me to do more, but it’s always been a cool experience,” Ryan Swanson said. “His high expectations for me benefit me as a person and a player.”

Thor Swanson said he tries his best to separate coaching and parenting but acknowledged that has become more difficult as the end of his son’s senior season approaches.

“If I wasn’t up in the (press) box when he got those two interceptions, I probably would have picked him up and swung him around,” Thor Swanson said. “When the clock hits zero, it’ll be emotional. I’ll probably cry as much as the kids.”

Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.