Matt Lehmann isn’t shy about saying where he likes to get the ball.
“I do like the ball in open space,” he said. “That’s why they just try to get me the ball on those sweeps, try to get outside.”
For the 5-foot-8, 170-pound Lehmann, that concept is consistently becoming a reality at Naperville Central.
On the two designed runs he had last Friday against Naperville North, he scored on both as part of a six-touchdown night for Naperville Central in its 41-10 victory.
With opponents’ eyes squarely focused on Iowa-bound Emmanuel Rugamba, Lehmann’s focus has been point-blank.
“He trusts me and I trust him,” Lehmann said of Redhawks’ senior quarterback Conor Joyce. “I know where he wants to throw the ball and when he wants to throw the ball. But then with double-covering Manny, I try to take advantage of the opportunity. I’m ready to step up.”
Joyce and Lehmann have been playing together since they were sophomores and the chemistry clearly is showing through.
Through seven games, Lehmann has 17 receptions for 371 yards and a touchdown – providing quite a weapon alongside Rugamba, who’s up to 511 yards and five TDs on 30 catches.
“Maybe it’s a surprise to the people outside of our team, but inside our team – we always knew how good Manny was and we also knew how good Lehmann and our O-line was,” Joyce said. “So it was just a matter of time before things started clicking and it’s nice to see now that it’s starting to click as we forward in the season.”
While taking full advantage of the coverage Rugamba routinely sees when Joyce decides to drop back and pass, he has jumped right in when it comes to Naperville Central’s run-first philosophy.
Lehmann is one of four Redhawks – along with Luke Brady, Jeremiah Wiggins and Joyce – to record at least 100 rushing yards on the year.
His 103 rushing yards on 11 attempts and the two TDs, which both came against the Huskies last week, just adds to the weaponry Joyce has at his disposal as Naperville Central has averaged 31.7 points the last three weeks.
“We’ve always been a run-first team,” Lehmann said. “That’s just the way the program is.”
Naperville Central coach Mike Stine knew what he had in Lehmann.
He just wasn’t sure when it might start to come.
If Lehmann’s three catches for 72 yards in the season-opening victory at Glenbard North was the appetizer, the last two weeks against Batavia and Naperville North has been the entrée.
In the Redhawks’ 34-14 victory over previously unbeaten Batavia, Rugamba may have caught three touchdowns from Joyce, but it was Lehmann’s 124 receiving yards that led the way.
His two rushing touchdowns and 89 receiving yards on five catches against the Huskies saw more of the same.
“Matt Lehmann, I mentioned last week to (the reporters), he broke his leg in the summer and missed most of the summer,” Stine said. “And it just took him time to get back. We knew he had some speed. We knew how explosive he was in the weight room. He reminds a lot of us, he’s a similar kind of player to Ben Andreas from a couple years ago.
“He’s that rare … he’s very, very fast and quick and he’s very strong also. He can hurt you running the ball, so we’ve made a concerted effort to get him the ball more, more touches running it and obviously maybe take some pressure off of some of the other guys. It worked out.”
High expectations are normally the rule at Naperville Central.
A 6-1 start and with eyes trained on an outright DuPage Valley Conference title with two weeks to play, that certainly hasn’t changed.
Lehmann’s rise just adds to what the Redhawks hope the next month will entail.
“Seven more days together – that’s our battle cry,” Stine said. “We earned seven more days together and that’s one of our goals, so we’re happy about that. We have a tough game next week. We know Wheaton North – it could be them playing for their playoff, trying to get into the playoffs. So we know these next two games are going to be very difficult, too.”
