'God's plan': SHG, Springfield, were meant to be in the cards for RB Christian Pollard
The first thing people would often say to Christian Pollard two years ago when he told them he’d just moved here from New Jersey was: “Why did you move here?”
“They were like, ‘Springfield’s boring, there’s nothing to do here,’” Pollard said. “That probably worried me a little at first. Now I’m like, ‘I love it here!’ The community has been so welcome, and I don’t think people realize how many opportunities there are for people in Springfield.”
If that sounds like something straight out of a cheesy Springfield Chamber of Commerce handbook, so be it, but Pollard is an evangelist for the city in the literal and figurative sense. He firmly believes it was part of “God’s plan,” he says, to come to Springfield and Sacred Heart-Griffin High School. He did so in his sophomore year with his father, Percy, after he and his mother divorced while living in the only place he’d ever called home: Belleville, New Jersey.
Easily adaptable
The formerly shy sophomore who was the new kid in town, Pollard today is a popular senior at SHG, a standout running back on the defending state champion Cyclones (6-3) who will start defending their title with an Illinois High School Association Class 5A playoff game Saturday at 7-2 Calumet City Thornton Fractional North.
Pollard played on last year’s Class 4A champion Cyclones team, but only sparingly because of what he called an “unreal” senior class. He was supposed to be second on the running back depth chart to senior Ethan Hagele to start this season, but an injury to Hagele’s hand on the first play in Week 1 moved Pollard up in coach John Allison’s rotation.
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Despite being hurt for most of the final two weeks — including Friday’s game against Rochester in which he said he played at only a little more than 50% healthy — Pollard posted some gaudy statistics on the season. He finished with 681 yards rushing on only 111 carries and 16 touchdowns. He had a five-TD game against Jacksonville on Sept. 8.
When he came to SHG, football wasn’t even Pollard’s No. 1 sport. Pollard tried out for the Cyclones’ wrestling team and fell in love with the sport. When football is over, Pollard will switch over to wrestling, and he even recruited a football teammate or two to join him.
Pollard now says, however, that football probably is his favorite sport and the one in which he might have the best chance at landing a college scholarship.
“My dad and I have been talking about it a lot lately, and we’re starting to talk to some coaches at some schools,” said Pollard, listed at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds. “Hopefully, I’ll get an offer from someone.”
Ready for the playoffs
Cyclones coach Allison calls Pollard a “warrior.”
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t know what he’d be like. He really kind of jumped into this role because of Hagele’s injury,” Allison said. “And, what a spark. There were some games we might not have won without him. He’s a tough kid, a wrestler, and just a great teammate. I love having him around.”
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Pollard would like to someday get into the real estate business.
“And, I actually think Springfield is a perfect kind of place to do that,” he said.
“If it weren’t for God and the people of this community and a place to go to school like Sacred Heart-Griffin, I’m sure my moving here from New Jersey would have been much more difficult,” said Pollard. “People who asked me where I was from, I used to always say Belleville. Now, I say ‘Springfield, Illinois.’”
Adrian Dater is a freelance writer for The State Journal-Register. He can be reached through the sports department at sports@sj-r.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: SHG football, Springfield now comfortable to RB Christian Pollard
