BY MIKE FUHRMAN

The people who know Jacob Eroh the best rave about how kind and compassionate he is.

A soft-spoken honor roll student, Eroh helped his mom — a cancer survivor — start a nonprofit that provides financial support to cancer patients. After college, he hopes to work as an occupational therapist, helping “younger kids with disabilities.”

Until then, the Statesville teen is making his mark on the rugby pitch with his strength and physicality. Whether carrying the ball or making a knee-buckling tackle, at 5-foot-11 and 260 pounds, he packs a punch when he hits an opposing player.

Rugby has been a central part of Eroh’s life since eighth grade, when a couple teammates on the Pine Lake Prep football team urged him to give it a try. Unlike in American football, the big guys get to carry the ball in rugby, a facet of the game that Eroh immediately embraced.

“I kind of fell in love with it,” he said.

In high school, Eroh put in long hours, traveling to Charlotte several nights a week for club practice followed by games on the weekend. He also hits the gym almost every day.

Because Pine Lake does not field a rugby team, Eroh played for Hough High and helped the team win the state championship last season. His club team, the Charlotte Cardinals, claimed the national title in the top division this spring, knocking off the No. 1 team. In mid-June, he traveled to Japan with a North Carolina all-star team for a series of exhibition matches.

Eroh, who plays the important tight head prop position, thrives on the physicality of the sport and camaraderie he enjoys with his teammates, who have become his best friends. He thrives on the competition and is an absolute beast in the scrum.

“You get a little cocky in the games,” he said. “It does get a little chippy.”

Calling it an easy decision, Eroh chose to skip his high school graduation to travel to Indiana for the Tier I National Championship with his club team. In recognition of his academic achievement, his coach and teammates held a little graduation ceremony – complete with speeches — for Eroh and another teammate.

“Playing rugby has truly changed the trajectory of Jacob’s life,” his mom, Kim Eroh, said. “He has had opportunities to travel, make friends from around the world, and play at an elite level. It has opened him up to possibilities that he wouldn’t have even considered before.”

Later this month, Eroh will begin his collegiate career at Queens University, where he earned an academic and athletic scholarship. He realizes that competing at the next level will be even more physical and that he will be battling against bigger, stronger teammates just to earn playing time.

“The first day of hitting there is going to give me a big wake-up call,” Eroh said. “I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time I’m not.”

Jason Zehmke, coach of the Charlotte Cardinals, is effusive in his praise of Eroh. The teen’s strength and technical ability, Zehmke said, are matched by the energy and leadership he brings to the pitch every day.

“He has all the ability and rugby IQ to go very far and potentially have a shot at higher professional and international honors,” the coach said. “Charlotte now has a professional rugby team, Anthem Carolinas, so plenty of opportunities ahead for him to go far in this sport.”

While Eroh is looking forward to working with disabled children, he’s willing to delay his career for a few years if the opportunity to play professional rugby presents itself.

“If I’m able to make it that far, it would be great,” he said. “I would definitely do it.”