FALLS NEWS PRESS

Lambis' return lifts Cuyahoga Falls football on rough night vs. Aurora

Roger Gordon
Correspondent
Cuyahoga Falls quarterback Jayden Hillier tosses a touchdown pass during a game at Revere earlier this season.

Nick Lambis is back.

The Cuyahoga Falls senior outside linebacker/offensive lineman played football for the first time since his sophomore year Sept. 17 in a 63-0 loss at home to Suburban League American Conference rival Aurora.

The Black Tigers slipped to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the American Conference.

Lambis injured his left ACL during a practice in the summer of 2020.

“It was a freak thing,” Cuyahoga Falls head coach Shane Parker said. “He went to go block somebody, and it just gave out.”

In the loss to the Greenmen, Lambis, who started as a sophomore, recorded two tackles for loss. His statistics, though, were not first and foremost on everybody’s mind.

“Nick played with a lot of energy. He was a leader, almost like a catalyst, out there on the field,” said Parker. “All the guys were excited for him. It was a really cool thing to see everybody on the sideline cheering for him for all the adversity that he’s pushed through, to be able to get out there and be on the field with the guys who he loves doing the thing that he loves.

“He was absolutely just completely pumped up and really excited. It had been such a long and arduous process with the surgery and the physical therapy. There were just a lot of hurdles and setbacks along the way, but he always remained positive and controlled the things he could control. It was a really cool moment for him to have that opportunity after working as hard as he has and everything.”

The recovery process for Lambis is far from over.

“He’s still going to have surgery again after the season,” Parker said. “He’s basically playing through the injury to get on the field and be able to do this one last time.”

After graduation next spring, Lambis plans on venturing into the real estate business.

Another Cuyahoga Falls senior who returned to the football field against Aurora after missing time is wide receiver/running back/defensive back A.J. Jenkins.

Jenkins missed the Akron North and Revere games the two previous weeks when he tested positive for Covid.

“A.J. was really happy to be back,” said the coach. “It was just a real cool moment to have him be able to get back into it and be back with everybody who he loves doing the thing that he loves. He had high energy. He’s our hype guy, always getting after it and pushing the guys verbally and bringing other guys with him. His presence was definitely missed for a couple of weeks. I know, mentally, he took it pretty hard, being away from the team. We have a pretty tight-knit team. It’s kind of a family unit we have in the locker room. We’re a really close family, and we care a lot about one another. During those two games he missed, he stayed positive and cheered everybody on from a distance.”

Jenkins contributed on both sides of the ball against Aurora.

“He’s kind of a jack of all trades. He helped us out in the return game, too. He did a nice job,” Parker said. “He was having a pretty good season before Covid hit. He was our second-leading rusher against Parma Normandy the week before he tested positive. He was starting to get his feet under him, starting to get moving and starting to break out. Then Covid hit, and that has effects on your body and your ability to perform at the level you’re used to, so it’s been kind of a process getting him back to where he needs to be.”

Jenkins would like to play football in college.