North Jersey Male Athlete of the Week plays every game as if it's his last

Jack Dugan rarely comes off the football field.

He rushes the football, catches passes, blocks, punts, kicks off, kicks extra points and field goals and is everywhere on the field on defense from his linebacker position. He even throws an occasional pass.

"Well, that didn't go too well," he said ruefully. "It was a 10-yard pass and I underthrew it by five yards.''

He plays every game like it will be the last game of his career.

That may be because it almost certainly is.

"I'm not planning on playing in college because (football) is not something I want to do with the rest of my life,'' said Dugan, who hopes to attend the University of Notre Dame, where his older brother Michael graduated a year ago.

It's not that Dugan doesn't love football − he's played it since he was a little kid and wears No. 44, the same number his father Kevin wore when he played at Westwood in the late 1980s. It's just that's he's got a lot on his plate both now and when he hopefully gets to South Bend next fall.

"I've always wanted to go to Notre Dame and our family has always been fans of the team," Dugan said. "And this season has been so special for all of us that I think I want it to be my last memory of playing the sport I love.''

Dugan plans to study applied environmental engineering in college, although he admits he'd consider other types of engineering.

"I used to play with Legos and Lincoln Logs as a kid and I used to fish a lot as a kid at Washington Lake," Dugan said. "Now the lake is polluted and the fish are a lot smaller. I'd like to think that as an engineer I could figure out what to do about things like that."

Coach Dennis Hard compares Dugan to John Riggins, the former Washington and Jets Hall of Fame running back, nicknamed the Diesel, who would run over and drag multiple tacklers as he churned out yardage. But Dugan doesn't know about that − he doesn't know who Riggins was.

He just loves to be the field and play − although he admits his favorite thing in football is kicking balls out of the end zone on touchbacks. He never mentions his state leading 187 points scored, but volunteers his 50% touchback rate. "I get a real thrill every time it happens."

This season has been a marvelous one for the Cardinals, who are a much better program than when dad played in the 1980s.

"He told me that we win a lot more games that they did when he was playing," Dugan laughs.

And while the Cardinals are 10-0 in this first season that competition will end with a group championship, he and his team is focused on just one thing − Saturday's noon game at Rutherford.

"Our coach has been clear all year, one week at a time, one quarter at a time," said Dugan, who admits he looks forward to the catered dinner before every home game and each round of the playoffs at the school cafeteria -- Chicken Parm and Penne Vodka from Shortrounds Deli in Emerson. "It's my go-to meal."

Whenever Dugan takes off the Westwood jersey for the last time, which could be Saturday or one or two weeks in the future, it'll be the last time he'll suit up... except...

"Notre Dame has Interhall football and I hear it's pretty big," Dugan said. "I know they play the championship game at Notre Dame Stadium so maybe I'll try that.''

I wonder if he's ever seen the movie "Rudy".

Jack Dugan

Sport: Football

School: Westwood

Class: Senior. Age: 17

Accomplishment: He scored five touchdowns in an 11 minute span in the second half to lead Westwood into the group 2 sectional final with a 40-3 win over Jefferson. He carried 15 times for 116 yards, caught a pair of passes, kicked four extra points, made five tackles had three assists and broke up a pair of passes.

Also nominated: Jake Crawbuck of Pascack Valley, Van Weber of Rutherford, and Danny Smiechowski of Northern Highlands for football; and Owen Horevay of Lakeland for cross-country.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: The Record Male Athlete of the Week: Jack Dugan, Westwood