He went from the butt end of a viral video against Northwest to a hero at Heights

He couldn’t breathe.

Jackson Nichols, a Bishop Carroll senior running back, was crushed in Week 1 on a right-sided flare route against Wichita Northwest. Percelle Finch, a hard-hitting senior Grizzly outside linebacker, read the play and launched into Nichols.

The hit bruised Nichols’ ribs and knocked the breath out of him. And the video went viral on the Internet.

“Right when I caught the ball, I saw the helmet in my stomach,” Nichols said. “It was one of the worst pains I’ve ever had in my life.

“It took at least 10 to 15 minutes before I was breathing normally again, focused and ready to go again.”

Friday, the only reason he was out of breath was from all the running he was doing.

Nichols broke out for three touchdowns in Carroll’s 36-20 win over Wichita Heights on Friday. He was the Golden Eagles’ most potent offensive threat and delivered each time Carroll needed a big play.

He had come a long way in a week.

“That was my fear all week in practice,” Nichols said. “Coach would call it, and I’d be like, ‘I’m not running it.’ ”

Nichols got his night started with an easy score up the middle from a couple of yards out. He celebrated with a hoist from senior tight end Clay Cundiff.

His second score was the most impressive because it took more than physical ability. Coach Dusty Trail called “Razor,” the same play Nichols was crushed on a week earlier. He did it on purpose.

“I had to,” Trail said. “You got to get right back on the horse.”

Nichols said he was nervous to go in, thinking of the blind side he would have to leave open again.

Senior quarterback Cade Becker caught the snap, and Nichols took off to his right. Becker put the ball on his numbers. Nichols took a hesitation step to find the hole, and once he found it, he was off untouched for a 25-yard score.

He high-stepped his way into the end zone. It was his night.

“I was kind of nervous and shaking when he called it,” Nichols said. “It was amazing for me. It felt like overcoming a fear.”

Cundiff said he was the reason the hit on Nichols went viral. He missed the block on Finch that gave him a free shot to Nichols’ ribs.

Nichols didn’t put the blame on the Kansas football verbal commit, but when it came time to run it Friday, Cundiff jokingly passed off his blocking responsibility.

“I went to the other side,” Cundiff said. “I told (receiver) Gunner (Lynch) to go deuces instead of trips. I was getting double-teamed, so the safety came with me, and he was wide open.”

Nichols finished his night off with class, breaking off a 60-yard touchdown run for his third score of the night. It gave Carroll a 29-14 lead with 10:39 to play and dusted off Carroll’s first win of the 2018 season.

He said he wasn’t frustrated about the video or how quickly it blew up around the Wichita area. It was all part of Friday’s story.

“I used that for this,” he said. “I used it to motivate me.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2018 at 12:30 AM with the headline "He went from the butt end of a viral video against Northwest to a hero at Heights."