CHAMPAIGN — Jacob Richard hadn’t heard of St. Thomas More High School a week before his graduation from Franklin Middle School in 2013, when his parents brought up the possibilities of what high school he’d attend.
Richard never thought it was a question. He’d go to Champaign Central.
Then, he looked into the city’s Catholic school, and he liked what he saw. So he gave the school a try.
“It was more of just testing what St. Thomas More had to offer,” Richard said, “and after a while, I just didn’t want to leave.”
College coaches were hard to come by at STM football games during Richard’s sophomore and junior seasons, when the Sabers tallied just three wins.