By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Five years ago, Jerry Voorhees was coaching the Phillipsburg youth football team when a fourth-grader named Joel Struckhoff came to practice.

"Right away, we saw the speed factor with him," Voorhees said.

Voorhees, a former Smith Center player, placed Struckhoff at running back in the wishbone offense.

"He had a lot of yards as a fourth grader, as a fifth grader, he seemed to get better and better," Voorhees said.

In fifth grade, Struckhoff's running helped the Phillipsburg squad finish undefeated and win the state championship.

Four years later, Struckhoff hasn't lost anything off his initial success. Struckhoff's athleticism and speed has made him Thunder Ridge High School's No. 1 running back and one of the top rushers in the state -- as a freshman.

"I thought I could possibly be the starting back and I was glad when I got it," Struckhoff said.

Struckhoff is the team's fastest player, running 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash and also is one of the best high jumpers and long jumpers in the country.

"He is such a great athlete," Voorhees said.

Just like his younger days, Struckhoff has dominated on the football field. He is the only starting freshman running back on an area squad and has paced Thunder Ridge, in its first year of consolidating Kensington and Agra-Eastern Heights, to a 3-1 start and one of the top offenses in Eight-Man, Division I.

The Longhorns will be home Friday versus Quinter (4-0) in one of the area's marquee eight-man games.

Through four games, Struckhoff has 691 rushing yards, averaged eight yards per carry, rushed for 12 touchdowns and picked off two passes. Junior Mike Yoxall has chipped in with 393 rushing yards, five touchdowns and 6.8 yards a carry.

Thunder Ridge has tallied 161 points, 98 by Struckhoff. Twenty-nine eight-man football teams haven't scored more points than Struckhoff has by himself.

"I have always been fast," Struckhoff said. "My dad was really fast in high school and so was his brother, so it kind of ran in the family."

Joel, though, has surpassed what nearly every youth athlete has done in the nation.

Struckhoff's dad, James, was a Kensington graduate who ran and jumped in high school. James helped Joel start with track when he was eight years old and has been his personal coach ever since.

"I wasn't quite as good (as Joel)," James said.

Joel, who also plays basketball, would often head to the Phillipsburg Youth Track Club as a kid.

"I always was interested in track and I have had a lot of fun playing all kinds of sports, so I thought I would try track," he said.

For awhile, he strictly focused on long jump. One day at practice, he decided to try high jump. Struckhoff defeated his teammate who was headed to the national meet.

He added high jump to his repertoire and has reached the national meet several times. Struckhoff has medaled four times in national competition, including this past summer.

At the Junior Olympics in Omaha, Neb., Struckhoff finished third in the high jump (6 feet, 5 inches) and was fifth in the long jump. Struckhoff would have finished second in Class 1A (Thunder Ridge's classification) this past spring in the high jump at the state track meet if he had been in high school.

"We have always worked on getting lift, just playing basketball, anything that involves jumping," Struckhoff said. "We have worked on a lot of form and technique during the summer to try to get it where I could get my maximum height."

Football-wise, Struckhoff's favorite player is the Philadelphia Eagles' Brian Westbrook, a Pro Bowl scatback similar to the 6-foot, 162-pound Struckhoff.

"Just the way he runs," Struckhoff said. "He is a real good back and he kind of inspires me."

Struckhoff developed his elusiveness running for Voorhees' youth teams. Years later, Voorhees is Thunder Ridge's coach and Struckhoff is his main runner.

"He is a tough kid and he is smart kid, so I had a feeling that he might be able to step in there (as the main back)," Voorhees said. "But honestly, I didn't think he was going to be able to do this much, this quick.

Struckhoff already is faster than 2007 graduate Randall Irving, an eight-man all-stater and one of the state's top players in the Kansas versus Nebraska eight-man all-star game last summer.

"I think that Struckhoff is faster than Randall ever was," Voorhees said.

Struckhoff gained 114 yards in a Week 1 loss to Hanover, then No. 2 team in the state in Eight-Man, Division II. Since then, he collected 174 yards in a Week 2 win versus Logan for his best game.

"We played really well and against them and they are sort of a rival," Struckhoff said. "It was a good win for us, and it is nice to beat those guys."

In the past two weeks, Struckhoff collected 183 yards and four TDs versus Almena-Northern Valley and 220 yards and four more TDs versus Palco -- and continuing the success he has enjoyed since fourth grade.

"He has been real good about taking the carries and taking the hits," Voorhees said. "He has got good vision, plus his quickness and speed helps them out. You have got to have good leg strength, which he does."