Farm life and immense responsibility await for Crofton football standout Grant Jordan. First, however, the senior has some business to take care of on the gridiron.
Jordan’s father, Shawn, passed away on March 5, 2026, after suffering a heart attack, leaving Grant to run his family’s farm outside the town of just over 700 people in northeastern Nebraska. Despite the responsibility suddenly thrust upon his shoulders, Grant decided to play out his senior football season.
“I just really thought about what was going to be the best for me, and the best for my team, obviously,” Grant told NebPreps. “That’s kind of why I decided to go out, because I didn’t want to leave them stranded, and also, it gave me a way out of other stuff in my life.”
Grant has dedicated the season to his late father and has used his memory as inspiration to make the most of his last real opportunity to be a kid.
“He’s kept me quite a bit motivated, knowing to just give it your all, because you never know if something could happen,” Grant said. “I could get hurt, so just keep playing, no matter what, and hoping for the best.”
Shawn played football in high school, and Grant followed in his footsteps. The senior is a running back and linebacker for Crofton. He said he talks to his father before every game.
Photo courtesy of the Jordan family.
“He wanted me to play,” Grant said. “My mom did too, but I guess he was kind of an inspiration for me when I was younger.”
Grant is dealing with more than just the loss of his father. The “other stuff” he mentioned includes a breast cancer diagnosis for his mother, Michelle Woodbury, and the impact of a tornado that hit his farm in September. The storm forced Jordan to rebuild some of his fences and completely destroyed his machine shed.
Jordan’s coaches and teammates have rallied around him and supported him through this time as well. This includes Warriors head coach Johnnie Ostermeyer.
“He’s always been there for me, and is somebody to talk to, even if I’m feeling down,” Jordan said. “He’s just been like a really good role model for me.”
Although Jordan sees Ostermeyer as a leader, the coach said the same about his player.
“When he’s on plays, he honors his dad every time he steps on that field,” Ostermeyer said. “He plays with heart; he plays with soul. I don’t have to worry about him wanting to hit somebody because he’s ready to hit somebody every play.”
That fire has shown up again and again on both sides of the ball.
As a running back, Jordan’s rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. Defensively, he’s racked up 35 tackles (including five for loss) and an interception.
Ostermeyer said Jordan means a lot to the team.
“He’s a good running back, but he goes out and blocks, he goes out and makes tackles, he’s just doing whatever he needs to do for the team to make the team better,” Ostermeyer said. “I’ve never once heard, ‘Coach, I need the ball more; Coach, I need this.’ It’s never about that, it’s always, ‘Let’s go win,’ and whatever he can do to help us win.”
Crofton senior Grant Jordon (9) prepares for the snap against Pender. Photo courtesy of the Jordan family.
Winning is exactly what the team’s been doing. The Warriors are 7-1 after decisively defeating Hartington-Newcastle, handing the Wildcats their first loss Friday, 62-13. Crofton is No. 5 in this week’s NebPreps Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the NebPreps Power Ratings in Class D1.
Jordan credits Crofton’s coaches and the team’s talent for their success.
“With 15 returning seniors, we’ve all been there, and we know what to do when we’ve got to do it,” Jordan said. “It’s just always come easy to our class to win.”
Crofton will close out the regular season on Thursday against Gordon-Rushville before advancing to the postseason. The Warriors went 10-2 last season to finish as Class D1 state runner-up, and Jordan’s goal is to help his team get back to Memorial Stadium
“I’m looking forward to getting to play more games, hopefully making it to Nov. 23rd and really highlighting our ability to play football,” Jordan said.
The team will continue working towards that goal, while Jordan honors his father and enjoys his final days playing the game he grew up loving.
“Just keep your head up and keep going, because there’s not much you can change about it,” Jordan said.
