Severn School senior Jacob Darrow can’t wait to play lacrosse at the Naval Academy. He verbally committed to the school in June. Five years ago, he wasn’t certain he would even graduate high school, much less end up at the Naval Academy.
Doctors diagnosed Darrow, in seventh grade at the time, with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and found a tumor the size of a deflated football in his abdomen. Fortunately, surgery in January of 2015, followed up by several months of chemotherapy, enabled Darrow to beat the cancer. But it was a grueling ordeal and he lost 20 pounds in the process.
“I remember after my first cycle of chemotherapy the doctors said they had great news,” Darrow recalls. “They told me the tumor is down to the size of a softball. I asked, ‘How big was it before?’ They said it was the size of a football. I was like ‘Oh wow, it was that big!’”
Darrow’s recovery forced him to repeat the seventh grade, but he jumped back into sports. His last chemo treatment came in August of 2015—the same month he started lacrosse practice. In September, he began playing football again.
Playing sports again was part of the building block for him to later have a standout Severn sports career.
“Once I got back to school, I was tremendously weaker,” he explains. “I lost a lot of weight from all the chemo. When I got back to all the physical activity, I didn’t have as much stamina. I pushed myself to work out and get in the best shape possible so I could play sports that fall.”
In addition to lacrosse, Darrow, who carried a 3.86 grade-point average, sees himself preparing for a career in cyber security. It’s something he’s been eyeing for a long time.
“I plan on majoring in cyber operations,” Darrow says. “It would be a cyber security (job) through the government. Something along the cyber security track. It’s an up and coming business in D.C. It’s steadily growing and improving. I’d love to get in on that growth.”
Darrow’s success at lacrosse has come despite his size. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound defenseman hears about it from opponents during games.
“Sometimes you hear it on the field, someone saying, ‘Oh, he is a small defenseman. He is probably the worst one,’” he says. “That makes you play harder and more physical. I play a lot bigger than I am.”
Several other colleges beside Navy loved Darrow’s game. Brown, Cornell, and Tufts also recruited him heavily.
“Navy has always been my number one school,” Darrow says.
Darrow stood out on the Severn lacrosse field for his defensive skills and leadership qualities.
He played six years of club lacrosse for the Annapolis Hawks before joining the Severn junior varsity as a freshman.
He started the next two years on the varsity squad and ranked among the team leaders in ground balls as a sophomore. Darrow often found himself guarding the team’s top offensive player.
“He plays a step ahead,” Severn Boys Lacrosse Coach Joe Christie says. “He sees the game before it unfolds. He really has a high lacrosse I.Q. and he has closed the gap physically over the last two years.”
Christie also raves about Darrow as a leader. “He’s really vocal,” he says. “He’s like a field general. He tells people where to be and what to do.”
Darrow also excelled on the football field. He was a dual threat, with the ability to make plays with his arms and feet. Darrow’s top performance came against Our Lady of Mount Carmel in a 41-12 victory in late-October (2019), when he threw three touchdown passes.
“It’s great having somebody with his mobility and speed,” Severn Football Coach Duane Tyler says. “He makes good decisions throwing the ball and getting it to the guys when they are open.”
Tyler first came in contact with Darrow at Severn, in seventh grade, when he coached the middle school football team. Tyler says Darrow’s attitude is what carried him through the cancer.
“He is that guy who moves forward,” the coach explains. “He is a very positive kid. He has the grit and the short-term memory.”
