Grayslake North quarterback Jacob Donohue will take a hit in basketball too. One difference: He enjoys it.

Jacob Donohue capped a stellar three-year run as Grayslake North’s quarterback by rewriting career passing records in the fall.

Little did people know he had already put his name in the annals of the school’s sports history last winter, when he set the basketball standard for most charges taken in a season with 29.

“I just try to do as much as I can for the good of the team, and taking charges is something I’ve definitely gotten really good at,” Donohue said.

Indeed, the 6-foot senior forward is already Grayslake North’s career leader in that category and accounts for three of the top eight single-season marks in program history.

Donohue said he first got an inkling that taking charges might provide a means for him to affect games when he recorded an astounding five against Northern Lake County Conference rival Grayslake Central during his sophomore season.

Donohue, a Wisconsin-Eau Claire football recruit, has been getting knocked down willingly ever since.

“I thought to myself after that, ‘Hey, maybe I can get a bunch of these,’” he said. “It just takes a lot of determination and getting in front of people.”

Taking a charge is almost always top of mind when Donohue is on defense. It doesn’t matter whether he’s checking someone one-on-one or helping. As soon as he sees an opponent lower his shoulder to make a move, Donohue does whatever he can to maneuver into position.

The feeling he gets when successful, even though he’s usually lying flat on his back, is pure bliss.

“I’ll pop right up, and the guy’s usually really mad,” Donohue said. “I’ll run down the court sometimes chuckling.”

But that’s not all Donohue does for the Knights (11-14, 6-5). He has scored as many as 20 points in a game this season and reached double figures seven times.

“He knows his role, and he excels at it,” Grayslake North coach Josh Feinzimer said. “He gives us a ton in terms of toughness and grittiness, and he does it all willingly. He spends half the game on the floor.”

There’s a certain irony in the way Donohue sacrifices his body to take charges, given the lengths a football team will go to keep the quarterback from getting touched.

“It’s a whole different mentality in basketball, where I feel I’m one of the most physical players,” Donohue said. “And it’s kind of funny because I’m the one getting trucked.”

Another difference is Donohue’s willingness to defer to teammates in more high-profile positions on the court. That often means helping work the ball to senior guard Dominic Jankowski, who recently set a program record of his own, becoming the Knights’ all-time leading scorer.

“Playing the way he does changes the outcome of games,” Jankowski said. “He’s probably our best defender, and not a lot of players are willing to play the way he plays, doing all of the little things.”

Donohue, who holds the Grayslake North football team’s career records for passing yards and touchdowns, recently had all his hard work rewarded when he committed to play at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a Division III program. It was the first college to extend an offer to Donohue, who liked what he saw during game and overnight visits.

Before he goes, Donohue has another sport to play at Grayslake North. After basketball season ends, he will play shortstop for the baseball team — and pursue more records. He fell one run shy of tying the program’s single-season mark for most runs scored in 2022.

“I’m still searching in baseball, but hopefully I’ll get there,” he said.

Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.