His mother says football has been good for Ernest. It gives structure to his life. If he wants to keep playing, he knows there are some things he has to do, and some things he can't do. Homework, for example. That's the rule.
Junk food is another no-no.
Ernest has to watch what he eats so he doesn't tip the scales over 85 pounds at the team's weekly weigh-in. Because he is so keen on playing football, he needs little reminding about any of this. He knows football players have to make sacrifices. It's hard, but these are the choices he has to make, and he'd rather play. For Ernest Lombardi, football isn't everything, it's the only thing.