(Note: The Warner Robins High football scrimmage with Rutland scheduled for Thursday was postponed due to rain. It is now set to be played on Tuesday at Perry High School’s Herb St. John Stadium with kickoff at 7 p.m.)
If the weather cooperated, Perry High hosted its 2013 preseason football scrimmage with Houston County High Friday night (or yesterday evening) at home. It would mark the first time on the sidelines in a game situation for a pair of new head coaches in the county, Von Lassiter of the Bears and Erik Soliday of the Panthers.
This date was also highly anticipated by one player in particular for his own reasons. Panther end Tyler McGhee, now a senior, had only one wish, one bit of hope during what was a pretty catastrophic day during his junior season on the gridiron: to play football again.
Perry High was already two weeks deep in its Region 2-AAAA schedule and had West Laurens High at Herb St. John Stadium. It turned out to be a night of celebration overall, a 31-0 triumph on the scoreboard, but everyone’s memory also included the scene of McGhee laying on the ground for a long time after one play. Suffering from a broken leg, McGhee left the stadium via ambulance and later had a season-ending operation
“It was a toss,” said McGhee while recalling the play after Thursday’s indoor walk-through. He was playing tight end at the time. “I was trying to reach block the linebacker. I had extended out too far, then the middle linebacker – I think – fell on my right leg, and it just snapped.
“At first I didn’t feel it. But when I looked down … it started hurting. My leg was all bent and twisted.”
McGhee’s thoughts during this time on the grass, uniform still on, “Why did I have to break my leg? Get me to the hospital.”
And when he’s in the hospital?
“I was just thinking, ‘When am I going to get to play again? I’m ready to get back on the field,’ he recalled further.
“When I got hurt, I started crying because I wanted to play. I had high hopes about my junior year. It crushed me.”
McGhee now has a steel rod and two screws in his leg that will be there for the rest of his life. His rehabilitation included lots of running on bleachers and lifting weights in an effort to get his full range of motion back. McGhee wore a cast for only two weeks and was then in a walking boot for four months.
“Probably in the fifth month I could walk without crutches,” he said. “(The doctor) said I could play again. He told me I was going to be out for a year. I got hurt (Oct. 5), so it would take until this October. But he said if I try hard enough and rehab, I could be able to play at the start of the season.”
McGhee did not take part in Perry’s spring practice, and at that time the football program was in the search for a new head coach. He said, in addition to his own rehab, he watched the workouts to continue to learn and helped his teammates outs with advice whenever he could.
“He wouldn’t clear me until I could take a full jog,” said McGhee. That wasn’t until June. By then, the Panthers did have a new leader in Soliday (ironically, Lassiter was there on the night of the injury as West Laurens’ defensive coordinator).
McGhee is certainly glad to see Soliday at Perry for he is a coach known for throwing the football from his time winning state championships at Americus High. The coach listed McGhee as a starter at defensive end, but McGhee said he will also see time back at tight end. In fact, it’s still his favorite side of the football even though that’s where he has the bad memories of a broken leg.
On Aug. 1, Perry was able to go full pads and full contact in practice, and McGhee was right there taking and giving hits. He said there were no adverse effects felt on his leg, and he certainly doesn’t try to think about it while playing.
“I’m ready to play,” said McGhee. “It’s a comeback for me. I wasn’t supposed to be playing until October. Going out for start of the season, that will mean a lot to me.
“We’re going to do good this year. We have high hopes. We have to work hard every day, take nothing lightly and give it our all.”
If things happened Friday as they did Thursday weather-wise, McGhee and the Panthers will have to wait for Aug. 30, the date of the first real game at major rival Peach County High.
Surprisingly, McGhee picked Central Florida (UCF) as his favorite college team and the place he would like to attend after graduation. He listed mathematics and history as his favorite subjects in school, and his career goal is to become aerospace engineer.
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