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T.R. Miller has been a very special place and we have had some very special people involved in football at our school. I have found that most extraordinary things in life start with one extraordinary person who makes up his mind he is going to do something special. When he convinces others to follow him he can create what many thought was impossible. But it starts with one person.
Johntae Brown is a senior defensive tackle for our team this year. It is his third year as a starter and last year he was selected as an All State defensive tackle. But he has taken his game to a new level this year. Last Friday night, we traveled to Daphne to play Bayside Academy and won the game 28-24. Johntae made 16 tackles and had five sacks during the game. I don't recall a better game by a defensive tackle in my 20 years in Brewton. And on the plays he didn't make the tackle, he was streaking around the field pursuing the ball with a reckless abandon. The Bayside team, coaches and fans noticed him. Our fans noticed him. Our team took notice of him. He has decided this year to be extraordinary. And he practices that way. Johntae's challenge is to convince the rest of our team to follow his lead. We had some more guys who stepped their game up in the 4th quarter Friday night, no doubt as a response to Johntae's play.
I was reminded of the many players we have had at T.R. Miller that have been an inspiration to their teammates and coaches. In 1985, we were coming off a state championship and had played well the first half of the season. But injuries had limited us and we limped through the last games of the regular season losing to Alba and W.S. Neal. Our offense had lost its confidence and we weren't scoring many points. We had made the playoffs and had to travel to Thomasville a team we had beaten earlier but had gone on to have a great season. On Monday our offense could barely run a play without fumbling...our passing game was very erratic. To make things worse, we got the news that our center Thad Moore had broken his hand on Friday night. Our chances of victory looked slim. We needed something to inspire us.
In walked Thad Moore and announced that he had every intention of playing Friday night. He couldn't snap the ball but he could play guard. So we moved Mark Ward to center and put Thad at guard. He played with a big bandage on his broken hand. It seemed to lift us up and we got better as the week went on. On Friday night we played nose to nose against a great Thomasville team. Thad got his hand kicked one time and came out of the game for a couple of plays, but other than that played the whole game. It wasn't his play at guard that inspired everyone although he played fine. It was his courage, his willingness to withstand the pain for his team, his enthusiasm for the game that made everyone stand and take notice. And yes somehow we won the game.
I could tell many more stories but let me finish by saying this......whether Thad Moore or Johntae Brown, they were simply one player on a football team no different from anyone else. Except they decided to be extraordinary when their team needed them. There have been many extraordinary people at TRM.. Let's hope that there are some more Johntae Browns and Thad Moores on this year's team. If there are, we might do something special.
