Garland Shows his Resilancy in the Face of Adversity
Courtesy of:  The Vindicator
    Following a 24-21 win against arch-rival McDonald, Rams quarterback Jesse Garland had tears in his eyes.  It was, needless to say, a very emotional night for the Rams signal-caller.  It not only marked the return for the senior player from a serious knee injury in the pre-season, but it was also a return to football following the passing of his father.  "I want to dedicate this game to my dad," a choked up Garland would say in a post game interview.  Garland's father passed away this past spring after a long battle with cancer.
    To add insult to injury, Jesse would suffer a devastating knee injury in a scrimmage against Champion on August 13th.  "I rolled out right, and for some reason both of the linebackers didn't get blocked.  So when I went to throw the ball, I got hit up top in the back, and the guy in front of me put his helmet in my knee.  I hyper extended my knee," Garland recalled.  "I was in agony.  I never have had a knee injury before.  They didn't think I had anything more than a meniscus tear, but then I went to a specialist, and here I got a completely torn ACL, a partially torn MCL, and 40% of my lateral meniscus left."
     Jesse was all set to have surgery on the knee which would require a six month rehabilitation, meaning he would have to miss both the football and basketball season of his senior year in school.  "I sat down at home and I cried, I prayed, and I thought about it.  Then I got some words of wisdom.  I called AJ Zitello.  He had almost the exact same thing I did.  He went through a whole season with it, and was one of the leading rushers around here."  Besides, Jesse couldn't see himself not playing at least one sport during his senior year.  "If I go down, I'm going to go down fighting," Garland would say with determination.  He will forfeit the basketball season, as Jesse will have the corrective surgery on his knee whenever the Rams conclude the 2010 football season.
     The Rams without Garland got off to a slow start, losing to both Cambpell Memorial, and LaBrae.  Jesse supported his team as best he could by helping his replacement, sophomore quarterback Dan Ferguson.  "I worked my butt off trying to coach him."  But he admitted that it was difficult for Ferguson to go from freshman football and to jump to the varsity level with the speed of the game.
     Before his injury, Garland felt strongly that the Rams would go 10-0 on the season.  After all, the majority of the Rams starters this year were thrown into action when they were just sophomores.  "I never thought I would get hurt like this, you know," Garland said.  "I definitely wanted to win the ITCL Upper Tier, that's still possible, and I wanted to make playoffs.  I wanted to have a lot of rushing and passing yards.  But I can't be worried about that anymore.  But that's (wins) all I'm focused on."  Rams head coach Joe Steven's talked about Jesse's competitive nature, "He does not like to lose, and he will do everything in his power to win. He expects everyone else to do the same. He pushes his peers to get the most out of them."
    With the passing of his father, Jesse's focus changed quite a bit.  "In my head I really only had one thing to play for, and that was for my dad.  He supported me through everything.  He was the reason I played football.  He was alway there."
     The future for Jesse may be a bit up in the air particularly when it comes to football.  He had aspirations of playing football in college, but now with the injury, those hopes may have to be set aside.  Not to mention that he now feels the obligation to stay close to home to help support his family and be there for his mother.  "I don't want to go too far away from home, with my mother being a widow, I want to be there for her.  My dad had a business, and I plan on taking that over.  There's no reason not to be there for the ones you love."  Steven's would echo those remarks, "He is loyal to his family and friends and would do anything for them."
     Jesse's father was a singer and as he began to lose his voice due to illness, Jesse began to inherit his own vocal talents.  "I like to sing.  I swear to you it was like over night I started to pick up singing.  I don't know if that happened for a reason."  Perhaps a devine blessing that touched him as he admitted his strong faith in life.  Jesse enjoys singing hip-hop, but he said he enjoys singing all kinds of music and appreciates all kinds.
     With someone who has such a strong faith, along with good priorities and dedication, Jesse has assured himself of being successful not only on the football field, but more importantly in the game of life.  "He is an inspiration to our players and coaches," Stevens would remark.  The fans of the ITCL are very fortunate to have young people in our communities like Jesse Garland.