Matthews-Mint Hill - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

Aaron Garcia/MMHW photoAfter injury, Independencetight end anxious to returnto fieldby Aaron Garciaaaron@matthewsminthillweekly.comFor every member of the IndependenceHigh School football team, Dec.4, 2009, was a rough night. That evening,the Patriots were knocked outof the Class 4AA state playoffs, whichwould’ve been bad enough. But to compoundthe heartbreak, the loss cameThe 2010 high school football seasonkicks off on Friday, Aug. 20, with twoMatthews-Mint Hill-area teams takingthe field.Reigning Class 4AA state championButler, the top-ranked team in the CarolinaWeekly Newspaper Group’s Super10 rankings (see page 25), opens with agame at Winston-Salem Mount Tabor.The third-ranked IndependencePatriots are at home against secondrankedMallard Creek in a 7:30 p.m.contest.Rocky River High, which opens itsdoors to students for the first time nextweek, is idle. The Ravens begin playwith a home game against Cornelius’Hough High on Friday, Aug. 27.Although Butler has a great deal ofexperience returning, the Bulldogs willPage 24 • Aug. 20-26, 2010 • Matthews-Mint Hill Weeklyat the hands of archrival Butler, whichwent on to win the state championship.But for Independence tight end DanielRhodes, the night was even moremiserable because he wasn’t there towitness the crushing loss.“That game, I couldn’t go,” recalledRhodes. “The doctors wouldn’t let mebecause it was very cold that night, andthey didn’t want the cold air to mess upmy leg. So I had to stay at home andwatch it on the news.”A few weeks earlier, in the thirdquarter of the Patriots’ first-round gameagainst East Forsyth, Rhodes caught ascreen pass. As he was running, he sawwhat he called a “flash of white” beforea defender brought him down.“After I got hit, I got a little dizzy fora little bit,” said Rhodes. “I was like,‘OK. I got hit pretty hard.’ When I wasgetting up, my left leg wouldn’t move.Then the pain and shock started kickingin, and I knew something was wrongwith my leg.”Initially, said Patriots coach Bill Geiler,trainers and medics thought it wasa dislocated knee. But soon it becameBulldogs, Patriots take to the football fieldby Aaron Garcia and C. Jemal Hortonaaron@matthewsminthillweekly.comRhodes-TestedIndependence tight end Daniel Rhodes, one of the area’s top high school tight ends, has committed to the University of Illinois.begin a new era, as sophomore quarterbackRiley Ferguson gets his first varsitystart. Ferguson is stepping into thestarter’s role because Christian LeMay,one of the nation’s most-coveted quarterbacks,was suspended for breakinga school system code of conduct ruleand elected to leave Butler (see story onpage 3).Last year, the Bulldogs routed MountTabor 35-14 and are favored to topplethe Spartans again.Things are a little more complicatedfor Independence.Mallard Creek’s Marquise Williamshas already solidified himself as oneof the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks,a point he emphasized last yearduring Mallard Creek’s 42-41 seasonopeningloss to Independence. Williamsrushed for six touchdowns in the game,and Independence coach Bill Geiler,who served as the team’s defensive coordinatorlast season, knows his team willhave to focus on containing Williams.“(Williams) running the ball concernsme a bunch,” Geiler said. “Whenhe gets loose, he’s really, really dangerous.He’s just a man to try to bringdown. If he runs into one of my little(defensive backs), we may need to call9-1-1, I’m afraid.”But Geiler also noted that his defensecan’t simply stop Williams from runningin order to be successful, especiallysince he looks fluent in the Mavericks’new short-yardage passing offense.“We saw him scrimmage on tape andI think he was 12 for 12 at one point,”said Geiler. “He’s a great athlete. He’sgot good receivers to throw to and hemakes good decisions with the ball.We’re going to try to put pressure on himand try to make him throw it quickerthan he wants to.” qclear that Rhodes’s leg wasn’t dislocated– he had broken his femur.“It was a clean break,” explainedRhodes. “It went straight through.”New questionsRhodes grew up a football player. As a9-year-old running back for the Mint HillPanthers, he first saw Chris Leak playingfor Independence and began dreamingof donning the green and gold.“I was looking at how the offense wasrunning, and I was impressed with howthey carried themselves in the game,”said Rhodes. “I always thought to myselfthat I wanted to be a part of this.”When he finally arrived at Independencehis freshman year, he moved totight end and started learning the positionfrom former Patriot Mario Carter,who’s now at N.C. State. He earnedplaying time as a sophomore and becamea starter as a junior. He was well on hisway to continuing the legacy of strongIndependence tight ends when the flashof white ended his season.As he lay in the hospital bed thatevening, he wondered if the career heplanned for himself was still possible.“I thought this might be a setback forme and I might not be able to performon Friday nights like I need to,” saidRhodes.Shortly thereafter, the doctors puthis mind at ease when they told him heshould make a full recovery.“They told me it wasn’t going to affectmy career, that I’d be back out here andI’d be able to do all the physical stuffI needed to do as a football player,” herecalled.(see Rhodes on page 27)Running back Deion Walker and the Butler Bulldogsopen the season at Winston-Salem MountTabor.www.matthewsminthillweekly.comTim Steadman/MMHW photo