Nearly three years to the day, it happened again, the start of a promising varsity season cut short by a serious leg injury.
Northeast Jones junior running back Jazaylon Morris is likely to miss the remainder of his junior season after sustaining a leg injury last Friday night at Taylorsville in Week 1.
It’s unfortunate but familiar territory for head coach Keith Braddock, who faced similar challenges in 2014. Then a sophomore, K.D. Newell, fell victim to a season-ending leg injury on the team’s first offensive possession of the year.
“We replaced Newell that year with Reggio Dean,” said Northeast Jones head coach Keith Braddock. “We took a really good player on defense and moved him to the offense. And that year we eventually make the playoffs.
“You know our kids are resilient. We love Jazaylon and I hate it for him and I hate it for our team, but Tony (Barnes) stepped up the other night and made some good runs.”
Morris knew his injury was season-ending immediately, and began to map out his return for next year.
“As I played on the ground I thought to myself, ‘dang there goes my season,” said Morris. “But I also though about next year and how I’m going to come back stronger.”
Barnes played the remainder of the game (fourth quarter) in his “brothers” place.
“I want to be a leader,” said the sophomore. “I was the backup for my brother. Now I have to step up and be the running back in his place.
“I felt awful seeing my brother go down, but I knew it was my time to go in the game and do my thing.”
Though Morris is done for the season on the field, it doesn’t mean his presence can’t still be felt like a leader. He has offered words of encouragement to Barnes.
“Tony just has to believe, just like I believe in him,” Morris said. “To be honest, I knew that he was good enough to battle for my position in the offseason.
“He just has to remain humble and have God. That is the only thing you can do. If you have the Lord, you can do anything. He has his plan and we must follow it.”
Braddock was pleased with the job Barnes did in Morris’ place in Week 1.
“Tony did a great job,” said Braddock. “He stepped up the other night and had some good runs. Like I said about all of our guys, they are in different territory now.
“Running four or five times like he did the other night is great, but now he has to be called upon to be an every down back. He can do it I know. Barnes is a good kid and he has the knowledge on what we are doing. He’s ready and I know he will do a good job.”
Barnes will be a different style of back. His larger body frame (5’10 and 180 lbs) makes him an asset as a north/south runner.
“Tony is a one-cut guy with a big body,” said Braddock. “He is a back that will run through people and fall forward. Jazaylon was a shifty guy, and yes he was hard to tackle, but Tony is hard to tackle in a different way. What we want out of Tony is like what he got with Reggio. By the third and fourth quarter, the opponent gets tired of hitting him and that opens the door for us to score some points late.”
