Swakeen 1
By: Nicole Fillmore
“Beeeeeeeep!” The referee
sounded off the start to the biggest rivalry game of the season. As the roaring
sound of 1200 fans overwhelmed the stands at Loris High School, Swakeem Cox
took his place as right outside linebacker, on his rival’s turf. As he crouched
down into position he looked like a true North Myrtle Beach Chief ready to
defend his team from the Loris Lions. In those beginning moment’s Swakeem
seemed to keep a calm, cool, and collective demeanor. “Before the start of the
game I was just focused. Honestly I didn’t even hear the crowd around me I was
just determined to win. Especially since so many people doubted us and thought
we were going to get whooped,” he says.
After coming back
from an injury that had kept him out of playing, Swakeem also felt like he had
something to prove. “After getting a high sprain from a tackle at one of our
practices I had a lot to prove. This was my first game back and I was starting.
There was no way I was going to let all those ice baths and rehabilitation go
to waste.” As the game was set in motion, the Chiefs were putting up a good
fight. They were taking the Lions out using the best defense plays they had to
hold them off. Going into half time the score was still 0-0, but when the
buzzer set off the start to the third quarter, things had taken a turn for the
worst.
Fumble! All you
could see were flashes of jerseys piling on top of each other in one giant
doggy pile, fighting for the football like it was a million dollar check. As
the referees ran over to unravel the heap of men, the Lions ended up with the
ultimate price, making the next play theirs. Shakeem recalls that very angering
moment: “It was very frustrating seeing them come out with that fumble. We were
losing stamina and the last thing I wanted was them to have the upper hand
going into the third quarter, but the game wasn’t over and we were still going
to fight for the win.” As the lions took their place on the field another
surprise came. The Chiefs saw the Lions had switched their formation to the
Chiefs formation. “We didn’t know what to do, we never practiced that type of
double play to defend our own play,” Shakeem admitted. Even as the Chiefs did their
best to defend the play their attempt failed and the Lions took off for a 40
yard touchdown.
As faith started
to alter in Shakeem and his teammates he recalls the moment that kept them
motivated to keep playing. “Even though we were losing, not once did our fans
stop cheering or our band stop playing. It definitely helped motivate us by
knowing there were people there who supported us.” After that forty yard dash
the fourth quarter was here, the score 14-0. Do or die, the Chiefs were
managing to hold off the Lions even though they were exhausted by all means.
Bam! Just like that Swakeem recalls his team’s linebacker going down. In those final moments the linebackers’
muscles had frozen up and just like that the Lions were heading down for the
touchdown. Swakeem recalls his teammates running their hearts out to try and
catch the rival with the football.
The final score
leaving the field that night was 21-0, but that didn’t seem to get Swakeem
down. “Honestly that was my favorite game, because even though we lost we never
gave up. Not to mention I had been with that team for three years and that is
the hardest I have seen us work as a team.” As Swakeem went on to tell more
about the games he played with his team you could tell it was definitely a
passion of his. “Football is definitely a part of me. It helped me stay out of trouble;
it inspired me to do better in school; all in all it helped me get through high
school.”
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