Football | October 07, 2018
There's more to life than football.
It's a theme head coach Will Healy has preached to the Austin Peay State University football team, and spoken about publicly, all season long.
Saturday was another opportunity for the team to take that lesson to heart, as Tennessee State came into the matchup hurting with the absence of Christion Abercrombie. The Tigers' linebacker suffered a severe head injury against Vanderbilt a week ago and remains in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"I know life's a lot bigger than football right now for them, and our prayers are with them," Healy said on Monday before the game. "It must be an extremely difficult situation for them right now, and I know they have some heavy hearts.
"We're praying for them. As much as we want go out and compete against them on Saturday, I think this is the definition of more to life than football."
The injury to Abercrombie brought reality crashing down on what would otherwise be an immensely exciting in-state Ohio Valley Conference matchup. The last two games between the Governors and the Tigers came down to the final whistle and were decided by a combined five points, with each team winning on the other's home turf.
The Govs were intent on stopping an 0-2 run to begin OVC play, while the Tigers came into the game looking to remain undefeated in conference play and stay atop the leaderboard. The stakes were huge, and yet, the opposing sides came together in solidarity and prayer for a teammate and a competitor fighting for his life.
After the coin toss, both teams congregated at midfield for a moment of prayer for Abercrombie before the game kicked off. And after a hard-fought competition lasting almost four hours drew to a conclusion, the teams again came together at midfield for another moment of prayer, reflection and unity.
"I just think it's awesome because when you show support for another team, it makes it that much bigger," quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall said. "We want to show them that we're thinking about them, that we're praying for them.
"During the game, we're going to go back and forth, but after the game, we just want them to know we're one big football family."
Senior defensive tackle Austin Maloata felt the same way.
"My thing is, at the end of the day, we're all still humans," Maloata said. "We also have families. For us to come together like that after the game after competing, playing against a hard team, I thought it was pretty big.
"It was kind of heartwarming for us to go hug one another and do a prayer. I'm glad we were able to do that, and I hope for (Abercrombie) nothing but the best."
Though a different set of circumstances, though Governors know what it's like to see a member of their family fight a gut-wrenching medical battle. Landrey Eargle, the daughter of run game coordinator and offensive line coach Joshua Eargle and Govs Sports Reporter Kristen Eargle, has been battling an incredibly rare gene mutation since birth.
When a GoFundMe account was established to help offset the weight of Landrey's medical bills, fans of the Georgia Bulldogs, the Govs' season-opening opponent, donated to the cause in droves. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and his wife Mary Beth made a donation from the Kirby Smart Foundation to the Eargles. Standing on opposing sidelines, the Georgia family showed there is more to life than football.
Other fan bases from across the country joined in as well. And the success of the campaign could not have happened without the players, coaches and fans of the Austin Peay family pouring in their own support and spreading the word to family and friends.
In front of a standing-room only, sellout crowd of 12,201 at Fortera Stadium Saturday night, the Govs rebounded with a resounding 49-34 victory against the Tigers.
But in those moments surrounding the competition, they showed how unifying the game of football can be. Because they've seen it first-hand as the visitors in Athens, Georgia, and they showed the same humanity and spirit afforded to them in that trip.
"I have a lot of respect for Coach (Rod) Reed, his staff, those players for fighting the way they did (Saturday) night, even when they could've cracked." Healy said. "Down 42-24, they kept fighting back and making it difficult on us. I know it had to be a long week, and I know those kids played extra hard for Christion tonight and it showed on the field.
"We'll continue to pray for him. The news seems positive, and we'll hope it continues in that direction."
