High school football player battles back from ACL injury

By Anjali Patel

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Asheville High School’s football team has high hopes this fall, with goals of making a deep playoff run. And the team has an important piece of the puzzle back for the ride this season.

Otis Walton-Thach is a senior middle linebacker and left tackle for the Cougars.

“I’m so into the culture of football, just being part of the team, just channeling your aggression and competitive nature,” Walton-Thach said.

His junior season was abruptly cut short, though, when he suffered an ACL injury on the first drive of the first game this spring season.

“I remember, specifically, because I’ll never say it again for the rest of my career. The question was, ‘What if Otis goes down?’ And I said, ‘If Otis goes down, we’re going to lose.’ And Otis goes down first drive of the game,” coach Cort Radford said. “It was emotional when it happened, because there’s no one that worked harder during the pandemic than Otis to be ready for his junior year. And then to see it get taken away so quickly, it’s beyond heartbreaking.”

With the fall season just months away at the time, the coaches knew it would be difficult for him to return in time for his final season at Asheville High.

“Neither one of us knew if football would be over for him forever at that point,” Radford said.

Radford said Walton-Thach is a hard-worker, though.

“I remember telling Otis that night, ‘If anybody can come back in six months, it’s you.’ And he came back in five,” Radford said.

Walton-Thach spent months rehabbing, always staying close to his team.

“As soon as I was back, able to use crutches and everything, I was at every practice, cheering on my team, just wanting to be a part of the atmosphere, being a part of the team,” Walton-Thach said. “It was a hard journey, but I had a lot of people there, counting on me, believing in me.”

Walton-Thach was voted team captain in the spring and reelected this fall, the team’s confidence in him speaking volumes.

“As the father of a young 2-year-old son, I want my kid to grow up to be like Otis,” Radford said. “Great, great young man.”

Walton-Thach made his triumphant return in the Cougars’ season-opener against Brevard High School.

“It was surreal. I pinched myself a few times,” Walton-Thach said. “I knew that I would be back. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you that there weren’t days that I doubted, but I knew, I knew I’d be back.”

His parents were a little hesitant about him getting back on the field, though. In fact, he said they were reluctant to let him play football at all growing up, worried about possible injuries.

“My moms didn’t really let me play until seventh grade, but I always knew it was something I wanted to do,” he said. “It took a lot of convincing for them to let me play. They didn’t even really want me to play this year, but I convinced them this is something I want to do, this is something I need to do, and they’re behind me 100 percent when they see how passionate I am about this.”

That passion, also motivating Walton-Thach to a 4.2 GPA and encouraging his teammates to succeed in the classroom, too.

“I’m a student-athlete; grades come first. If the grades drop, so does football,” he said.

There are no guarantees in football; Walton-Thach knows that all too well. And he’s not taking anything for granted.

“I think this is going to be a very special season, and I’ll never forget this moment. Every day I come out here, I remind myself that whether I’m tired, whether I’m hungry, that I just need to remind myself that one day I’ll wake up and I won’t have this anymore,” he said.

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