Beyond the X: Blind football player Davonte Pollard carries on

Left 47 Stretch
First Pollard had to prove himself in practice, which wasn't easy since he hadn't trained seriously for years. Rojas and Pollard's teammates didn't take it easy on him.

"I was very sore," Pollard said. "Getting in the weight room and then going through boot camp was really hard. Not being active for seven years straight does something to you."

But going through it earned him the respect of his teammates, like quarterback and safety Jamie Jarquin.

"When I first heard he was coming out to practice, I thought he was (joking)," he said. "But then we saw him out here and seeing him work out and doing what he had to do just to play, made me feel good about him. He's trying to do something, better himself."

Jarquin had a special appreciation for Pollard. He has a special needs brother at home and knows the extra effort Pollard needs to make to thrive in the real world. Besides all that, Jarquin said, "(Pollard) is a good kid. He stays out of trouble, goes to school, does the right things. You don't see a lot of kids like that."

That made him popular among teammates, who unconditionally guided him through drills and training and practice.

"Every day is a learning lesson with Davonte out there," Rojas said. "He gives all of us a unique perspective."

Said junior Evans Othelot: "(He) makes me appreciate more that I have the ability to play the game."

So, when it was Pollard's shot to finally get in the game, when Rojas finally called his name with 2 seconds left, his teammates went ballistic. So did Pollard.

"My vision was clear all game until he called my name," Pollard said. "I was in shock. My eyes freaked out. Everything was completely blurred. When I got in the huddle, it was sort of like ‘Where am I?'"

Pollard remembers hearing his teammates in the huddle "Block for him. … If he gets hurt, I'm hurting you."

The play that Pollard had practiced over and over again since the spring was "Left 47 Stretch" - a simple handoff that looks like a sweep, but then is supposed to be cut upfield.

Just as practiced, the handoff was clean. But just as he was going to plant and turn it up … POW!

Pollard got crunched by a blitzing safety for a 2-yard loss to end the game. He didn't fumble and the Bulldogs won 35-20 – their only win in eight starts – before he was mobbed by teammates, coaches, family and students.

It was perhaps the most celebrated 2-yard loss in the history of high school football. His dream of getting back on to the playing field was finally realized.

"I didn't feel anything," Pollard said of the tackle. "It felt like a feather."

Said Jarquin: "It was an intense moment. We knew this was a lifetime dream for him to get back out there. To see him in a game was very special. It was special for all of us."

Pollard isn't done though, he says.

"I want more," he said. "Coach (Rojas) is going to call on me again. I know it."

If not this season, then perhaps next. Pollard said he'll go out for the squad again in 2013. After that, he plans to study economics, finance and music at Florida State. He hopes to earn a Master's degree.

Asked if ever wonders why he sustained the disease, which skips generations, Pollard said: "Not really. I always tell people I'm the lucky one. Because if it wasn't my eyes, then maybe it could have been my ears or speech or legs.

"Now I believe I could do way more than I'm doing if I just put my mind to it. Hopefully I can help motivate others."

Beyond the X is a monthly feature that celebrates high school sports. You can contact Mitch Stephens by email at mstephens@maxpreps.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MitchMashMax.