Jacob Prince stands with teammates during Piedmont's opening kickoff against Cherokee County. Photo: Bill Wilson / Consolidated News Service
Friday night's season opener against Cherokee County brought something more than just a football game. It brought the return of Jacob Prince to the Piedmont sidelines.
Eight months after a tragic car accident that took two lives, eight months removed from doctors preparing his family for the worst, Jacob stood on the sidelines with his friends and teammates in shorts and his number 45 jersey.
For the family — and possibly the city — the beginning of the season brought a piece of normalcy to a chaotic few months.
While it is clear that Jacob's football career is the last thing on everyone's mind, the fact that number 45 was standing alongside his teammates, with no assistance from anyone, proves that miracles do happen.
For his mother, Tonia Baxter, the sight of her son on the field brought feelings of joy and a sense of skittishness that came with the fear of Jacob getting hurt on the sidelines.
"It makes him feel more normal. Tonight, I'm just nervous," Baxter said.
Jacob's story through the last eight months reads like those of great professional athletes who bounce back in spite of the odds. Where they're told "you'll never play again," Jacob's family was told that he may never walk again.
Three months later, while Piedmont's track team lifted weights in preparation for the state meet, into the weight room walked Jacob.
Now, in spite of the odds again, Jacob stood among his friends, peers and a community that lifted his family up in prayer night after night in a jersey that Piedmont coach Steve Smith said would be his number until he graduated.
Jacob, who was also able to take part in team pictures recently, spent Friday morning having breakfast with the team before meeting them in Centre later that night for the game.
Once the game kicked off, Jacob's eyes were fixed on the game with the exception of the moments he took to crack a joke or two with some of his closest friends on the team.
Even the moments he spent up in the stands with his family were filled with the sense of humor that he was known for even before the accident as he clowned around with friends of the family that had no idea he was at the game.
Jacob's girlfriend, Korie Goodson, has remained close by his side since the accident and said that being back on the sidelines was just another step in Jacob's journey of proving everyone wrong.
"I think it means a lot to him," she said. "The doctors said that he'd never be able to put his uniform back on again, yet he's out there on the sidelines with the team. It's basically like a family to him."
The family hopes that Jacob can make as many games as possible this season.
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