MONTICELLO — Matt Swartz slowly walked along the Monticello football team’s home sideline at halftime.
When he woke up last Saturday morning and took a walk, he never imagined something like this would happen.
No, he was supposed to lead his teammates from the home locker room onto the field. He was supposed to play a key role on the field in whether the Sages beat Unity in the Class 3A state semifinal game.
The sights and sounds of him sobbing in a tight hug to their father, Jeff, while his twin sister Katie leans over the fence in front of Monticello’s sideline to offer support with two quarters remaining should never have happened.
But it happened.
Late in the first quarter of what was Monticello’s last high school football game, Matt Swartz tackled Unity running back Garrett Richardson.
When the 5-foot-10, 170-pound linebacker, one of the Sages’ four team captains and what Monticello coach Callie Welter calls the heart of the Sages’ defense, finished a tackle. , I knew something was wrong.
Because I felt an impact on my right knee. Swartz hobbled to the sideline with assistance and watched the rest of the first half from the bench.
“I passed the ligament test,” Swartz said Monday afternoon before Sages’ final practice of the season. “However, when we tested it again at half-time, it failed the stability test.”
Swartz’s biggest test then came when he came out of the Sages’ locker room at halftime, knowing he wouldn’t be able to play in the second half. Monticello athletic trainer Kelly Harrington told Swartz’s family in attendance that they would not have the opportunity to help, at least not on the field.
“As a father, it was heartbreaking to see something happen that took away my son’s short-term dreams,” Jeff Swartz said. “I was just there to listen and encourage him that he did what he could. The Lord will put him where he wants and for what purpose, you never know. He was and remains an integral part of the team. He is a leader in more ways than one.”
So Swartz got up from the bench. I communicated with my teammates. He shared some advice with his successor, Hayden Romano. He then watched the Sages win 23-20 against Montini in the 3A state championship game Friday at 4 p.m. at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.
However, Swartz will not participate in this game due to a knee injury.
“Football has a really special place in my heart,” Swartz said. He gained 119 yards this season as the H-back on Monticello’s offense and made 45 tackles, including 22 catches. “When it happened, I knew it wasn’t good. When they ruled me out at half-time, I had to pull myself together. My dad was waiting for me. When I saw it, I forgot something.
What else hurt? This is actually Swartz’s second major knee injury in the past 13 months. He tore the MCL in his left knee midway through his junior football season, missing the remainder of the football season and the first month of the Sages’ basketball season. He was healthy enough again last spring to play a full baseball season at Monticello, and now he hopes to achieve that goal again.
Besides the physical pain Swartz had to endure last week, he’s also dealing with bittersweet emotions. He will be wearing his No. 13 jersey over his shoulder pads on Friday, hoping to help the Sages’ defense try to limit Montini’s hitting and quick thinking. He’s also elated that his close friends and teammates helped the Sages get back to the state title game in an unexpected season.
“I just want to be with the players,” Swartz said. “I couldn’t believe something like this happened again in this moment. It’s a game you dream of playing, and it really kills you to have that taken away from you. But some players step up It was great to see, we had some young players, so I thought it was very good. There were a lot of things that didn’t go well for us in the game against Unity. Just seeing the resilience made me proud.”
Swartz entered support on two crutches at the start of the Sages’ practice Monday afternoon at the Seavers Center. He injured his knee a year ago and was on crutches.
“I’m kind of a pro at this,” Swartz said with a wry smile.
Welter certainly wishes that wasn’t the case, saying players like Swartz are hard to find these days.
“He’s a great kid with great values,” Welter said. “He’s very dependable and reliable. There’s a reason he’s the captain. He’s a kid who won’t let anyone go if they’re not giving their all. We need kids like that, too.”
Swartz has kids like that at Monticello, too. That’s a good place to start.