Cartersville rallies around injured teammate

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. - A repeat title on their reminds, the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes got off to a great start with a win over last year's 5-A champion, but winning is not all that makes a special team special.

Junior Garrett Geros soaked it all in as his state championship teammates won the season opener. He's rarely lacking a smile, especially for a guy that you know is burning to be out there for his buddies. His off-season, however, put things in perspective.

"I remember pulling out of my driveway, and that's about it before the wreck," says Geros.

The wreck he's talking about was in early. He was driving, lost control of his truck, went off the road and hit a tree.

"I remember waking up in the car, and just like thinking to myself, is this a dream? Am I going to die?" says Geros.

Fortunately, another driver spotted Garrett. Firefighters got him out of the mangled car and he was taken by helicopter to the hospital. Doctors worked wonders but couldn't save his left leg.

We were in the ICU and he had a breathing tube in and the first words out of his mouth were, 'am I going to be able play football again," recalls Garrett's father Dave.

It will take time to walk again, longer still to play. If there was any fear of hiding away from the Friday night lights, his teammates said 'what are you talking about?' His coach and teammates raised money at a GoFundMe page, and the coach wants him at every practice and game he can manage.

"He's a special young man to see. The heart that he has and the ways our young guys have embraced him, it's just a special time," says Cartersville Head Coach Joey King.

"It's a great feeling that they are still my friends and still cheering me on through these hard," says Garrett.

He lost something during that accident in June, but he, his family, and his Cartersville teammates gained perspective on what it really means to be a part of a time.