Thamail Morgan took the kickoff and headed up the field.
He was at the 20 ... 30 ... 40
He had been avoiding, dodging or just simply running through tacklers on the way. Football always had come easily for Morgan. This game was no different. By the time he hit midfield, only open space was ahead of him. The two-time Arkansas all-state selection was headed for a touchdown.
40 ... 30 ... 20
He glanced at the clock and saw the final seconds ticking away. He realized his team, Cave City, was on the way to a victory over Yellville-Summit, comfortably ahead, 34-16. He also realized two other things: This wasn't an ordinary game. And he wasn't the same Thamail Morgan.
When he reached the 2, he stopped. He took a few steps back and took a knee at the 5-yard line.
Because of a traffic accident, the Yellville-Summit team was down players, including one dead.
Morgan did the noble thing, the only right thing. He refused to take the easy score.
A troubled young man, Morgan is trying to get his life back together. I do hope this story gets him noticed, again, by some big-name schools. He deserves a shot, for no other reason than he understands what "sportsmanship" really means.
