‘Bump in the road’: Top Durham high school football player turns injury into life lesson

Hillside High School’s Isaiah Deloatch, supported by crutches, progressed one halting step at a time from rival Riverside’s parking lot to the stadium’s entrance. He passed through the entrance proudly wearing a bucket hat with a stylish “H.”

Next, though, he faced a long arcing path around the stadium’s backside linking the entrance to the visitors’ side. He learned the hard way the expansive acreage required to enclose a 400-meter track around a 100-yard football within a high school stadium.

Upon reaching a midfield gate separating the stands from the field, he gently passed through. And exhaled.

“My triceps are on fire,” Deloach said.

This wasn’t the Friday nights 2024 game plan for one of the Triangle’s highly recruited football prospects. When he committed on May 3 to Rutgers over offers from Duke, NC State, Syracuse, Indiana and others, he was set to focus on a strong year leading the Hornets.

But his season came a sudden end when he suffered torn knee ligaments in Hillside’s third game at Greensboro Dudley. Deloatch, whose versatility included punting, snagged an errant snap and tried to run for a first down. As he was tackled along the sideline, his knee buckled.

“It’s getting easier to watch these games,” he said glumly from the sideline. “I guess I’m better at accepting it.”

As teammates spotted him, Jayden Gray and Kylen Harris were first to approach and exchange hand slaps. Erick Bonner and Khaleel Jackson arrived next.

Deloatch noticed Ayden Devine wearing his jersey but wasn’t in pads.

“Hey what’s wrong with you?”

Devine held up his hand with a broken finger wrapped up.

Next, head coach Torrey Nowell arrived to greet his team leader.

Deloatch asked, “Coach, are they doing what you’re telling them?”

A good question. Deloatch has listened to Nowell talk X’s and O’s since he took over the program in 2023. But Nowell’s words upon Deloatch emerging from surgery were to redirect his attention to his strong academic foundation.

Nowell told him, “I can’t fully feel sorry for you because you’re still going to college. You’ve got grades. You’ll definitely be successful in life with or without football. Right now, you need to focus on what you’re doing while you’re not playing. What are you doing to make yourself a better football player, even if you can’t play physically?

“You’re missing your senior year, but your football career is not over. Take this as a life lesson.”

Rutgers’ coaches also were quick to put Deloatch back on the comeback trail.

“They told me I’ll be alright — this is just a bump in the road,” he said. “They told me about their players who have come back from the same injury. They said they still believe in what I can do.”

Deloatch and his age group are a generation or two removed from the classic 1990 book about a high school football team in Texas, “Friday Night Lights.” The bestseller that spawned a movie and TV series includes the timeless cautionary tale told through James “Bobbie” Miles’ career-ending knee injury.

But with or without reading the book, Deloatch understood the subplot’s message through personal experience. When he was a sixth-grader at Rogers-Herr Middle School, a foot stress fracture ended his youth track and field season.

“My dad (Ivan) and teachers told me, ‘Now you know school is important, and football isn’t guaranteed,’” Deloatch said.

From that point forward he hit the books. He plans to study kinesiology at Rutgers.

But back to Deloatch’s new Friday night routine. His knowledge of the game was obvious as he watched.

“You’ve got to squeeze that play,” Deloatch shouted as teammates defended a run-pass-option.

He called out to a lineman, “You’re missing your blocks.”

Deloatch needs to work on his authoritative “coach’s voice,” but his knack to break down a play as it happens was obvious.

Hillside had used Deloatch primarily at middle linebacker to take advantage of his football IQ and leadership, although the 6-foot-1, 208-pounder was recruited as a 3-star outside linebacker.

“He’s a very smart player,” Nowell said. “We were playing at middle linebacker, but he’s so fast sometimes we moved to outside linebacker and a little bit of safety. He was playing lights out for us.”

Hillside beat Riverside 45-7 to improve to 2-4 overall and 1-0 on the opening week of conference play. Next up is a home game at 7 p.m. Friday against Northern Durham (1-4, 0-1).

Deloatch will be there, although he could use one of those campus golf carts or maintenance tractors to transport him to the sideline. Unless, that is, he feels the walk is a good workout for his triceps.