Inspired by this year’s yearbook theme, the Blue & White staff is celebrating students who “found the silver lining” in challenging situations. The phrase reflects the idea that even dark clouds have a bright edge, symbolizing hope and growth in adversity. Join us each week as we showcase a student or staff member who has shown remarkable optimism and resilience.
Heads pounding, bodies smashing; in the brutal sport of football, someone is bound to get hurt.
“[Football] really helps develop yourself as a person,” senior captain Jackson Pelzer said.
Tragically, Pelzer was injured in a football game against Watkins during his junior year, but didn’t stop improving his game and became team captain his senior year.
Pelzer has been playing all kinds of football from elementary school to the present day.
“I’ve been playing since third grade,” he said, “but I played flag before that.”
With all this experience in football, it was likely that at some point something would go wrong. In a game against the Watkins Warriors his junior year, Pelzer experienced a fracture in his left ankle right before halftime. This event made it hard for the rookie center to play for the rest of the game, but Granville still pulled out the win.
“I was pulling and blocking the defensive lineman, and the running back got tackled into my leg,” he said.
After a night in the hospital, he was sent on his way to recovery. He had to wait until the next year to give it his all.
Pelzer had to struggle and adjust to his new way of life. Moving from class to class and around his house became more difficult than he was used to.
Pelzer said he had “to crutch” up the stairs and sometimes crawl down them. “I had to get an old person stool for the shower,” he adds.
Living through this experience helped him understand the importance of his health. It made him hope that he wouldn’t be injured again.
“It made me definitely appreciate being healthy and playing football a lot more,” he said. “You don’t really miss it till it’s gone and I really learned that sitting on the sidelines watching my friends play their last season without me.”
Pelzer wanted to give his all into football during his senior year, so he decided he would go for team captain and help the younger generation of football players become the best they can be.
After a grueling summer of hard work, Pelzer got the position.
“Being a team captain is just a great way to kind of show everything that you put into the program and help set up the future generation,” he said. “I felt that it was a great opportunity to help lead the team.”
Being a role model for the younger football players helped JP play more confidently and develop more as a player. Now he is focused on his future in football.
“I’m looking at all options,” Pelzer said.
