Second string athlete James Harrelson (12) was put into the Homecoming football game against Marina High School and threw a 55-yard touchdown as his first play of the season.

Harrelson had yet to be put into a game, but with a lead of 34-0 at the end of the second quarter, coach Aaron Flowers was not hesitant to give Harrelson a shot.

SJHHS was up by 34 points and Flowers encouraged the boys to avoid bringing up the score any further, as it would be seen as bad sportsmanship toward Marina. When Harrelson threw the pass to Jacob Huff (10), “the first instinct was to just run and make the play” said Huff.

Regardless of the “bad sportsmanship” displayed by the play, everyone was still extremely proud of Harrelson and what he had just accomplished.

“Everyone on my team was beyond excited for me, they were all stoked. It’s like a movie almost, if you know what I’ve gone through to get to that point. It felt awesome to have that moment as my first play,” said Harrelson.

Harrelson has been on varsity at SJHHS for three consecutive years, and he has been waiting for an opportunity like the one he was given at Homecoming.

“Having that first play prove to everyone that I can play football and hearing everyone chant my name, it put a huge smile on my face. I was completely shocked…I didn’t know how to celebrate, I didn’t even do my celebration dance, but it was sweet,” said Harrelson.

“He has a difficult time advancing because of his height, but his athletic ability and smarts of the game definitely make up for it,” said Harrelson’s teammate Kolton McCluskey (12), “I just wanted to give James a big hug.”

The love that Harrelson has for the sport, and the amount of effort that he invests into practicing is definitely something that the team admires. Even as a second string athlete, Harrelson works just as hard as a starting player.

“He worked so hard for this, all four years of high school, and it was cool to experience all of his hard work finally pay off” said Ryan Hayes (12).

Harrelson remembers this game as one where he was given a chance to prove himself as a football player, and he is excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for him.