Dutch Fork targets title in memory of fallen teammate. His mom finds joy through them
Kelly Alkhatib remembers getting the phone call the night of Aug. 24.
Kelly was at her home in Camden, where she moved after a divorce from her husband. Her youngest son, Jack, lived with his dad so he could finish his senior year at Dutch Fork High School.
Jack Alkhatib was a two-year starting offensive lineman on the Silver Foxes football team. He and his mom had a close relationship. They would talk and see each other often.
At the time of the call on Aug. 24, a Tuesday, Kelly was working on downloading more than 200 photos from Dutch Fork’s season-opening 70-8 victory at Wren a few days earlier. They had traveled home together that Friday night instead of Jack riding the bus home with the team.
They spent the two-hour ride from the Upstate talking about life, school and his future plans. Jack wanted to play college football and had picked up his first offer in the summer from Presbyterian College.
“We talked about schools, football and life in general. That was such a blessing that he rode home with me that night,” Kelly told The State this week. “I think it was meant for he and I to spend that time together.”
Four days later, Hasaan Alkhatib called his ex-wife with the news that Jack had collapsed at practice. Kelly couldn’t understand all her husband’s words because he was crying so hard.
Dutch Fork had moved its football practice to 7 p.m. that day because of high temperatures earlier in the day.
“It was just awful. We knew he was in trouble when he was down,” Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts recalled. “We put a defibrillator on him. Then, we all probably had hundred of us at the hospital praying and hoping.”
Jack was taken to nearby Parkridge Hospital. When Kelly arrived after the 45-minute drive, a nurse was waiting for her with a wheelchair. Kelly, a nurse herself who has spent years in the ICU and in recovery rooms, knew what that meant.
“The nurse said, ‘You have to sit in the chair.’ I said I needed to get to my son. But she said, ‘You need to sit in the chair.’ And at that moment, I knew he was already gone,” Kelly said. “So they wheeled me in the room. Jack was still in his football pants and was gone.”
Kelly spent about an hour in that hospital room along with other family members. She spent that time stroking Jack’s hair, singing and talking to him. Dutch Fork football players and coaches were at the hospital until about midnight before leaving, Knotts said.
Jack Alkhatib was 17 years old. Tests are still being done to determine a cause of death, Kelly said, but all signs point to her son having an enlarged heart. She now has a long-term goal of making cardiac evaluations a bigger part of the annual physicals that athletes receive.
Kelly has spent the past three months, in part, healing through her continued connections and interactions with Dutch Fork’s 2021 football team. She’ll be there Saturday night at Benedict College’s Charlie W. Johnson Stadium when the Silver Foxes try to cap an undefeated season with another state championship, a season the team has dedicated to her son’s memory.
“To have a child who was healthy one minute and gone the next, you don’t have time to process,” Kelly said.
Dealing with tragedy
In the days after Jack’s death, tributes and memorials were held. Dutch Fork didn’t play its anticipated game against Gaffney that Friday. Instead, a ceremony and balloon release were held at Fox Field for people to speak and share memories of Jack.
He’s been remembered or honored on Friday nights in some way ever since.
The team played its first game after Jack’s death at Byrnes High on Sept. 3. At the game, reminders of Alkhatib were seen across Nixon Field, from Byrnes supporters and on the Dutch Fork sidelines. When Dutch Fork players gathered in a pregame huddle before going back to the locker room, they all yelled, “Let’s do it for Jack!”
Signs with Alkhatib’s No. 60 were displayed on the fence on both sides of the stadium. Silver Foxes players wore a black sticker with Alkhatib’s No. 60 on the black of their helmets. Dutch Fork quarterback Davin Patterson came running onto the field wearing a towel with “Let Your Light Shine 60” on it.
On that night, Kelly stood by the entrance before the game to watch the Silver Foxes take the field, and she was in the front row of the stands during the game. Players hugged her before and after the game.
Dutch Fork won 56-25 and continued its path to an unbeaten season. The Silver Foxes will play for their sixth straight Class 5A championship on Saturday against Gaffney.
Dutch Fork’s helmets still feature a No. 60 black decal, and the team runs onto the field before each game waving a giant No. 60 flag.
Jack was named the school’s homecoming king at halftime of the River Bluff game on Oct. 16. His mom was presented with the crown and waved to the crowd, which cheered loudly during the moment. She also went through senior night ceremonies for Dutch Fork’s final regular-season home game against Lexington.
“Jack was just a great kid as well as a good football player,” Knotts said. “He didn’t do anything wrong. It was hard not to like the big old teddy bear. We dedicated this year to him. We miss him and we hope our play can honor him.”
Knotts and the players often think about Jack. Some are still having a hard time with what they witnessed on the practice field Aug. 24. Offensive lineman Ethan Benson said he was thinking of his former teammate during last week’s Lower State championship game against Fort Dorchester.
“I looked over and was going to say something. ‘Jack, come on!’ “ Benson said. “But it was Kael (Stoutenberg)” there, who took over Alkhatib’s spot on the offensive line.
“Jack is right here in my heart,” Benson said, motioning to his heart. “Think about him a lot. When I am watching film, sometimes I will go back, watch his highlights and games he played in.
“We played this season for Jack. We want to go out and show how much we love and appreciate him.”
A mom’s mission
While the Dutch Fork football team remembers Jack with their play on the field, Kelly also has done her best to honor her son.
She posts pictures of Jack along with inspiring messages on social media. She has relied on her faith during the tragedy and has talked with other parents who have gone through the same kind of tragedies to hear their stories.
Kelly returned to work after a long time off and is now helping give out COVID vaccine shots.
But she has bigger plans to honor her son and help other athletes in the Midlands and across South Carolina. She wants to be an advocate of change for how athlete physicals are handled as it pertains to heart evaluation.
Kelly wants to see a 12-lead EKG given when athletes get their physicals each year in an effort to diagnose any cardiac problems. Right now, pre-participation exams don’t require any diagnostic testing on the heart. Cardiac evaluation is limited to the medical provider listening to heart sounds, and any abnormalities are referred to a cardiac specialist for further evaluation.
According to the American Heart Association, about 100 sudden cardiac deaths are reported among young athletes in the United States every year.
Kelly said her efforts are in the planning stages now, but she intends to follow through with the proper channels to make it happen.
“A lot of boys and girls that could have problems and could be completely diagnosed,” Kelly said. “I think every athlete should have cardiac clearance. I’m going to make this part of my life project. I’m not going to let Jack die in vain.”
6 for 60
The Silver Foxes have one more chance to honor their fallen teammate Saturday in the state title game. Dutch Fork is looking to add to its S.C. record with its sixth-straight championship and carries a 62-game unbeaten streak.
The Silver Foxes have had the mantra “6 For 60” all season long. The team closed Tuesday’s practice by yelling “Jack Alkhatib!” Benson said the team plans to wear shirts with Jack’s No. 60 on them into the stadium on Saturday.
Some players said it’s only fitting that Dutch Fork is playing Gaffney this week because that was the game canceled the week of Jack’s death.
“It has been the goal since Jack passed away to get six for 60,” linebacker Chandler Perry said after last week’s win over Fort Dorchester. “And we are — so we need to finish.”
And Kelly plans to be front and center with her seat on the 50-yard line. She likes to sit close to the field to better see what’s going on and interact with the players.
Kelly and her mom have made it to every game this season except one when she was sick. She always wears a green No. 60 jersey that her friend gave her as a Christmas present. Kelly enjoys getting the hugs from players before and after the games and to see Jack’s teammates go out and play to the best of their ability.
Being at Dutch Fork games has been therapeutic for her, Kelly said. The championship game is being played two days before what would have been Jack’s 18th birthday.
“I’m a proud mom and a sad mom,” Kelly said. “I find joy watching those young men play and knowing that Jack loved them and they loved him. I have to find joy somewhere or I would literally collapse or fall apart.
“Everyone has to grieve in their own way, but when I see those boys for an hour and a half or two hours on Friday, I have joy. I know if I don’t have joy during the day — when Friday nights come up, I find joy.”
