‘My dad ... was my best friend’: Lower Richland senior QB playing with heavy heart
Marlin Taylor doesn’t typically hand out game balls after wins.
But the second-year Lower Richland football coach made an exception, and for good reason, Friday night after the victory over White Knoll. After the game, Taylor gathered his players in the end zone and handed a game ball to senior quarterback Robert Adams III.
Adams was 8 of 14 passing for 115 yards and a touchdown in the 30-7 victory over the Timberwolves. But Adams’ numbers hardly told the story behind his performance.
Adams III played the game just hours after attending his father’s funeral. Robert Adams Jr., 40, was killed in a car accident on his way to work early in the morning on Aug. 21.
“I had to give it to him. He deserved it. If there was any kid that deserved that, it was him,” Taylor said Tuesday before Lower Richland’s practice. “I’m 42 years old and he is better than me. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like losing his father. ... To be that age and have to see my mom deal with that and then come out and play like that Friday night, I have to tip my hat to him.”
Adams III, the oldest of four children, took the game ball and ran to the stands to give it to his mother, Teesha, who was at the game with other family members.
Adams III and his father had a close relationship, and the two spent countless hours together talking and playing sports. He remembered a time on vacation when they spent several hours one night just throwing the football to each other.
In the summers, the two went together to various football camps around the state to help Adams III work on his game and get noticed by colleges. Away from sports, Adams said his father’s advice was to “take care of your people and always be kindhearted.”
“My dad, man, that was my best friend,” Adams III said as he clutched on to his jersey. “Went to a lot of camps and a lot of work. He pushed me a lot. I just know that I got my work ethic from him. He always pushed me.”
Hours before his death, Adams Jr. was in the stands at Aiken High School watching his son and Lower Richland play in the season opener. The Diamond Hornets won 40-7 in a game that was delayed by weather and didn’t finish until almost midnight. Adams III was 6 of 11 passing for 172 yards and a TD in the game.
Adams Jr. drove back to Columbia and took a quick nap at home before heading out to work at Diamond Pet Food in Gaston, where he was a supervisor and had been employed for almost 16 years.
According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, Adams was driving his 1999 Lincoln Navigator south on U.S. 321, behind a 2020 Freightliner tractor trailer heading in the same direction. The 18-wheeler slowed down to turn into a parking lot, and Adams’ SUV was not able to stop in time. It crashed into the rear of the truck.
Adams Jr. died at the scene of the accident, according to Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher.
Adams III said his family was stunned by the news of his father’s death and that it’s still hard to comprehend. He has relied on his faith, family and support of friends, coaches and teammates during this time.
The day after his father’s death, Adams III was the first one to show up at the Sunday team meeting. He didn’t miss a practice last week and missed only one day of school to go to the funeral, which many of his teammates and coaches attended.
“He gives us a lot of inspiration. He did something most people wouldn’t do, especially after the funeral,” Lower Richland’s Alex Moore said. “He was at practice and was at school, every day. He played to get his mind off of things and knew his dad would want to play.
“... He said his dad was watching. He was calm throughout the whole situation.”
Moore called Adams Jr. like a second father to him. They spent a lot of time in the car over the years, with the elder Adams taking him and Robert III to practices and games.
Adams III said he is dedicating the rest of the season to his father. He will wear a “He Lives” bracelet among several others on his arm. He tapped on his chest and pointed to the sky after throwing a 64-yard touchdown Friday to Nate Branch.
“He would have been pretty proud of me, real proud,” Adams III said of last week’s performance. “It has been tough but my teammates, coaches and community have supported real good and helped me make it through the game and the week.
“... I gotta do it for my dad and my team. And do the best I can.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
