River Bluff football named team of the week after emotional win

River Bluff football coach David Bennett didn’t know how much his football team would have in the tank when it took the field Saturday against Chapin.

The Gators endured an emotional time since the death of sophomore Lewis Simpkins on Aug. 10. Bennett said many of the players and coaches hadn’t eaten well or been sleeping, thinking about their late teammate in the week leading up to River Bluff’s season opener.

The Gators found enough resolve and used the Wildcat offense in the second half to defeat the Eagles, 24-17, to earn The State’s Team of the Week honors.

"These kids drew strength from the memory of Lewis and being around his family last week," Bennett said. "These kids have grown up probably faster than they were thinking. They realize every day is a gift, the present. They realize that."

River Bluff won the game despite losing starting quarterback Stephen Kight in the first half with a collarbone injury when he made a leaping grab to intercept a pass in the end zone.

Bennett and offensive coordinator Terrence Ashe decided to put running back Antonio Gantt at quarterback and run the Wildcat rather than one of team’s younger quarterbacks.

Gantt didn’t throw a pass in the game but finished with 227 yards rushing to along with running back Ti’Juan Glenn’s 107 yards.

"That was a small miracle right there," Bennett said of the team’s offense. "The offensive line did a great job blocking opening things up."

Bennett said they will continue to tweak the offense going forward with Kight out for four to eight weeks with the injury.

Bennett said his team has grown closer since Simpkins passing. One of the things that stuck out to Bennett last week was what happened after Simpkins’ funeral. The team didn’t practice but held a "praise day." Bennett said during those days they have a player stand up in front of the team and others have to say what they like about that teammate.

Since they didn’t get to have one for Simpkins, they had one after the funeral. The team spent more than 30 minutes together discussing all the things they liked and admired about Simpkins.

"That was the longest one we ever had. But Lewis was just a great kid. He was always smiling, laughing and loving," Bennett said. “It is hard to believe he is gone. We are all going through this together. Something like this changes for the rest of your life."

This story was originally published August 23, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "River Bluff football named team of the week after emotional win."