During the varsity football team’s second quarter of the Highlands game, Josh Pfeffer went down and tore his ACL and meniscus. Ultimately, this brought his football career to an end.

Tragedy struck while getting tackled by one of the Highlands defenders on September 6, 2013. Surgery is scheduled for  October 18, with a recovery time of six to eight months.

“I was devastated; it felt like a piece of my life was gone. I have come to terms with it, I can’t control the past, but I can control the future and rehab,” Pfeffer said.

Some say that this has been a huge blow to the team, but a head coach Mike Struebing disagrees. “Great people don’t live easy lives,” he said.

However, for Austin McGuire this was an opportunity to step up. Mcguire has 47 carries, 268 total yards rushing, averaging 5.70 yards per carry and 5 touchdowns. He was in the shadows on offense, but when Pfeffer went down his chance of starting at running back became a reality.

“There is definitely a lot of pressure and a lot of big shoes to fill, but I’ll try to do my best to help the team,” McGuire said.

“Be prepared at all times because you never know when your number will get called,” said Struebing.

In life everyone experiences obstacles; Pheffer and Mcguire are both working hard to tackle theirs.