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“I tried it, I loved it and it’s how I got here today,” Barnett said. He said what he loves most about the sport is the relationships he builds with his teammates and coaches, and the feeling he gets after winning a game. “I don’t want stop playing this game until I have to,” Barnett said. “As soon as I got hurt, I wanted to go back in the game. I love this sport — I’ve dedicated my life to this sport. I don’t really think an injury like this or anything else could really pull me away from the sport.” Although Barnett is still
One final snap Rams RB’s last carry before season-ending surgery means more
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undecided as to where he wants to go to college, he said he knows one thing is true no matter where he ends up: If he is given the opportunity to play football he’s going to take it. “I hope to come back better
than when I left ... and prove to everyone that you can get injuries like this and still come back and play,” Barnett said.
The team as of Oct. 18 was on a two-win streak, jumping out to a 4-2 start, second place in the 5A Sonoran Conference perhaps thanks in part to Barnett’s unwavering support. Barnett said that support goes both ways. “They want me to keep coming to things,” Barnett said. “They keep reminding me I’m still part of the team. Everybody’s been really big on supporting and being positive throughout the entire process.” Barnett’s MHS coaches, who endearingly call the 240-pound athlete “Mikey,” said his support is felt off the field. “It has meant a lot to everyone, players and coaches to have Mikey out there supporting us despite him being sidelined,” said varsity football Head Coach Tevin Rutherford. “He has always been a true team player, and it shows right now. We definitely wish he was still able to play but our guys are rallying behind him.” A new training regimen Barnett admitted to being nervous and stressed about his Oct. 9 surgery but said he trusted his surgeon and had plans in place with his athletic trainer for the speediest possible recovery. “There’s already a full schedule printed and a whole game plan,” Barnett said. He said his goal is to return to the game he loves stronger than ever. Barnett said his family encouraged him at a young age to try out for the football team because not only was he bigger and taller than the other kids his age, but he had always been athletic.
After taking his last snap as a Ram, Michael shares an emotional hug with is dad, Robert Barnett.
Elias Weiss contributed to this report.
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touchdown at the Super Bowl. “When I got hit and I got told by the trainer that I’d be back in a week, I didn’t think it was my last snap,” Barnett said. “But being able to take the field and know it was my last snap brought me a lot of closure.” No longer a player, still a teammate Barnett has continued to attend practice and support the team. “I love these guys and I’m really proud of everything they’ve done and everything they’ve fought through,” Barnett said. “I think we’re still going to have a successful season. I just love to still be part of the team regardless of the injury.” Michael Barnett, wearing No. 31, is praised by teammates as he begins walking off the field for the last time in his high school career at the MHS homecoming game Sept. 27.
perhaps the most dreaded injury in football. “It hurt, but it didn’t hurt like it was season ending,” Barnett said. “It just hurt like I got hit in the knee ... So, I thought I was fine. I didn’t find out until almost a week later what it was.” Barnett cried when he found out that he would need surgery to fix the tear and wouldn’t be able to play the rest of the season. “I love everybody on this team,” Barnett said. “It just sucks that I couldn’t finish the year with them.” In a touching moment, Barnett was given the chance to take the field with his team for one final snap as a Ram at the MHS homecoming game Sept. 27 against Gilbert’s Mesquite High School — a game Maricopa won handily, 42-14. Up four touchdowns with seconds to go, Barnett took the final knee. After the snap, teammates swarmed Barnett like he just caught the game-winning
ICHAEL BARNETT LOCKED EYES with his quarterback, and in that instant, though none were spoken, words were communicated.
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Coming off a loss in their season opener, the Maricopa High School Rams had a double-digit lead Sept. 7 on the road at Trevor G. Browne High School in Phoenix. The play call: a scrimmage-line plunge, like they had practiced hundreds of times before. Barnett, a senior running back with scholarship aspirations, didn’t know as he lined up for the snap that it would alter the trajectory of not only his career, but his life. A defender pummeled Barnett, who was pulled off the field. The pain was bearable as trainers told him he probably strained his lateral collateral ligament — a band of tissue in the knee — and he’d be on IR for a week. But further evaluation spelled a season- ender for Barnett, who had torn his ACL,
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InMaricopa.com | November 2024
November 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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