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A.J. Bennett was having the game of his life.
It was Oct. 3, 2016, just six weeks into his
first year at Roanoke Catholic School, and the
junior had already
scooped up a fumble and
returned it 42 yards for a
touchdown to put the
Celtics up 20-0 at Craig
County.
Now lined up at fullback,
he was handed the ball on
“43-belly,” hit the hole off
right guard, he remembers, “and it was green
grass all the way.”
He rumbled down the field, spied a
defender and gave him the
stiff arm.
But he never saw the
second guy, who grabbed A.J.
by the neck of his shoulder
pads in a “horse collar”
tackle. Like an accordion, he
crumpled to the ground with
both tacklers coming down
A Man for All Seasons
A.J. Bennett turned a devastating football injury into a chance to shine on stage
As Captain Von Trapp, A.J. Bennett (right) starred alongside classmate Audrey Wagner’s Maria this year in
The Sound of Music.
20 - COVER STORY