“There’s more to life than what I was going in to listen to at halftime,” Kelley said. To Kelley, it was just the right thing to do. “I didn’t know what he was going to say to me.” “He told me that I have a beautiful baby boy and prays for me everyday.” “He ran up to me and gave me a huge hug,” Cochran said. Kelly shouted out: “Coach! Coach! Hold up!”Ĭochran turned around and Kelley charged toward him. “Of course, you want to say something, but you don’t know if it’s going to work out.” “I had no intentions on making it a point to find him,” Kelley said. So when Kelley looked ahead of him and saw Cochran pacing toward the locker room, he wasn’t going to let another opportunity pass. “I didn’t say anything to him then and it frustrated me all week.” “I wasn’t real sure what he looked like, but he walked by us and someone said that was him,” Kelley recalled. Thomas was off the week before when Cashion played at Minco, but Kelley was among the Terrier contingent who went to scout the Wildcats. “I remember back when it happened,” Kelley said. Kelley was aware that Cochran’s world had been shattered nearly three months ago. When he realized Cale Cochran was in front of him, all he thought about was getting his arms wrapped around him. However, he wasn’t thinking about adjustments. With his entire face covered in eye black and sweat soaking his uniform, Kelley was also headed to his locker room. He’d just spent 24 football minutes in the trenches trying to clear paths for his running backs and quarterback on one side of the ball while being double- and triple-teamed on the defensive side. In July, Kelley committed to play at Oklahoma State University. Kelley plays right tackle and defensive end for Thomas and his rare combination of size, ability and athleticism garnered him 21 Division I football offers.Ģ47 Sports has him rated as a four-star prospect and the fourth-best recruit in Oklahoma in the Class of 2021. He’s a 6-foot-3, 285- pound monster on the field. His Cashion Wildcats got on top of Thomas 14-0 early, but the Terriers had cut their deficit in half and had a modicum of momentum headed into halftime.Ĭochran was contemplating the myriad of adjustments that could be made in preparation for the second half when he heard that voice behind him.Īden Kelley is no ordinary 18-year-old kid. That’s what Cochran was doing last Friday night. “I can go out on the field and not think about things for a few hours.” One of the best breaks from reality for Cochran is coaching football. “That’s where we were all going to build our memories together.” “One of the toughest things is being at home,” Cochran said. There have been fundraisers and numerous other showings of comfort from both communities.Ĭochran gets help with the baby from his family around Cashion as well as Jacie’s parents in Washington. The outpouring of support since that day has been tremendous.īoth Cashion and Washington – Jacie’s hometown – erected memorials in her honor. It left Cochran without a wife and Jaxon without a mother. However, complications after the baby’s birth led to Jacie’s unexpected and tragic death at the age of 26. It was then that his wife, Jacie, gave birth to their firstborn, Jaxon Jay. July 2 was supposed to be the greatest day of Cale Cochran’s life. “He was THE baddest dude on the field,” Cochran said of Kelley.Īnd the baddest dude on the field had Cochran in his sights and nobody was going to be able to stop him. “Hold up!”Ĭochran turned around and saw the Terriers’ big No. The teams were exiting the field on the west end and headed for their respective locker rooms.Ĭashion assistant Cale Cochran was in the throng of players and coaches marching up the incline when he heard someone shout out “Coach!” Top-ranked Cashion and third-ranked Thomas featured some of the state’s best talent and physical specimens and were embroiled in a battle that saw them separated by just seven points at the game’s midway point. It was halftime of one of the most anticipated Class A matchups of this young football season. More to life than football: Thomas standout shows perspective in gesture toward Cashion coach
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