Kick return brought reward for Norwalk seniors

NORWALK — The assignment seemed simple enough: just stand on the field. When Norwalk High School senior Ashton Lewis stepped onto the Whitney Field turf to start the Truckers' Oct. 14 game vs. Clyde, he would officially have played a snap in an otherwise lost season. But in that moment, Ashton didn't listen. He couldn't listen. This was his one chance to contribute. "It was instincts mostly," he said. "It was what I've been taught. I was on a football field, and in a way, it was my first-game jitters, too. "I didn't know what to do and I just went out there and tried to block without thinking anything of it." At kickoff for the SBC Lake Division game at Contractors Stadium, Ashton was told to not move and then limp off the field. Instead, with his left leg still healing from a gruesome broken femur, he pushed a Clyde player briefly off his path. And the result was magic. As Ashton turned around to head off the field, he saw kick-returner and classmate Cohen Klausing find a seam to reach midfield. Seconds later, Cohen was in the clear and speeding toward the end zone for a thrilling 95-yard touchdown return. In their final home game of their high-school careers, two seniors had found a way to make a special memory in a difficult season. "It just shows it's a little bit bigger than football and all the situations we've dealt with," Cohen said. "It goes further and deeper than that." The injury On Aug. 4, the Truckers were nearing the end of their first full week of two-a-day practices. The teammates, who wear No. 9 and No. 19 jerseys, were in a group of receivers and defensive backs running route-and-tackle drills. Ashton jumped up to catch a pass. But as he came down, he was hit in the left leg. Then came one of the most stomach-turning sights and sounds: a loud snap followed by Ashton crumpling to the ground, screaming in pain. "It sounded like someone breaking sticks of celery," he said. "It was very loud. I heard and felt it obviously, and a lot of my teammates heard it. There was a lot of pain." The diagnosis later that day was a broken femur, the largest bone in the body. In a best-case scenario, Ashton was looking at four months of healing and rehabilitation. That timetable meant his season had ended just four days into two-a-days. "I remember it well," Cohen said. "It was really bad. You knew as soon as he went down, it wasn't good. I saw his leg and … it just wasn't good. "It's his senior year. It always stings to get hurt, but especially in your last year. You miss out on a lot of opportunities to make memories." Predictably, Ashton — known to everyone on the team as "Lewer" — had a difficult time after the injury. "It was crushing," he said. "It's painful to think about what was lost, but I get through it the best I can because I know I can talk to anyone out here about it. These guys are still my brothers and I still feel a part of this team." The idea At 0-8, the Truckers had nothing to lose entering last Friday's final home game. The day before, head coach Jason Ziegler laid out the plan to get No. 9 on the field. "It was just something that came to us as a staff," Ziegler said. "We talked about doing it on a kickoff, then he could just lightly jog down there and (then) get off the field. But we put him on the return team and we saw what happened. "He did a nice job. Ashton is a senior who suffered a terrible injury long ago, but still comes to practice every day. There's something to be said about that, and we just wanted to do something special for him." Ashton said he was totally surprised by the coaches' idea. "I was going to Thursday practice like normal and coach Ziegler asked me if I wanted to come in for a play for Senior Night. And I had to accept it," he said. "I just had to. I wanted it badly." While the 2022 season has had plenty to forget, Ziegler said the moment he told Ashton about the plan will definitely stick with him. "You should have seen his face when we told him," he said. "He was so excited. And that's why you coach football, for things like that. Granted, everyone wants to win games and winning is great. "But when you're having an effect on young men, and you know Ashton is going to remember that for the rest of his life … that's something very special, and something I'll always remember." The return Ashton wasn't the only senior with something at stake on the kickoff return. Cohen has been a solid two-year contributor for the Truckers, but something was missing. Despite 17 kick returns for 306 yards and 16 catches for 132 yards this season, he had yet to score a touchdown in a varsity game. And when he fielded the opening kickoff against the Fliers, Cohen ignored the coaches' instructions and took his shot. "We're not supposed to go back and catch it when the ball is going toward the end zone like that, but I caught it at the 5-yard line and took a chance with it," said. A key block near the 20 sprang him free to run straight through the middle of the field. From there, the runback happened fast. When Cohen looked ahead, he was only at the Norwalk 35 — but with 10 Clyde players behind him. "It just opened up right in front of me," he said. "Next thing I knew, it was just me and the kicker. I was looking straight right at him, and I made a quick read and got to the outside." He cut to his left at the 40, and by the time he crossed the 50, he was winning the race to the end zone. Reaching the end zone, Cohen kept running — despite scoring his first-ever touchdown on a 95-yard kickoff return — and circled the south end zone to run over to the raucous Norwalk sideline. "It felt great, I'm not going to lie," Cohen said. "I was really excited. It was my first varsity touchdown ever, and it came on Senior Night in a big way. It was special." Even more satisfying was watching the replay and seeing Ashton on the field. "I knew they were sticking Ashton out there," he said. "I watched it on film and saw him try ... it was awesome. I was glad to see him out there. "The fact that he went out there and blocked for me means a lot," he added. "He's still hurt, and I know that. It was just a selfless act. I'm glad I was able to make a memory for not only myself, but also for him." When Ziegler saw the video, he had a different takeaway. "Well first, I was going to run out there and throw him on the sidelines and get him out of bounds, the little sneak," he said. "But Ashton had it in his mind he was going to push the player off track, and that's the kind of kid he is. The toughness and tenacity, he wanted to be out there and he wanted to contribute. "He didn't want to go out there and just be on the field and then walk off." The chance to be on the field was enough, but the touchdown really enhanced the experience, Ashton admitted. As for what he's learned since early August, the senior said he takes things as they go. "The more you regret it, when it gets taken away from you, you're going to miss it like I miss this right now," he said. Ziegler also noted one other key aspect about the touchdown. The player that Ashton pushed aside didn't give up, sprinting from the Norwalk 25 to get within five yards of Cohen at one point. What if his path hadn't been altered? "Ashton wanted to contribute, and I'm going to say he made the touchdown block," Ziegler said. "That was all him."