CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Somewhere in heaven, Angela Guffey is smiling. Her son, Patrick Benson, is making her proud.
The senior offensive lineman for Bradley Central High School has paved a way for his future, mainly because of a promise he made before her death due to lung cancer.
“She told me before she died that she just wanted me to be successful in life,” Benson said. “She told me she wanted me to graduate and be a good father and adult.”
Benson said he told his mom, who died on April 25, 2009, that he would “make her proud.” He remembers vividly walking back into the locker room days after her death and being greeted by cards from his teammates.
“That made me feel like I wasn’t alone,” he said. “I felt like these guys really were my actual family.”
Since then — and with the help of Johnny and Denise Graham, his uncle and aunt — the 6-foot-4, 305-pounder has provided an opportunity for his future by his success on the football field and on the wrestling mat. He won the 285-pound state championship last season.
“Patrick’s just a great kid, a great football player and a great wrestler,” football coach Damon Floyd said. “His mom died when he was a freshman, and he hasn’t seen his dad in years, but he doesn’t complain about his circumstances.
“He doesn’t use the obstacles he’s faced as an excuse.”
Benson said he’s tried to contact his father, whom he hasn’t seen in “four or five years.”
“I’ve tried to see him; I’ve tried to get a relationship with him,” Benson said. “It’s just never worked out.”
He moved in with the Grahams his eighth-grade year.
“It was only a couple miles away from where I was living, and I was just trying to make things more relaxing for my mom,” he said. “I still saw her every weekend, but there were so many nurses around that it made it tough.
“I love my aunt and uncle for what they’ve done. They helped me put my life back together. I make good grades now, and they’ve just helped me in so many ways.”
After seldom playing as a freshman, Benson made sure he was noticed on the football field.
“Patrick has just continued to get tougher and stronger,” Floyd said. “He makes his biggest impact on his teammates in the offseason, because the guys see how hard he’s working.”
Benson has been through the tough times when Bradley was trying to regain respectability, but now as the Bears sit 6-2 and eighth in the latest Class 6A poll, Benson hopes the end doesn’t come any time soon.
“When I was younger, I knew that we were on the right track because Coach was a good coach,” Benson said. “It’s weird being a senior; I felt like we were just playing Polk yesterday, and now we’re about to play the ninth game of the season. It’s flown by.”
Benson has been in contact with Eastern Kentucky University about playing collegiately, and he hopes to get an opportunity to reunite with former Bear Tucker Bolton, whom he played beside for three seasons.
“We called ourselves the ‘Killer B’s,'” Benson said. “I know I can play at the college level; I’m just ready to get that chance to go to college and continue to make my mom proud.”