By design — because of the weekly and even daily grind of what goes into the sport, as well as the fact that it’s played by excitable teenagers — every prep football season is a months-long saga of life-defining highs and heartbreaking lows.
Cash Bandy experienced a season’s worth of those emotions in the span of 12 days.
Bandy, you may remember, gained statewide attention when he transferred from Cleveland High School to bitter county rival Bradley Central after the first week of this season. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound quarterback had played, and shined, in the opener for the Blue Raiders by throwing for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
Three days later, he enrolled at Bradley, was soon declared eligible by the TSSAA, and despite having just one day of practice with his new team, went on to throw for 162 yards that Friday in a win for the Bears, who had lost their starting quarterback to a season-ending injury in the first week.
One of the most bizarre storylines in the long-running Bradley-Cleveland rivalry took yet another unfortunate turn last Friday night, when Bandy suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the Bears’ loss at traditional powerhouse Maryville.