Boyer’s Bulletin: Leiby a Hall of Famer in the game of life
Jaden Leiby, center, one of five inductees into the North Schuylkill Football Hall of Fame tonight, sits down with Eli Doyle, left, and Leroy Boyer, right, for this week's 4th and Short Podcast (Photo by Eli Doyle).
I’m not sure if I would have been able to handle the circumstances the same way.
Not too many people on this Earth have shown the same drive, determination and resiliency in the face of adversity that Jaden Leiby has shown over the past six years.
As an 18-year-old, dual-threat quarterback, Leiby was having one of the best games of his senior season, thriving in a game against an archrival, in front of a capacity crowd, with a division championship at stake.
Just like that, his season was over, his career over, in just one play.
Leiby’s world changed forever that October 2019 night at North Schuylkill’s Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium after a tackle attempt on a Pottsville running back resulted in a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down and unable to use his right arm.
Leiby’s athletic talents prior to the injury spoke for themselves. The two-sport star was a four-year starter in baseball and a four-year starter at defensive back and a two-year starter at quarterback in football, guiding North Schuylkill to the 2018 District 11 Class 3A championship and a 9-1 regular-season mark as a senior.
The Butler Township resident earned numerous local, regional and state-wide honors as both a junior and senior, including being named to the Pennsylvania Football Writers’ All-State team and the PA Football News Coaches Select Class 3A All-State football team.
Tonight, Leiby and four of his teammates will be inducted into the North Schuylkill Football Hall of Fame during a ceremony at halftime of the Spartans’ Schuylkill-Colonial Red Division clash with Southern Lehigh. All 2020 North Schuylkill graduates, Leiby, Tyler Elsdon, Jake Green, Jesse White and Zachary Chowansky formed the backbone of four exceptional Spartans teams from 2016-19.
As a collective group, those five guys make up one of the best classes to ever be inducted into North Schuylkill’s Football Hall of Fame. Considering their talents and the magnitude of the game between two state-ranked teams on the field, it should be an electric atmosphere tonight in Fountain Springs.
To me, the football field isn’t the only arena where Leiby is a Hall of Famer.
He’s a Hall of Famer in the game of life.
Now 24, Leiby sat down with Eli Doyle and myself for this week’s 4th and Short Podcast and discussed the play, the injury, how he’s handled the cards life has dealt him, the overwhelming support he’s gotten and how his life has progressed since that fateful night.
You can view the Podcast in its entirety here. It’s a must-see video:
The interview with Leiby is a powerful one. He handled the questions with the same aggressiveness and honesty that he’s handled life in a wheelchair, not afraid to talk about it, not afraid of the challenges.
He’s lived life to the fullest and continued pursuing his dreams, despite his disability.
Leiby recently graduated from Bloomsburg University with a degree in Elementary Education and is completing his student teaching guiding fourth-grade social studies classes at North Schuylkill Elementary.
He’s also become a motivational speaker, talking at different schools in our area. Two years ago he spoke at the annual Schuylkill County Chapter of the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Banquet at the Schuylkill IU 29. It was a powerful message.
Leiby talked about becoming a motivational speaker during our podcast:
“I think it was my calling to go around talking to people about what happened to me and having these challenges and that you can overcome them regardless,” Leiby said. “I talk about me and my story. I talk about challenges and obstacles that we all face. You don’t have to be in a wheelchair or have a spinal cord injury to face problems. We all have them. I talk about how to face those problems.”
I was covering the Pottsville-North Schuylkill game during which Leiby was injured. The play happened right in front of me. I can still picture it vividly in my mind when I think about it.
As Leiby talked about it during our podcast, one segment sticks out:
“I think if I was a couple of inches to the left, I’m still standing, still walking today,” Leiby said of the play. “I do think it happened for a reason. Do some days suck? Sure.
“I’m thankful to be where I’m at now. I’m thankful to have touched a lot of lives just talking about my injury, talking about no matter what happens, you can still get better from it, regardless of your circumstances.
“You can have that hour, that little while of feeling down. But you can’t let it drag into more and more days. That’s just going to drag you down with it.
“Regardless of what happened to me … I realized it can always be a little worse, no matter what situation you’re in. That’s how I went about it, still go about it.”
Life presents daily challenges to each and every one of us. How you handle them shows your character, your resiliency and molds you into the person you are.
Jaden Leiby showcased Hall of Fame athletic talent during his playing days at North Schuylkill. He continues to show off his Hall of Fame skills every day in the game of life.
Extreme Touchdown
It started as a bet. It ended up with a 340-pound lineman celebrating a touchdown.
Schuylkill Haven senior tackle Chase Williams scored on a 5-yard run during the Hurricanes’ 54-6 victory over Shenandoah Valley last Friday. The 6-foot-3, 342-pounder took a handoff, busted off the right side and into the end zone, causing a wild celebration in the end zone.
You can see Hudl video of the play here:
Williams’ touchdown came about after he asked Haven High teacher Theo Smith a simple question last week in class.
“When can we have an open notebook test?” Williams asked.
When Smith replied, “When you score a touchdown,” the quest was on.
According to sources, Williams and the Haven linemen asked head coach Mike Farr countless times to help them win the bet. He obliged.
Chase Williams wasn’t the only Haven senior to score his first touchdown Friday. At the other end of the height/weight spectrum, Carter Williams, a 5-7, 155-pounder, scored on a 20-yard TD run later in the game.
Sister Act
Sage Smeltz broke Williams Valley kicking and scoring records last season as the Vikings’ placekicker. She graduated in the spring after a stellar four-sport career that included her becoming the first female football player to be named her school’s football scholar-athlete.
Williams Valley didn’t have to look far for her replacement — Smeltz’s younger sister, Quin, has stepped right in as the Vikings’ placekicker. She’s 17-for-20 on conversion kicks, leading the area’s kickers in scoring with 17 points.
Last week’s results around the area showed the importance of having a good placekicker, with three games being decided by two points or less.
So far, so good for Quin and the Vikes.
