RUSK — A Tatum High School football remains in a Tyler hospital after breaking his neck during a scrimmage.
D.J. Horton, a 15-year-old junior cornerback, had surgery Saturday evening after suffering to fractures in his neck. Horton received five permanent screws in his neck. He will be in a neck brace for the neck 12 weeks.
Head Coach Darren Hylander says Horton was making an otherwise unremarkable tackle when the injury happened.
"Toward the end of the scrimmage there was a tackle being made. He was coming up to make the tackle and when he made the hit, he just hit it just right and he went down," Coach Hylander said. "We saw him go down and so our trainer sprinted across the field to get to him as fast as he could."
"I saw him go down on the field and he didn't get back up," Horton's mother Vernita said. "That's the hard part. That's when momma wants to go out there and grab your baby and make sure they're okay."
While the on-field medical staff worked to stabilize him, Horton was awake and alert.
"They went through the protocol. They called for the ambulance, made sure they stayed on the phone with them, made sure they had everyone in place where they needed them to take care of him first, number one and they made sure they kept his head still," Coach Hylander said. "They did everything they needed to do to keep him where he needed to be."
Once the ambulance arrived, Horton was rushed to Jacksonville Hospital to see how severe the injury was. The diagnosis was something no mother wants to hear.
"We got him to the hospital and they did [CT Scans] and that's when we found out that he had actually broken his neck in two places," Vernita Horton remembered. "He was still able to move most of his extremities, which was to me which to me is a blessing."
After his CT Scan, an air ambulance helped move Horton from Jacksonville to Mother Frances Hospital for surgery and further treatment.
Vernita says her son has a lifelong passion for football. This year was supposed to be special as it was not only his first year on varsity, but he was expected to start at cornerback.
"He loves football, he was excited about this season," Vernita said. "He made varsity and wanted to show us what he could do."
Coach Hylander said D.J. was a positive influence on the team.
"He's been with us the last two years on a high school level," Coach Hylander said. "Very likable, fun, easy going. I know he has a lot of friends, fun to coach, does everything we ask of him. And he's just the kind of player that you enjoy coaching."
Coach Hylander says he will miss Horton on the field, but his team will be ready for the season opener August 31 against Center.
"Hopefully he'll have a good and speedy recovery, and I know I have a lot of players that are going to be missing him," Coach Hylander said. "We have a lot of other players playing in there too so I think that they'll be fine, but he will be missed."
As for Horton's family, they are hoping for the best for their son's future.
"I'm still kind of numb I think. He's in surgery now and we're just waiting to see how well that goes," Vernita Horton said. "I haven't had much sleep since last night, yesterday so."
If there is consolation for Vernita, it is her son's positivity in what was a traumatic experience for her.
"He's got the best attitude about all of this," Vernita said. "He's been positive, he smiles and laughs, still making jokes."
She says both she and her son hope one day he can return to the football field doing what he loves.
"I'm hoping my prayer is that everything will go as planned and that he'll be able to get back to playing football because that's what he wants to do," Vernita said. "We may not get that, but it's all in Gods hands."
There will be a vigil for Horton that will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. at Tatum High School. From there, the vigil will make its way to the hospital.