In June, Shepard’s Antonio McCarroll broke his left collarbone during a team camp.
He was told it could wipe out his entire senior season.
“Looking at the way my bone was at the time, the doctors thought my season would be over,” said McCarroll, a 5-foot-7, 160-pound running back. “But I made a recovery and came back.
“I’m kind of just getting into my groove and doing what I do best.”
He was in a big-time groove during the second half on Friday night. He helped the host Astros pull off a come-from-behind 20-14 South Suburban Red victory over Eisenhower in Palos Heights.
McCarroll, who was stymied by only 11 yards on four carries in the first half, finished with 125 yards on 18 carries and even scored the go-ahead touchdown for Shepard (4-5, 4-2).
Junior running back Aarien Lee was also a workhorse as he rushed for 93 yards and a TD on 21 carries and had a 16-yard catch. Joey Massey and Xavier Exum made second-half interceptions.
Despite the win, the Astros had less than 24 hours to wait for their playoff fate. There are no guarantees any four-win teams will make it, but their hopes rest on a hefty opponents win total.
Regardless, McCarroll was pumped up afterward about his team’s regular-season finale.
“It felt great, I’m not going to lie,” he said. “I get to see the smile on my guys’ faces one more time. To see us all fight and come together — it was amazing. It was like art.”
The loss dashed playoff aspirations for Eisenhower (4-5, 3-3). Senior quarterback Demarion Hampton threw for 175 yards and a TD and added a rushing TD, while Larnell Moore contributed with four catches for 124 yards and a 57-yard TD in the first quarter.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 14-0 lead into the second quarter and Keon Veal stopped the Astros from scoring with a tackle on the Eisenhower 1, creating a ton of momentum.
But Shepard scored on a 5-yard TD pass from Billy Massey to Amir Johnson, and it was essentially all Astros the rest of the way.
“After we scored, we went into halftime, and after that, we never gave up,” Lee said. “We didn’t have our heads down. We were still encouraging each other.”
It didn’t hurt that McCarroll broke out with 46 yards on four carries during the first scoring drive of the third quarter and 34 yards on five carries during the second scoring drive of the quarter.
“He’s a dog,” Lee said of McCarroll. “He’s one of our captains and he’s always there when we need him. Even when he was out, he was helping us in the practices.”
Shepard coach John Rone pointed out that he had a hunch McCarroll was going to be back in the lineup this season. Indeed, McCarroll made his return in Week 6 and hasn’t looked back, either.
“Now, he’s gotten a little lathered up,” Rone said of McCarroll. “But he had some cramping issues (Friday night), and once we got him lathered up, he showed the talent that he has.
“He helped us control the clock and win the game.”
McCarroll, who also competes in track, confirmed that he’s not getting any football looks from colleges yet. It hasn’t deterred him. He’s just thankful about getting this chance to play again.
“Being around my family and my teammates helped me,” he said. “They encouraged me to keep going. You kind of get in a dark spot when you’re injured and you have to stay down for a minute.
“But to have people support you means a lot and it helps you keep going.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.