No broken spirit for Millis’ Hopkins
Returns from injury to bolster repeat hopes
Kurt Hopkins was rolling through another fantastic campaign for Millis and was about to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second season in a row.
But just like life, things can change in a nanosecond on the football field.
On a simple carry for 13 yards against Bellingham on Oct. 6, Hopkins crumpled to the ground. The senior running back used his arm to brace his fall as he had done before a thousand times. But when he looked at his forearm, it was backwards.
“I thought I broke my arm. I didn’t know how it would feel, but it was definitely tough and painful,” Hopkins said. “I looked down and just thought I was done.”
Trainers rushed to Hopkins’ side, and all he could think about was the possibility of finishing his high school career with a clipboard, collecting stats. The diagnosis was a completely dislocated elbow with strained ligaments all around.
“All I was thinking about was the kid, nothing about football,” Millis coach Dana Olson said. “I never want to see anyone get hurt, especially a senior who is so instrumental to our run to the title. So when I saw it — and I was out there on the field — I said, ‘Please don’t tell me this is his last career carry.’ ”
Doctors all but ruled Hopkins out for the season. There were two games remaining in the regular season. If the Mohawks were able to make another run to Gillette Stadium, they would play five postseason contests.
As Olson started to gameplan without him, Hopkins wasn’t about to accept the final whistle. The prognosis made him work just as hard off the field as he had the past two seasons on it. His verdict?
A two-week physical therapy marathon of madness.
Hopkins rehabbed in double and triple sessions. He missed games against Dover-Sherborn and Ashland, but that was it. A diagnosis of 6-8 weeks turned into just two games.
“I never had an injury. I’ve never sat out of anything,” said the three-sport star, who also plays baseball and basketball. “I literally felt terrible, and all I wanted to do was help my team win.”
Hopkins returned just in time for the start of the playoffs. Millis rattled off victories against West Bridgewater and Pope John II as Hopkins eased back into form. But it was the Division 8 South final against Wareham in which he returned in full, running for 197 yards and two touchdowns for the Mohawks.
“It blew me away, as I was just hoping to get him back and be serviceable, because any time a kid has an injury — dislocated and deformed, no less — they usually won’t be the same,” Olson said. “You want the kid to get back into that mode, and sometimes they never do, but the rest is history, and Kurt has been running like a man possessed.”
After a 40-22 rout of Cathedral in the Division 8 state semifinals (in which senior quarterback Bryce Latosek threw for 400 yards), Hopkins now gets to go out on his own terms — with his best friend Latosek right by his side. After the annual Thanksgiving tilt against Medway tomorrow, Millis will face Hoosac Valley at Gillette with a second straight state title on the line.
“(The injury) definitely changed my point of view of how many snaps I had left and how long the season is, but it’s a great feeling as we have the opportunity to be one of the greatest teams in Millis history,” Hopkins said.
“We want nothing more than to cement ourselves as just that.”