North Schuylkill QB critically hurt Friday in high school football game
It ended with a somber, kneeling huddle of players, praying that one of their brothers would turn out OK.
North Schuylkill captured the Schuylkill League Division I football crown Friday night with a dominating 29-7 victory over Pottsville at a packed Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium.
Quarterback Jaden Leiby scored three first-half touchdowns and rushed for 134 yards for North Schuylkill, but suffered a scary injury while making a tackle playing defense in the third quarter.
The Spartans’ field general and senior co-captain was carried off the field on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance, where he was transported to an Ashland ballfield and flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township by medical helicopter.
Leiby remains at the hospital and is listed in critical condition, a hospital official confirmed at about 7 p.m. Saturday.
“This is bittersweet,” North Schuylkill’s Tyler Elsdon said. “It’s what we worked for since January. Winning each game, week by week. This was one of our goals. It’s a great feeling.
“We did it for the right reasons. We had a brother fall today, and he literally put his life on the line. We kind of rebounded from that and pulled through.
“There’s a lot of love on this team, and I think that’s what separates us from a lot of teams. The love on this team is never ending.”
On Pottsville’s second possession of the third quarter, Leiby came up from his safety position to make a tackle on a swing pass, made the stop and didn’t move.
His injury silenced the overflow crowd and brought tears to his teammates.
“Jaden is family. He’s part of our family. Obviously we truly care about him,” coach Wally Hall said.
“We care about all of our teammates. It’s tough, but we’re just going to keep saying prayers for him.”
After the game North Schuylkill was presented the Schuylkill League Division I championship trophy, the final one before the league merges next season with the Colonial League.
“This [championship] was really important to us, especially on Senior Night,” Hall said. “This group of seniors worked tremendously hard in this program. They always led by good example and developed and grown into good, young men. This is how they wanted to go out.”