Ludlowe’s Feldman definition of perseverance

FAIRFIELD — He fractured his right collarbone and he fractured his left collarbone. The right one was worse. That put Denholm Feldman in a sling.

His maxilla was fractured from the front of his mouth to the back of his jaw. Several of his teeth died. He needed his jaw fixed. Seven root canals, transplants and bleaching eventually would bring his smile back to life. He broke his nose. He suffered a concussion.

“Outside of that,” Feldman said, without a hint of irony, “I was pretty lucky.”

Jake Panus, his good friend and Fairfield Ludlowe teammate, was in the front seat when he died in that horrible crash on Block Island in August 2020. He was 16. Feldman was in the back seat on the side of the impact. He was held overnight in the hospital on the Rhode Island mainland. He had swallowed so much blood from his facial injuries, the doctors at first feared internal bleeding.

“Jake was so pure,” Feldman said. “He was such a good friend to everyone. He was one of the most genuine kids I ever met. He was so good to the team, to all of us. To have someone’s life taken away like that, to happen so quickly, it seemed so unfair.

That’s what we all thought.

Scott Mullin / For Hearst Connecticut Media Norwalk’s Austin Hall is tackled by Fairfield Ludlowe’s Denholm Feldman in a 2019 game.