‘Not every snap is guaranteed’
Clemens LB is appreciating each moment after missing most of junior year with injury
Outside of getting a head start on the 2019 season, nothing was on the line when Clemens opened spring practice earlier this year.
Still, it meant everything to Derrick Lewis, the Buffaloes middle linebacker who broke his wrist after the third game of the 2018 season, ending a promising season.
He couldn’t wait to get started again.
“It was a big day,” said Lewis, who is committed to Texas Tech. “When that day came, I was flying around everywhere.”
That was a relief to Lewis, who had his doubts about his ability to return to form. The hours of mundane rehabilitation that went into building strength and flexibility back into his wrist had paid off.
“The feeling of putting on those pads again with your teammates was great,” Lewis said. “It may not have been for a big game, but this was leading up to something big. It meant a lot. Being hurt showed me that when adversity hits, you need to bounce back. And when you are able to bounce back, it makes you stronger.”
Lewis and the Buffaloes have built on that. Clemens (51), No. 3 in the ExpressNews Class 6A rankings, is tied for first with No.
1 Judson in the District 266A standings at 30.
Lewis has 54 tackles, two fumble returns and has returned an interception for a touchdown in six games this season.
It’s a success Lewis couldn’t envision 13 months ago after breaking his wrist during a 7on7 drill in practice. Clemens coach Jared Johnston described it as a “freak deal.”
Lewis said he couldn’t move his hand after jamming a receiver during the drill. His right wrist swelled up immediately. Xrays revealed Lewis’ lunate bone had flipped around. He also had torn tendons that needed repair.
The next week, Lewis had seasonending surgery, squelching a junior season in which he had 34 tackles and forced two fumbles in three games.
“You expect your four years to go perfectly,” Lewis said. “When those four years don’t go perfectly, and when you have a hitch in the road, it’s a reallife gutcheck. I looked at it as, ‘Hey, this is a situation I’m in. Let’s get out of it.’ ”
It was a setback. Lewis had looked forward to a breakout junior season after recording 98 tackles and two forced fumbles and earning a spot on the alldistrict second team as a sophomore.
As discouraged as Lewis was, Johnston tried to have him keep things in perspective.
“The bottom line was that it wasn’t a careerending injury,” Johnston said. “It was something he could come back from. The main thing is he was healthy. … It killed him not to play, but he knew he had one more year left.”
Clemens went 64 during the regular season in 2018. The Buffaloes nabbed the final playoff spot from District 266A, earning a date with perennial power Austin Westlake in the first round of the Class 6A Division II playoffs.
Lewis was cleared to return to play the day before the Westlake game, but as tempting as it was to consider, Johnston was not going to let Lewis play without having practiced in two months.
The Buffaloes played tough against Westlake, which later beat Brennan and Brandeis on its way to a state semifinal run. Westlake scored two touchdowns in the third quarter in a 2814 victory over Clemens.
“It was definitely a hard pill to swallow, but I had to get behind my team and continue to push them through that tough game.”
Despite the injury, he received his first scholarship offer from North Texas on Feb. 1.
“I was ecstatic,” Lewis said. “I was so happy because it’s been my dream since I was 7 years old. Just one offer meant a lot to me.”
It was the first of several for Lewis, who said he’s received 15 offers. He committed to Texas Tech after taking an official visit there two weekends ago.
He had planned on visiting Oklahoma State, Kansas and Boise State, but has canceled those trips and plans on signing with the Red Raiders when the early signing period begins Dec. 18.
“When you look at the big picture — every down, make it your best down. Every snap, make it your best snap,” Lewis said. “I tell (my teammates) that in games. Not every snap is guaranteed.”