Mcdonald Byas Mortuary

No one knew it would be his final game. In the moments before he took the hit that would ultimately claim his life, Jeremiah texted his grandfather and was handed a Gatorade by his mother. Then everything changed. “Friday, everything stopped,” said Joseph Johnson, Jeremiah’s grandfather. “He had 17 good years with us. We’re going to miss him, we’re going to miss him.” In a home game against Madison Central, the junior cornerback fractured two vertebrae in his neck while attempting to make a tackle. He was airlifted off the field. He died   Nov. 9. Jeremiah lived for the game. If he wasn’t playing football, Jeremiah, who wore No. 1 on his football jersey, was playing basketball. His family remembers him as an athlete who gave it all on and off the field. He was supposed to play his first basketball game Saturday, the day after the accident. ...