By Clyde Hughes
D3sports.com

Sometimes movie endings are more appealing than what we get in real life.

For example, if producer Jerry Bruckheimer were filming Bluffton’s football opener at home Saturday against Centre, no camera angle would have been spared to show the Beavers’ winning touchdown as time expired on the clock as fireworks exploded in the air.

Director Martin Scorsese would have made everyone kiss and hug as the little Northwest Ohio school that lost five baseball players in a horrific bus crash in Atlanta this past March would have felt a little better.

A.J. Ramthun, the starting Bluffton tailback who broke a collarbone in that accident, would have scored the winning touchdown, as Spike Lee would have directed him to stiff-arm the last defender and throw him to the ground as he crossed the goal line.

So much for the movies. But, as in nearly all things, real life is still much better.

Bluffton didn’t win on Saturday. Bluffton rallied but couldn’t overcome two first-half Centre touchdowns and fell 14-9.

But for Ramthun, his teammates, and the Bluffton community, the game was another step forward in the healing process. When your college has 1,200 students, everyone tends to know nearly everyone else, especially when you are a student-athlete.

With that said, the loss of baseball players Zachary Arend, David Betts, Scott Harmon, Cody Holp and Tyler Williams still stings. Bluffton football coach Greg Brooks said he still gets teary-eyed anytime the subject comes up. Reminders are still all around. The baseball field, where a memorial is being built, is not far away from the football stadium. The banners of the lost players still hang on the fence.

Bluffton memorialized its five fallen players. A.J. Ramthun broke his collarbone in the March 2007 accident but returns to play football this fall.
Photo by David Rich for D3sports.com
 

But it’s football season now. It’s not a time for forget, but to move forward. Ramthun, one of two football players who also played on the Bluffton baseball team, has figured out a way to do both.

Ramthun, from Springfield, Ohio, changed his uniform number from 46 to 5, to honor the five friends he lost. He admitted his mother tried to talk him out of playing football this year. His father wanted to make sure if this was what he really wanted to do. The fact that Ramthun stepped out onto the field Saturday with the No. 5 on his chest probably was enough to make them both proud.

“We had a solid three-hour conversation about this (the number change) alone,” Ramthun said about the conversation he had with his mother. “To me, I hadn’t thought about it at the time, but now I think about it every day I wear my practice jersey and my game jersey. You’re playing while other guys would just love to have that opportunity.

“You have to take advantage of every opportunity given you. It’s a reminder to me that the next play could be your last or the next day could be your last on earth. As much as I tried to move away from the accident, that part has been a real motivator. It’s just a little thing, but it’s made a world of difference. In practice if I mess up or go the wrong way, miss a block or drop a pass, I hang my head a little bit but I look down and see that No. 5 and I’m ready to go, shake it off, it’s just a mistake and I’m ready to get back in there.”

Brooks has seen the transformation in Ramthun over the summer along with another former teammate Tim Berta. Berta, who was a senior wide receiver for Bluffton, was one of the more critically injured players and is still recovering. Brooks said he has talked with Ramthun through the memories, the nightmares, and the fears. He talked with him about the lost time training and in the weight room because of the injury. Through it all, the injuries and the doubts, Ramthun started working out in June with a vengeance and earned a starting spot in a rotation of tailbacks Bluffton will use this season.

“I don’t think the other players really know what he’s gone through,” Brooks said. “He lost five close friends. He’s really a special kid. He’s not very big (5-8, 170) but he’s very athletic. He’s just a fighter and a smart player. He played just about every down for us as a freshman last year."

Brooks said practices have been a little more serious and businesslike this year. There is a little more sense of purpose. He said the tragedy has helped some players grow up and while others and still trying to find its meaning. He said though, just about everyone has become closer and sports brought into perspective.

“We saw a lot of giving by the students and community last spring and it was pretty impressive,” Brooks said. “We all should be learning about that -- giving. It’s not about me, but it’s about being part of the teams and supporting each other. Those are the lessons we should be learning from this. Last week we helped people in the flood (in nearby Findlay) and sacrificed some practice time. I think they became closer during those two hours than they would have two hours on the field."

Athletic director Phil Talavinia said the support was not unusual for the Bluffton players, regardless of what sport is in season, but it certainly helps when everyone needs a hand to grow from a tragedy like the spring bus accident.

Bluffton didn’t win last Saturday, but it just seems like it in many other ways. A movie script couldn’t have been written better.

Winning streak snapped

Concordia (Wis.) had its 13-game regular season winning streak snapped in a surprising 14-3 road loss to Simpson. The Falcons went a perfect 10-0 last year and won the final three games of the regular season in 2005. It may not get much better for Concordia this Saturday as the Falcons play their home opener against North Central. Concordia beat North Central 30-24 in double overtime last year, but in a measure of revenge, the Cardinals returned the favor, beating the Falcons 35-6 in the first round of the Division III playoffs.

Big game early

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference favorite Franklin faces Wabash on the road Saturday. Franklin eked out a 45-38 victory in overtime last year, helping propel the Grizzlies to a 9-1 record. Wabash has won a portion of the North Coast Athletic Conference title for the past two seasons and in 2005 reached the second round of the Division III playoffs.