Weddington High’s Brooks Mauk kept his promise: ‘I was coming back’ to football team

Andy Capone has seen more than a few injured football players show up to watch practice, but this was different.

“He was in a golf cart, sitting there and watching us, and the bandages on his leg were bloody,” Capone said, still in amazement at the sight, more than a year later.

“I mean, the bandages were bloody, and he was sitting there, cheering us on!” Capone said.

That was three days after Weddington High’s Brooks Mauk broke the tibula and fibula in his right leg during an October 2022 game against Porter Ridge.

Doctors told Mauk that they “hoped” he would be able to play football again.

On Friday night, Mauk, a 6-foot-3 senior defensive lineman/tight end, will be in the starting lineup when the Warriors (12-2) host Independence (11-3) in the West Regional finals of the 4A playoffs. The winner advances to next week’s state championship game.

“There was no question in my mind — I was coming back,” said Mauk, who was back in action when Weddington opened practice back in August.

His comeback is not going without notice.

On Monday evening, he will be honored with the Comeback Player of the Year Award by the Charlotte Touchdown Club during its annual Bronco Nagurski Award ceremonies. He will receive the award on the same stage where the nation’s top college players also will be recognized.

It was a routine play

The injury, which Mauk’s father J.J. described as “gruesome,” happened on a routine play Oct. 7, 2022.

“I was making my standard block, and then I heard a ‘pop’ ” Mauk said. “At first, I thought it was an ACL tear.”

But he had broken both bones, about midway between the knee and ankle, and underwent surgery the next day.

On Monday, Mauk told his mother, Johni, that he wanted to attend practice.

“Maybe you shouldn’t,” Johni Mauk, a nurse, told him.

“I’m going,” her son answered.

So that was how he came to be on the sidelines, watching his Warrior teammates practice. He also had pneumonia at the time but didn’t know it.

“That says a lot about this guy,” Capone said.

Mauk said it was very difficult to sit on the sidelines and watch his team in the playoffs, especially during the one-point quarterfinal loss to Grimsley in Greensboro.

“I hated the feeling that I wasn’t contributing,” he said.

‘You’ll be back’

A few weeks later, Mauk began rehab. It was tough, he said, and he felt a lot of pain at nearly every stage along the way.

He changed the screen on his phone, to a black background with white numerals that said “10-7-22” – the date of his injury.

He found support and inspiration from his family, teammates and coaches.

His Junior ROTC teacher, David Morgan, told him, “Don’t worry — you’ll be back, stronger than ever.”

By Christmas, he was limping. He started some limited running last spring and was able to run normally during the summer.

“It was about three-quarters of the way through the summer before I could trust myself,” he said. “You can’t predict exactly what will happen, but I felt good.”

Tentative steps

Capone recalled wincing when he watched his players work out during the spring and saw Mauk limping.

“I’d think, ‘Oh no!’ ” he said.

But doctors gave Mauk the go-ahead, and he was with the team for practice in August.

Mauk said he rarely thought about the injury, once the season started.

“I mean, it’s like any other game – once you get that first hit, everything kicks in normally,” Mauk said.

There is one thing that makes him think twice.

“When we call a play on the part of the field where the injury happened, I think a little about it – but just for a second,” Mauk said. “Then my game mentality kicks in.”

Capone said, “You can tell from his emotions how important it is for Brooks to be playing again.”

“Our hope is that this story will reach someone who may have had a horrific injury and believes their athletic career is over,” J.J. Mauk said. He added that he hopes his son’s comeback “can give them hope that they can overcome it, no matter how bad the injury is.”

Or, as Brooks Mauk said, “There’s no better feeling than knowing that you can contribute. That’s what drove me to battle back.”

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle