There was a ton of excitement for Dakota Brower as he headed into his senior season as Oak Hall’s starting QB, kicker, and a bevy of other positions that he plays on gameday. After a tremendous junior year, where he threw for more than 1200 yards and 12 touchdowns, he was ready to better those numbers by a bunch. With his dad Randy now the head coach at Oak Hall and a team that returned 9 starters on offense, Dakota was ready to dominate and have a ton of fun with the rest of the Eagles, but one tackle in game one of the season put a hault to all of those expectations.
"It was the 3rd Quarter and I got tackled from behind, was maybe the worst pain I have ever felt, but had hoped it was just a bad stinger. After trying to tough it out, I realized it was way worse and I couldn’t finish the game," said Brower.
A clavicle fracture had slowed down Browers senior season, but he has worked extremely hard to make his way back to the field. With the help of his dad, a physical therapist, Brower rehabbed like crazy, often spending hours a day on 3 different machines helping release tenson in his arm. His goal was to get back as quickly as possible so he could help his teammates win and after returning this past week against Eagles View, winning is exactly what happened.
Oak Hall went up and down the field against the Warriors, rarely being stopped, and Brower racked up 312 yards through the air, adding 4 td’s to the box score. In all, Oak Hall scored 41 and points and ended a 2 game losing streak to get their 3rd win of the season. Brower’s first throwing TD coming back was a 53 yarder to fellow senior Briggs Copeland and it was something he’ll remember for a really long time.
"Amazing, was just so good to get back out there and be playing again. Sitting and watching was probably the hardest and worst thing I’ve ever had to go thru, so I was just ready to go have some fun again. That first score gave me all that energy and excitement back and I knew I could love playing football again," added Brower.
Brower missed 4 games in total, but with 4 games left for the Eagles, he’s going to make the most of it. The 5’11” 185 pounder has already received several offers to play at the next level and could probably do it in multiple sports. He is also an all-state selection in three events on the track and went to the FHSAA all-state tennis tournament as an 8th grader. So there could be plenty of accolades still coming Dakota Browers way, but today, he is the UF Health Orthopaedics High School Athlete of the Week!