The air was thick as the smell of sweat and the feeling of worry permeated the field. The players on the sidelines waited patiently on their knees while a swarm of medical specialists and coaches surrounded senior JD Stanovic.

Just moments before, while on defense, Stanovic went in for a tackle and, after colliding with an opposing player, he instantly dropped to the ground. He looked down to see his leg “dangling.”

“Once I made an impact with the person, I could instantly feel pain in my leg,” Stanovic said. “And that’s why I laid there and didn’t get back up.”

It was nearing the end of the second quarter of SHS’s senior night game against Terre Haute North on Oct. 3, when this critical injury caused the game to come to a halt.

After looking down and seeing he was seriously injured, a rush of emotions washed over Stanovic, and he began to panic about the rest of his senior season.

Once his coaches and the trainers arrived on the scene, he progressively calmed down and began to laugh about the whole situation.

“I started kind of laughing (at) the fact off that I broke my leg,” Stanovic said. “I was holding my coach’s hand and I was telling them (that) it was a good ride. It was a good last year.”

Once the paramedics arrived, Stanovic was immediately taken to the hospital, where he later found out his tibia completely snapped in half. This indicated that his senior season had come to an end.

While he was in the hospital, Stanovic was mentally and physically drained. He constantly reminisced about his senior season, longing for a sense of reassurance that everything would work out.

With the help of his teammates, family and coaches, Stanovic fought through his slump and his spirits were lifted once more.

Even while dealing with the hardships of a serious injury, Stanovic has chosen to look at the situation with a glass half-full perspective and rely on his support system greatly.

With his mom by his side, Stanovic has had a constant pillar in his life. And now, he will be leaning on her for both mental and physical support.

“She’ll sometimes sit in the living room and watch TV with me,” Stanovic said. “Just to be there to be entertainment as well, and she’s just a big help.”

During his stay in the hospital, many of his teammates also visited him including one of his closest teammates: junior Liam Wilson. Wilson initially thought it was a head injury, but was relieved to hear it was a leg injury.

“I was just really scared. But then once I found out it was his leg, I was like, ’that’s not as bad as I thought,’” Wilson said. “But then I was just sad, cause I’m not going to play with him anymore.”

Along with Wilson, Stanovic was also accompanied by his girlfriend, senior Jamie Simpson, who stayed the night with him.

“She came in (and) helped me take charge,” Stanovic said. “She came and helped me get cleaned up and changed my bandages and stuff.”

Outside of his family and friends, Stanovic has also had many support systems on the field throughout his football career. One of those support systems being his former head coach Alex Bettag.

Since the beginning of Stanovic’s freshman year, Bettag has been one of his main supporters. As the years have progressed, Stanovic’s circle has only grown and Bettag’s influence on his life has not changed. 

“After I broke my leg, we’ve talked about my senior year,” Stanovic said. “Me and him (also talked about) the relationship we had.”

Throughout his years on SHS’s football team, Stanovic has built a network of support with not only his teammates but his teachers, administrators and coaches.

Now more than ever, Stanovic will rely on those around him to help guide him on the road to recovery.

With this serious of an injury, his recovery should take up to two to four months. But with the progress he has made so far, Stanovic believes he will recover much quicker.

Due to the fact that the injury is weight-bearing, Stanovic has been choosing to put weight on his leg by walking unaided and easing off his medication. 

“So I’m going really fast. I’m not using my crutches anymore,” Stanovic said.

Though the injury was only a couple of weeks ago, he has been working hard to recover quickly, all while knowing he will most likely not return to any other sports his senior year.

Despite not being able to play any more sports, the school keeps him active and motivates him to not give up.

In the span of his four years attending SHS, Stanovic has not only fallen in love with the sport, but also the school and environment. 

“Having those hard practices and training hard, even (when) not getting the best outcome that we want is still a good environment to be around and a good relationship to have with my friends,” Stanovic said.

Ever since his freshman year, Stanovic has been a key aspect to keeping the team whole. Even with the arrival of head coach Sean Little, Stanovic has continued to be recognized for his leadership role within the team. 

“Now as a senior, I feel like I got all the young guys looking up to me,” Stanovic said. “I got my coaches that have trust in me. They’ve seen me from a freshman, mature all the way up to a senior.”

The impact doesn’t just happen off the field, it happens on the field as well. Over his four years, he has scored 10 touchdowns as well totalled up 1,030 rushing yards. And in this season alone, his rushing and receiving yards combined for 231 yards.

“I think even as a freshman, he was getting varsity reps,” Little said. “So that experience is important. (It) helps lead the team and helps kind of set the standard.”

During his sophomore year, Stanovic was planning to transfer schools, but because of his passion for SHS, he ultimately made the decision to stay. 

“I mean for the past four years, I fell in love with Southport,” Stanovic said. “That’s the number one reason why I didn’t transfer.”

Prior to the injury, Stanovic had considered going to college for football and even had colleges reaching out to him. He got an offer from Oakland City University. But after his tibia snapped, he knew football was out of the picture completely. 

While football was his first love, in the time he has been a senior, his interest has shifted gears into auto collision repair and the idea of opening his own shop. He has slowly drifted into his career at C9 in auto collision repair.

“I’ve been in C9 for almost this whole first semester, and I really fell in love with it,” Stanovic said. “I’ve been knowing about cars since I was a little boy and I (have) always loved cars.”

While he knows football is coming to an end, Stanovic wants to stay true to his passion for cars and follow through with his plan of going to college for it.

While being aware of the fact that he won’t be playing with his teammates anymore, he will continue to support them in any ways he can.

“No matter what injury you go through, just make sure you’re there for your guys,” Stanovic said. “Even if you’re at home, even if you can’t get up, just make sure you go and still support your teammates.”