Before the Princeton Panthers took their first snap of the season, the team faced an unsuspecting opponent.
“It’s bad. I wasn’t expecting it to be like this,” said senior quarterback Colt Collins.
Two days before the start of school and the season, Colt started feeling achy and sick to his stomach. Doctors determined he had West Nile fever.
“When the doctor said, ‘We’ve run some blood tests it looks like West Nile,’ I’m thinking ‘That can’t be possible. That’s super serious,’” said his mother, Jean Ann Collins.
Adamant he would not miss his senior start, Colt followed doctor’s orders. He sat out intense drills, took naps and hydrated. Come gameday, doctors recommended a boost of IV fluids and vitamins.
As Collins led his team on the field, his mother watched nervously from the stands.
“You know, I think my football fan took over, because I know his goal is to keep playing,” said his mother.
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With goals of a state championship and a college scholarship, Colt threw for more than 100 yards for two touchdowns and rushed during critical plays, all while running to the sidelines every so often to hydrate.
“I thought of all the work I put in this summer with my teammates, how I’d been looking forward to it and how I didn’t want to let them down.”
Together, the pride of Princeton clenched their first game of the season.
“The feeling of getting that first win of the season, it trumped me feeling bad that whole week. I’d do it all over again if I had to,” said Colt.
The Princeton Panthers will take on Arlington Heights for their home-opener on Friday.
