FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)--When Terrance Rock was arrested by the Centerton police on November 15, his status was in jeopardy. Not just for the first round of the playoffs, but for the rest of his career.
"At first I viewed [the arrest] as a huge shock because that's not the kind of kid I know him to be and then obviously it turned out not to be true and that was a relief because he's a great kid," teammate Barrett Banister said.
Mere hours before Fayetteville hosted Conway in the 7A quarterfinals, Rock was cleared of burglary and theft of property charges. Coach Bill Blankenship then cleared his running back to play.
"Very very proud of him. I know I was distracted, I can't imagine he and his family and what they went through, just the turmoil. We didn't go through it like he did," Blankenship said.
Rock felt a ton of different emotions between Tuesday and Friday. "First off something happens like that of course you're gonna be mad. I overcome it stepping on the gridiron with my team. Some people didn't know what happened, some knew. So my teammates stuck behind me and my coaches, my parents through the whole thing, through thick and thin," Rock said.
"For him to be able to put it aside and play as well as he did last week is a great testimony for him," said Blankenship. Rock not only played, he dominated with 18 touches for 150 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
"All he went through last week, he didn't know if he'd get to play another high school game, and then all the sudden he's back in it. It was incredible to see him go off like that and we're all just rooting for him," Banister explained.
Rock's mentality? Football was an escape last week. "Just forget about everything. Take out your anger and frustrations on whoever, whatever, on the field."
The who shifts from Conway to rival Bentonville. After falling 24-21 to the Wolverines in week four, a rejuvenated Purple Dogs team looks for a berth in the 7A title game.