The Independent – Dec. 3, 2015
By William Geoghegan
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Terell Handley savored every yard, all 248 of them. It’s what you do in your last high school game, especially when it’s on Thanksgiving. He gave thanks for every touchdown, all four.
It wasn’t hard to do.
The South Kingstown senior missed all of last season with an eye injury suffered in gym class at the end of his sophomore year. He was poised to become a star, but three surgeries to repair a detached retina – and the uncertainty of what it meant for football – robbed him of that chance.
This season, with a clean bill of health, with his parents successfully convinced that he was fine, with goggles over his eyes and a visor on his facemask, he was back on the field – and giving thanks for every minute.
“I worked all off-season, every single day,” Handley said. “You wouldn’t catch me not in the gym. I was so happy to be back. I wanted to make this year a very memorable one.”
He succeeded, rushing for over 1,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in helping lead the Rebels back to the playoffs. His Thanksgiving Day performance – 248 yards, four touchdowns and an MVP trophy – was an exclamation point.
“He had a great senior season,” head coach Eric Anderson said. “I was happy for him, especially given that he had last season taken from him.”
In a perfect world, Handley’s senior season would have been his second consecutive big year. His older brothers had starred for the Rebels, and he grew up around the game. As a sophomore, he started on defense but couldn’t quite push his way into a crowded backfield on the offensive side of the ball. The next season, though – it would be his turn.
It never came. Playing tennis in gym class, he bent down to pick up a ball. Another ball, hit from someone else’s racket, bounced hard off the floor and directly into his left eye.
“I was just picking up a ball, and boom,” Handley said.
Like a true football player, he tried to shake it off but his vision never returned to normal. Doctors diagnosed a detached retina. After surgery to repair it, he was cleared to return to the field and participated in captain’s practices with the football team, but the retina detached again. Two more surgeries followed, and he was ruled out for the coming season. There was a chance he would never be able to return.
“It was particularly devastating for Terell,” said Jeremy Handley, Terell’s father.
He stayed involved, watching practices and games. By last winter, the situation had improved. His vision would continue be affected, but he got the green light for sports. He just had to convince his parents.
“My parents were a little scared letting me play, but I persuaded them,” he said.
Knowing he’d be back, he worked out religiously in the off-season. With protective eyewear and a visor, he got through preseason practices without a problem. He was fine in the games, too, and soon enough, the big year he’d envisioned was coming to fruition.
The Rebels had a strong offensive line. Anthony Shepard was coming off a 1,000-yard campaign and Reymi Acevedo was ready to contribute.
Handley was the missing piece, emerging as a workhorse who could pick up the tough yards on one carry and break a long touchdown run on the next.
South Kingstown rode its rushing attack to a 6-0 record and a 4-0 start to league play. La Salle, East Providence and Bishop Hendricken got the better of the Rebels in the second half of the season, but they won a key game with Cranston East to clinch a playoff spot, the program’s first since 2011.
While Hendricken ended South’s championship dreams in the semifinals, there was still Thanksgiving. The Rebels wanted to go out with a bang, especially their seniors – and especially the senior running back who watched last year’s rivalry game from the sidelines.
He made his mark quickly this year, converting three third downs on the Rebels’ first possession and catching a touchdown pass. He broke two long touchdown runs later in the first half, and scored again in the third quarter. He was the star of the day, and the Rebels won big.
“We are incredibly proud of him,” Jeremy Handley said.
It was a perfect Thanksgiving game, in a perfect Thanksgiving year.
“It was great,” Terell Handley said. “Ending it on four touchdowns and a win on Thanksgiving – nothing could be better than that.”