Curie teammates Malik Horton and Darius Townsel both faced different kinds of adversity and came out on top on Oct. 9.
It was Townsel’s birthday, and the emotions came pouring out during the Condors’ 30-26 win over North Lawndale at Rockne Stadium.
“I lost my twin brother five years ago, and I’m playing for him and my son,” Townsel said.
Townsel and his brother Demetrius Townsel Jr. were visiting family in Gary, Indiana, on May 17, 2020. Someone fired shots into the car they were riding in and Demetrius was struck and killed.
Townsel has since spent time working with violence prevention groups while continuing his athletic career. Now he’s also caring for his four-month-old son Kaydn.
“I’m doing everything for both of them,” Townsel said.
Against North Lawndale, he ran 23 times for 105 yards. That’s despite spending time on the sideline during the game after drawing a penalty.
“We started out slow in the beginning and me getting put out of the game due to my anger issues — I’ve got to know how to control my emotions,” Townsel said. “And with Malik, even though we had bad possessions, we came back strong because we knew we had to. We had to (have) short-term memory and get back on the next play.”
Horton had three touchdowns on runs of 5, 9 and 5 yards. The last came with 46 seconds left and put Curie (6-1, 4-1 Public North) ahead to stay.
That was bookended by a pair of key plays involving Horton. He lost a fumble that North Lawndale (2-5, 2-3) turned into a go-ahead touchdown with 2:07 remaining, and then picked off a pass with 12 seconds left to seal the win.
“I was like, I just gotta make up for (the fumble),” Horton said. “I persevered, made up for it and we won. The team, they motivated me to get that (redemption). So I appreciated them. All the coaches, all the players, they said I was cool.”
“I love to see a player go through adversity and how they respond because that’s going to let me know if I can count on (them) or I can’t,” Curie coach Jarve Lewis-Bey said. “So I love when it happens, especially when we come out on the top end.”
Kendall Holliday returned an interception 16 yards for Curie’s first score late in the first half. Then came six lead changes in the second half, so the Condors were tested multiple times.
And all that came after starting quarterback Gabriel Taylor, who missed two games because of injury earlier in the season, was sidelined again on Curie’s first possession.
But the Condors still managed to win their fourth in a row.
“(A) 6-1 (record) is 6-1 (but) it hasn’t been pretty,” Lewis-Bey said. “We’re trying to build our depth. … It’s hard because you want to put the young cats in so they can get some more playing time. But the games (have) been too close. I’m like, I don’t want to lose it with my seconds. I’d rather lose it (if necessary) with my ones.”