High school football: Elyria Catholic senior Collin Doud overcomes adversity to get back on field and contribute

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Collin Doud is the epitome of what high school football and perseverance is all about. Doud, a 5-foot-11 senior defensive back for Elyria Catholic, overcame a lot of personal adversity to be on the field Saturday night only to see the Panthers get devoured 54-7 by unbeaten, top-ranked Glenville in a Division IV regional semifinal at North Ridgeville High School. EC finished its season at 10-3, while Glenville, a Division I school just 10 years ago, will meet Van Wert in next Saturday's regional final. "He's an incredible kid and an incredible story," said EC coach Brian Fox, obviously upset with the way the game turned out. "He lost his father his freshman year. He went through some rough patches. He really seemed he got it together and all of a sudden he had surgery and they kept telling me 'Week 5.' "He was just constantly out there. I would say, 'Are you cleared to do this?' He wasn't going to allow anyone to tell him he couldn't do something." Doud came back from knee surgery ahead of schedule and played all 13 games for the Panthers, helping them gain a playoff spot and a shot at the Great Lakes Conference championship. He was hoping for more but Glenville simply proved to be too big a challenge. "We knew we were moving down divisions at the beginning of the year," Doud said. "We knew we had to come around Glenville one of these times. We wanted it really bad after the loss to Ottawa-Glandorf last year. We came together. We all had to fight and work, do anything we can to get to state this year. "Glenville's always been on our calendar. We knew we had to come up against them. (Saturday) was the night but we just didn't execute that well, I didn't think. "We knew they had the size. We knew they had the speed. They have all the talent. We consider ourselves underdogs and we just couldn't hold up with them." Five turnovers against anyone would be tough to overcome. Doing it against a talented team like Glenville was disastrous. Doud wouldn't trade his teammates for anything in the world though. They all had his back knowing his desire and extraordinary work in physical therapy gave him a chance to compete when it didn't look like it would happen. "All they could do was support me," Doud said. "I can't give enough thanks to them. I love these men more than anything in the world. As they were working, I was getting myself better so I could be out here with them. My knee's a lot better now." Doud was proud of the fact EC set many individual and team records this year. Levi Ellis is the Lorain County Golden Helmet winner, setting many rushing records along the way. Quarterback Brady Cook has climbed into the top five in terms of passing yardage. "We can just look at all the good things that happened," Doud said. "Try to forget about what just happened (Saturday). It's going to be tough for the seniors considering this may be the last time they'll play football." "It's so heartbreaking that I'll never have another chance to coach him," Fox said. "He's a special kid. Adversity seemed to be at his door all day, every day. He just fought. "We try to build family and try and make everything special. Attack everything with love and I hope with everything he went through, he did find a home in this program. That's why it was so important for him to keep playing. His perseverance, his attitude, his work ethic was just so special." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.