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Ogden • Getting to the state title game for the first time in 18 years was great for the Morgan football team.
Not finishing with a victory hit the Trojans hard, however, after a 28-13 loss to Juan Diego.
After the game, many of the Morgan players in full uniform often gravitated to one player not wearing a helmet, but a backward-facing baseball cap.
"He just draws everybody in; he's just that kind of kid," Morgan coach Kovi Christiansen said.
That kid is senior Logan Cameron, a starting linebacker for the Trojans until a herniated disc and pinched nerve in his neck sent him to the sideline. The injury was first sustained in Morgan's regular season game against Juan Diego.
"I kept playing on it, but it just got progressively worse. Against Emery, it just got to where I couldn't take a hit anymore," Cameron said. "My nerve was being pinched so bad, I just couldn't stay up."
Even if rehabilitation was realistic for either the rest of the football season or even the upcoming basketball season, Cameron actually has plenty of reason not to pursue either.
Cameron is already the recipient of a national ROTC academic scholarship that will pay for his education at the University of Washington. But he'll bypass all that if he's accepted to the Naval Academy, which is still a possibility.
"I'll actually find out in December, because I've already taken care of my application and got my interviews taken care of," Cameron said.
Even with the bright future away from sports, quitting football was a tough decision. But Logan reached the decision with the help of his parents, and his coach supported him.
"He had an opportunity that you just have to take," Christiansen said. "We had a kid with a similar situation a couple of years ago and, if you get hit in the wrong spot, you could have tingling for the rest of your life."
With tears in his eyes, it was only Cameron's lack of football gear that distinguished him from the teammates that he's played with since he was "this high," said Cameron, holding his hand at waist level.
"It's just depressing because I can do a lot, but I just tried to stay as energetic as I could on the sideline," he said. "I still feel like a huge part of this team, because of the brotherhood we have. I still feel I played in every ballgame this year."