The game's outcome was already clear when Ben Backstrom powered in for the first touchdown of his high school football career last Saturday. The score came with less than three minutes remaining, the final points for Benson County in its 44-20 win against Tri-County.
Still, Benson County coach Mitch Strand saw his players respond in a way he hasn't seen all fall.
"It was the happiest reaction I've seen from all our kids all year," Strand said. "They all see how hard Ben works. And he's very well liked.
"The kids don't feel sorry for Ben; he doesn't feel sorry for himself."
Backstrom is a reserve defensive lineman for Benson County. He's also an inspiration -- the 5-foot-9, 160-pound Maddock High School senior plays with a prosthetic right leg. An accident involving a lawn mower when he was 10 years old resulted in Backstrom losing his leg just below the knee.
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"I don't want to be seen as somebody different," Backstrom said. "I want to be treated the same as everybody else.
"I know I'd be a better player without (the injury). But I don't consider it a disability."
Strand said he didn't give Backstrom special treatment with the touchdown. In one-sided wins, he tries to put senior linemen, the players who normally do the dirty work blocking for the running backs, into the backfield for a chance to score.
The touchdown "was pretty fun," Backstrom said. "It was kind of suspenseful. I didn't know if I'd made it into the end zone. I'd gotten tackled and I guess I just fell over the goal line."
Part-time duty
One area that has been affected by the prosthetic leg is conditioning. Backstrom is limited during conditioning drills in practices. As a result, he's been held to approximately 10 to 15 plays per game at his defensive tackle position.
"It's how it has to be with the way my leg is," Backstrom said. "I've had to accept it. It would be fun to be able to play more."
Backstrom is a solid run-stopper in the middle of the Benson County line. But his contributions go beyond what the playing time and tackle charts indicate. He's earned the respect of the coaching staff in other ways, as indicated by his selection as one of the team's captains.
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"Ben contributes so much to the team," Strand said. "To understand what he does, you don't watch our games. You have to see him at practices. He keeps everybody focused. He helps kids with plays.
"He's the hardest-working kid on the team. He's a great student. He's an engine that's always going, and he never complains about anything."
While Backstrom asks for no sympathy and expects none because of his leg, he does get some odd reactions because of it.
"One time, I got a tackle and I was on the bottom of the pile," Backstrom said. "The leg got twisted backward. You could see that the refs thought I was hurt bad. I just turned (the prosthetic leg) around and got off the field."
But, he says, the leg is a non-factor to him. When he's playing, he says he doesn't think about the prosthetic leg. He's focused on the game.
"Ben doesn't let his disability change his life," Strand said. "I don't think it's a disability to him."
DeVillers reports on sports. Reach him at (701) 780-1128; (800) 477-6572, ext. 128; or send e-mail to gdevillers@gfherald.com .
