Scott City's Cotner learns to get up from the hits

Scott City's Zach Cotner played the role of a hit-and-run victim when Chaffee quarterback Jordan Yahn lowered his shoulder near the goal line on a 2-point conversion run during the fourth quarter of Friday night's game between the rivals.

It was the high school version of the NFL's Bo vs. The Boz as the two met in the one-on-one matchup of the schools' premier athletes near the right pylon.

Yahn stayed on his feet as he continued into the end zone.

The Red Devils also built a head of steam, pulling to within 21-14 on the conversion after an impressive drive.

Cotner? He was in a heap, having been run over by Chaffee's momentum.

Scott City football assistant coach Lance Amick, left, and Zach Cotner. (Kristin Eberts)

"When you take a hit like that, it kind of hurt my pride," Cotner said. "I just got my butt handed to me pretty much."

He admits he might have stayed down and looked for a way out of the game as a sophomore two years ago.

But Cotner now is a senior. He woozily got to his feet and regained his bearings.

"I figure this is one of the last times I get to play against Chaffee," Cotner said. "I need to get my butt up and need to do something about it."

He did.

Scott City football assistant coach Lance Amick, left, and Zach Cotner. (Kristin Eberts)

And it only took 14 seconds.

Instead of licking his wounds, he fielded Yahn's kickoff at his 15-yard line and took it for a touchdown.

With its momentum instantly restored, Scott City went on to a 34-20 victory.

"Two years ago he would have whined and moaned and complained, but he sucked it up and got out there and made something good happen," Scott City assistant Lance Amick said. "He's grown up as far as that goes. He's toughened up."

Scott City coach Jim May calls Cotner one of the best athletes at the high school. And he's seen a more committed player evolve from the previous one he coached.

"He's much more fun to be around, and he's more fun to coach," May said. "He's so much more mature and so much more committed. Before he liked to do things, but didn't always like to do the hard things. Now he does whatever you ask of him, and he wants to be good at it. He wants to help everyone else win, and those are admirable traits. And I'm proud of him for that."

Cotner makes it look easy in the athletic arena. He didn't play football his junior year after sustaining a season-ending injury as a sophomore on the JV squad, but he's the Rams' leading receiver with a team-high 18 catches for 278 yards this season.

This is just the opening act of his senior year after a big junior year.

He averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds a game on the basketball court last season. He netted a career-high 34 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in a basketball game against South Pemiscot. In track, he ran a leg on Scott City's all-state 400 relay team and helped the Rams qualify in three other relay events.

He has a high-energy personality with a smile that comes quick and easy.

Away from the field

But it hasn't been easy for Cotner away from the field. He's gotten decked in the game of life, and he's had to gather himself there, too.

His father died of cancer when Zach was 9 years old and in third grade.

Cotner currently lives with his grandparents, Ron and Karen Burger, after moving away from a difficult home situation.

"It isn't something every kid wants to go through, and no kid should ever have to go through it," Cotner said. "To get past it and over it, I had to grow up. It was time to get myself away from a situation that wasn't really something that somebody needs to be around."

His home situation became unsettled when his mother remarried last September, and the problems began a few months later.

"We're so much alike that we butted heads," Cotner said about his stepfather. "It's really been a big transition, him coming in to our lives. He's been my mom's first husband since my dad passed away. It was such a big change because for so long I wasn't used to having a father figure around. It was such a big change. We butted heads a lot."

He went to live with his grandparents three months ago.

"I felt like the best situation for me, to finish out school by going out to my grandpa's and my grandma's because it gets me away from the situation, but I'm still in contact with everybody," he said.

Cotner's grandfather, who owns a farm, always has had an important role in his life.

"I remember one time, right before his dad died, his dad pointed to me and said, 'You see this man. You listen to him,'" Burger said. "And I think it's all starting to sink into him."

Burger said his own father died when he was 14.

"I know in a way what he went through," Burger said. "But in a way I don't, because he was so much younger."

Cotner said he plans to stay with his grandparents through the school year.

"It's not something I wanted to happen," Cotner said. "I know it's not what my mom wanted to happen, and I've been hearing from my stepdad that it's not what he wanted to happen, but it's something that needed to happen at the moment. It needs to stay like this because I used to be kind of a hot head, short-tempered and something would set me off. But since I've been down there I've kind of leveled off. I think it's a better environment for me to be down there."

He makes a special effort to stay in touch with his 4-year-old brother Andrew. He was used to seeing his only brother on a daily basis when they were the only two boys around, and that has been one of Zach's biggest adjustments.

"It really gets me every time I come around and he runs at me and he gives me a hug," Cotner said. "I'm used to seeing him every day and he's used to seeing me. It just went away, and it's hard seeing my little brother like that."

His mother has attended his games and brought Andrew, including Friday's game against Chaffee.

"He ended up getting sick by halftime and they had to leave," Cotner said. "He didn't get to see my touchdown and my mom didn't get to see my touchdown. But I was sure to call and tell them after the game, and I stopped by after the game to see him."

It's part of the improving communication between Cotner and his family.

"She's still there for me," Cotner said. "Whenever I need anything, I can call her, and it's getting that way with my stepdad."

His grandfather and Amick always have been the male figures that Cotner has found the most dependable.

"If it's anything personal, I'll talk to my grandparents, or mom, or more than likely coach Amick," Zach said. "Coach Amick is the first person to know about anything, really. He's been like a best friend to me, and I know that he's there if I ever need him for anything.

"He's been pretty much like a father figure to me. I know any time I was in any kind of danger, I could call him and he'd be there to help me. I really respect him."

And he wants to restore the strained relationships. He's seen the devotion of his grandparents, who he calls his two biggest fans, over the years and knows how important family is.

"All they want is for everyone to be happy," Cotner said. "They don't want one person to get what they want and the other person to be sad about it. They want everyone to get along and be happy, and pretty much cooperate with each other."

As a 17-year-old, he's a work in progress. In addition to the classroom, he's learning the lessons of life.

"Anything you do in life, if you lose friends, you're always going to have your family," Cotner said. "So you always want to keep them close. You never want to do anything to disrespect them or do anything to harm that relationship with the people that care about you. They're the ones that are going to be there in the long run."

Burger acknowledged his grandson can have a short temper.

"He's leveling off, and I'm really, really proud of him," Burger said.

Burger said he learned discipline while in the military, and he thinks football is doing the same for his grandson.

"I think it's teaching him discipline, more so than basketball. I can say that," Burger said. "[Scott City coach Mark] Dannenmueller is a hell of a mentor in basketball, and [Zach] listens, but Zach listens to all these coaches. When I couldn't get through to him, I called Lance Amick. And all these coaches played a tremendous part in Zach this summer and fall. It's just a combination of everyone working together for the same reason, I guess."

Burger does not hesitate to say that basketball is Cotner's top sport, but he's among those that has had his own eyes opened by his grandson's play on the football field.

"He's pushing himself more to excel because of some of this stuff," Burger said. "I think he's trying to prove something to him and some other people, is my own opinion. And he's proved that to me.

"Anybody that ends up successful has got some reason to push themselves like they do, and I think this is a big, big part of him. I really do. I'm very proud of him and grandma is very proud of him."

Back on the field

Cotner's teammates are happy to have one of the school's top athletes back on the football field.

"He's real fun to be around," senior tackle Thomas Patrick said. "He's just a real good guy, and he's good at what he does."

He's seen enough of Cotner over the years and knew the type of athlete the Rams were gaining.

"He's just a real sports person," Patrick said. "He's good at everything he does."

"He played a few years ago and he quit," senior cornerback Jacob Underwood said. "He's a really good athlete and we tried to get him back out here. He's been really good for our team. He's made a big difference. Instead of just having one receiver, we have two you have to watch out for."

Cotner has made for a dangerous tandem with Austin Atchley, who was Scott City's top receiver as a junior. Atchley has continued to thrive with the addition of Cotner. Atchley caught two touchdowns in Friday's game at Chaffee.

"I'm not really surprised," Atchley said about Cotner's contributions this season. "I knew he was good. Our freshman year I was quarterback -- I wasn't a very good quarterback at all -- but he was a receiver and he put up a lot of yards. Our sophomore year he was a good punt returner and he was good receiver. He just got hurt."

The only real surprise for Atchley is that Cotner is with the Rams.

"I never saw him playing again," Atchley said. "He's got a lot riding on basketball. He's a really good basketball player."

Hurt on the field

Cotner's last encounter with a football field ended with a week in a wheelchair and five weeks on crutches after he separated the growth plate in his left hip.

The injury happened in a JV game against Jackson during his sophomore year. He collapsed making a cut while returning the game's opening kickoff. He said the muscles in his hip were tender from a hit the previous game.

"When I was on the ground, someone like flew in and their helmet hit right into my hip, and I think that's what did it," Cotner said.

He had to keep all weight off the hip for about six weeks, and he wasn't cleared to play basketball until the first day of varsity tryouts. The ordeal was a scare for a kid who dreams of some day playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.

"They said had I not done what I was supposed to, then I probably wouldn't have been able to play sports ever again," Cotner said. "When it first happened, I was just thinking it was going to heal, and then when they told me that, I was extremely scared."

He won a starting spot on the varsity basketball team and went on to average 12 points and 10 rebounds a game. But with the injury fresh in his mind, he opted not to play football his junior year to focus on his passion -- basketball.

"I was just nervous about that happening again," Cotner said. "I didn't want to ruin my basketball chances at all. I kind of think that's where I'm probably going to go for college -- basketball."

He doesn't look nervous on the field this year. He's playing a sport with Atchley, which is natural for the longtime teammates.

The two ran on the same four relay events at the Class 2 state meet.

"If there was a twin contest, I think me and Austin have got it in the bag," Cotner said, joking about the pair's similar athletic talent and tendency to compete at the same positions and events.

The two are waging a friendly competition for receiving yards. Cotner knew exactly where he stood in the battle.

"He's got 275, and I've got 278," Cotner said. "But he's got more touchdowns."

It's part of the chatter that Cotner brings to the locker room.

"He's always doing something crazy," May said. "He's a lot of fun. He's a funny kid. You never know what he might say or how he might say it. He makes a lot of people laugh."

Fun on the field

The Rams are 3-2 heading into tonight's home game against Portageville, already having surpassed the win totals in back-to-back 2-8 seasons under May.

"I think coach May is one of the best coaches I know, and I don't think he deserved to be 2-8 or just have a losing season," Cotner said. "He deserves a winning season, and that's what we're going to give him this year."

And if May has seen Cotner having more fun this year, it's because he is.

"I'm loving every second of it. Every bit of it," Cotner said. "I just love football. I should not have sat out my junior year. I probably should have played."

He's put aside the threat of injury that could derail his senior year of basketball.

"My grandpa is really worried because he likes to see me play basketball," Cotner said. "He thinks that's where I will go. He says that's my No. 1 sport, and he's really concerned about it, and so is the rest of my family."

But Cotner wants it no other way.

"I wanted to finish out my senior year with no regrets," he said. "That's pretty much what it was. I didn't want to regret, 'Hey, I didn't play my senior year of football and look what they did.' I just wanted to go out with a bang pretty much. I'm out here giving it everything I got."

What about regrets if he sustains a serious injury?

"I might have a regret about basketball," Cotner said. "But I'll be happy to say I was on the field with my teammates."