2nd Battery Creek player released from hospital; 3rd awaits surgery

Battery Creek football player John DeLoach was sent home from the hospital Monday, the second Dolphin released following Thursday’s violent auto accident that sent a third teammate to a Charleston hospital with severe facial injuries.

Jelani Boyd remains at the Medical University of South Carolina, coach Fred Hamilton said, as doctors wait for the swelling to go down enough to perform surgery.

Hamilton visited Boyd on Sunday, where they had a brief conversation as the running back was walking with assistance down a corridor.

“He did recognize me and spoke to me,” Hamilton said. “I told him to get some rest, I’d just step out in the hallway with his dad. He just needs a lot of rest. He’s been through some trauma ... but things are a whole lot better than they were a couple of days ago.”

DeLoach, a wide receiver who also contributes on special teams, underwent knee surgery at Beaufort Memorial Hospital for a torn tendon and torn meniscus, Hamilton said. Ahman Smalls, the third player, came home Friday after treatment to close a cut on his head. The linebacker likely also suffered a concussion, the coach said.

Smalls also spent part of Sunday traveling to Charleston for a visit with Boyd, Hamilton said.

The players were hurt last Thursday as they rode together after leaving Battery Creek’s JV game against May River. They were less than three miles from campus on Laurel Bay Road when their vehicle collided with a pickup driven by Ojars Jurjans of Beaufort.

Jurjans, 79, appears to have failed to yield the right of way before turning left onto Shanklin Road, according to a Burton Fire District news release.

“It couldn’t have been more than 10 or 15 minutes after (they left),” Hamilton said. “It shocked everybody; it really did. I know it floored me.”

With Battery Creek facing an open date this week, the Dolphins did not gather as a team over the weekend. Hamilton said they’d spend some time talking as part of Monday afternoon’s practice.

The three players’ jerseys were draped over the visitors’ bench Friday night when the shaken Dolphins traveled to May River. A fourth-quarter touchdown lifted May River to a 6-2 triumph, giving the first-year Sharks their inaugural victory.

“They competed hard,” said Hamilton, noting the team also found out hours before kickoff that quarterback Gabe Singleton was unavailable because of a broken arm suffered in practice the day before.

“We threw it out there and did everything we could to win. We had to change our offense up. We ran a completely different offensive scheme than what we (had been) running because of the circumstances. ... We’ll come out of this thing. It could have been worse; that’s the way I’m looking at it.”

This story was originally published October 24, 2016 at 5:21 PM with the headline "2nd Battery Creek player released from hospital; 3rd awaits surgery."