Joseph Welch, the ECS QB who refused to let 3 torn ACLs stop him, is courage award winner

During a road game early in his sophomore season, Evangelical Christian School quarterback Joseph Welch rolled out to pass and looked downfield for an open receiver. He couldn't find one, so he tucked the ball to run.

But when he planted his foot to cut, his knee gave out. 

"My adrenaline was pumping, so I didn’t think it was going to be that major," Welch said. "But then they started pulling on my knee and doing the tests, and they figured it was a torn ACL and then the MRI confirmed it."

That was just the beginning, the first of three torn ACL injuries Welch had over his high school career.

In recognition of his perseverance, Welch is the recipient of The Commercial Appeal's Courage Award and will be honored at the third annual Commercial Appeal Sports Awards presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans on Friday at the Orpheum Theatre.

The sports awards program begins at 6 p.m. with a red carpet show.

"He’s a very calm, cool and collected kid," former ECS coach Jonas Rodriguez said. "Very intentional and aware of the situation, and I’ve been really impressed with how he’s been able to manage the emotion.

"He was really churning on the inside with disappointment and fear and all those things that can take place when you have an injury like the ones he’s sustained. He did a good job of disguising it and really putting the team ahead of his own concern."

The first two times, Welch rehabbed his knee with the hopes of returning to the football field and to the lacrosse team.

"For the first one, they took my patella tendon and used it as my ACL," Welch said. "And then when that got torn, they took a part of my hamstring and took out the patella tendon which had torn and used the hamstring as the ACL."

But the third time, which came late this past season, ended his high school career.

"I couldn’t imagine it would happen for a third time, but it did," he said. "Thankfully it happened the second to last game of the season, so I was thankful I got most of my senior season. It was kind of crushing not being able to play in my last high school football game." 

Although he got hurt at the end, Welch was able to play most of his senior season and helped lead ECS (9-3) to its best season since 2014. The Eagles made it to the second round of the DII-AA playoffs before losing to Lausanne. 

"It was definitely all worth it," Welch said. "The memories I made, especially this senior season, with all my friends. I’ll remember those times forever and cherish them." 

High school football:Evangelical Christian quarterback Joseph Welch refuses to be stopped by two ACL surgeries