Doctors said his season was over. Cameron Elston had other plans

High School SportsDoctors told this Euclid sophomore his season was over. He played anyway — and scored twiceEuclid's Cameron Elston begins this season with a cast on his left hand and forearm.Matt Lofgren, special to cleveland.comBy Matt Lofgrenspecial to cleveland.comLYNDHURST, Ohio — Just two weeks ago, Euclid’s Cameron Elston sat in his doctor’s office staring up at an X-ray of his left hand. He was told his sophomore football season was over before it even began. The Euclid coaching staff had seen a lot of promise out of their underclassman running back, and didn’t know what they had just yet. Then they were devastated by the news of a broken pinky during a scrimmage.The story could have ended right there for Elston, with 10 weeks of standing on the sidelines in his blue No. 3 jersey with gold lettering in front of him. But instead, what happened showed the true character of Elston and the Panthers’ program.Elston chose to take the hard road, which involved carefully casting his entire left hand almost all the way up to his elbow. He took to the brand new turf at Korb Field with a padded blue cast that would make him a one-handed running back. “Two weeks we thought his season was over,” Euclid head coach Damion Creel said. “I can’t say enough about him, and we’re expecting some big things from him only being a sophomore.”Ready for his first taste of Friday night lights, Elston met the moment the way not many people watching from the stands thought he could. In a rematch of a tough defeat to open last season, Elston was the difference in the Panthers earning a difficult road win over Brush on Friday night. He set up and scored both of Euclid’s touchdowns in a 14-6 victory.He finished the game with 79 yards on 14 carries. “The doctor told me I couldn’t play the whole season,” Elston said with a big grin. “But I’m here right now. I’m just trying to have a good season.”Up 2-0 after a first-quarter safety, Creel was looking for a spark on offense to get his team moving in the right direction. Elston stepped up late in the third quarter to provide that moment for his team. On a roll-out play the Arcs had covered nicely in the flats, Elston found a soft spot in the second level as his quarterback, Rasheed Tutt, kept running to his right, looking for an opening. Tutt finally spotted Elston as the pressure picked up and floated a ball down the sideline right. Elston hauled in the pass against his chest and turned upfield for some more yards. That play set up a first-and-10 at the Arcs’ 13-yard line. Creel kept his trust in Elston and three plays later, on-fourth-and goal, the one-handed running back who could have let an injury define his season was celebrating with his team in the end zone with an 8-0 lead. “The line, they came apart and kept blocking down, and I hit a quick wheel (route) and was open,” Elston said. “Then I got the momentum up to set the tone, then I was like let’s get in here. Let’s score right now.”Gaining some breathing room on the scoreboard was a big boost that opened the door to a crucial mistake by the Arcs, who struggled on special teams in the second half. A mishandled punt snap set the Panthers up with first down at the Brush 18.Elston burst for a gain of 15 to set up first-and-goal, leading to his second touchdown. Elston punched in two scores less than two minutes apart, and he was the least surprised person on the field. He preached to his linemen, a group that looked stronger as the game went on, that the time was now to score, and they did just that with a big push.“I told them in the huddle, we’re getting in right here, and they got me in there,” Elston said. “They’re amazing.”