The Grind, presented by Bank of Clarendon: East Clarendon's Cornelius won't let injury define senior season

This fall was supposed to be when everything came together for Takoda Cornelius.

The East Clarendon senior has been a do-it-all star for the Wolverines since making the move to EC with his dad and head coach, Larry Cornelius, in 2023. For two years, Koda played quarterback on offense for the betterment of the team, but he finally got the chance to move back to receiver this fall. This season was his last chance to play for his dad and his first to play varsity football with his younger brother, Skyler.

On Friday, Aug. 22, that dream took a devastating turn.

Just before halftime of their 39-0 win over Scott's Branch in Week 1, Koda came down into the box to lay down a block for a teammate. Unfortunately, his ankle was clipped on the play. After an ambulance ride to the hospital, Koda learned that he broke his fibula, dislocated his ankle and tore three ligaments. He had a successful surgery on Wednesday, which will give him a fighting chance to salvage the end of his final football season, but it's far from ideal. Through it all, Koda has been a rock.

"It's all God's plan," he said simply.

BORN TO BALL

Koda was raised around the sport of football. Some of his earliest memories were formed on the gridiron, watching his dad coach at the high school level. He picked up flag football about the age of six and eventually graduated to tackle football.

But the sport was never thrust upon Koda. He just got the same itch his dad has from the very beginning and never let go.

"It's always my choice," Koda said of playing football, though he was quick to note that he was never allowed to quit a sport. Once a season started, he was expected to see it through to the end. "I've always had a passion for the sport, but I really started to gain more of it when I hit my sophomore year. My freshman year, I was on JV at Lakewood, so it was more of a developing phase. Then, when I got here, the middle of my sophomore season, I'd say I really fell in love with the sport."

Growing up in Georgia, Koda was always busy with various sports. Football and baseball were the staples growing up, and he eventually added wrestling and track into the mix. While the Cornelius family lived and breathed football, so did their best friends, the Martins.

Willie Martin coached with Larry at Mitchell County in Georgia. When Larry accepted the head coaching job at Lakewood in 2017, one coach came along for the ride, and so did his sons, Javion and Jayden.

"In Georgia, we were only down the street from each other, so they used to come over a lot. We were outside every day. If we were not, we were playing inside," Koda said of the Martin family. "When we came down to South Carolina, we had a park out there. We played football every day; it would be like 1 p.m. till 10 at night, and our dads will have to come get us to go inside. Every day we were playing football."

With those years of playing together, the Cornelius and Martin children blossomed into stars. Willie left Larry's staff a couple years after moving to Sumter to become Crestwood's offensive coordinator. Javion became the Knights' starting quarterback as a freshman and was an instant superstar. He led CHS to a region title as a senior, earning a spot in the Shrine Bowl. He's now at North Carolina Central. Takoda moved to EC as a sophomore and grew into an all-region player as an offensive weapon and a safety. The younger brothers have made an early impact, too. Jayden "Fatso" Martin started for Crestwood as a freshman last year and caught three touchdowns in their season opener against Manning last week. Skyler, Koda's younger brother, is playing varsity football this fall as a freshman, scoring a touchdown in his debut against Scott's Branch.

"Their football IQ is a lot different than most kids," Larry said. "Even with Skyler, and I'm sure Fatso is the same way, they can play multiple positions just based on knowledge alone. Us always being together, our boys are naturally around it all the time, playing Madden football, backyard football. Not just the football IQ, but learning moves from each other, little nuances."

Koda learned so much through osmosis by going to his dad's practices as a kid and sitting around in meeting rooms waiting to go home for the day.

"I think that does help me a lot," Koda said about being raised around football. "Stuff like coverages and routes, that stuff comes naturally to me because of my dad. Since I've always been around it, certain movements have also just become natural. Anything football-wise, it usually just comes naturally to me."

PLAYING FOR DAD

Of course, being the son of a coach, some people will assume Koda was only on the field as a sophomore because his dad was the head coach. If anything, it was the opposite.

"That daddy ball thing, I don't envy Takoda or Skyler one bit because, unfortunately, I don't handle it the right way. I do believe they have to do more than everyone else, and that's not fair to them," Larry said. "I realize that, but that's just the way I'm built because I don't want anyone to think he's getting favoritism. If you're around this program, people know they have it pretty hard."

Having your father as a head coach was definitely an acquired taste for Koda.

"My first two years of football, I did not like it," Koda admitted about playing for his dad. "I felt targeted in most ways because I had to prove myself first. I had to learn that he was just doing that out of love, and he can't just show me a special kind of love just because I'm his son. But now, these last two years, I feel like I've earned it a little more, and we all get treated fairly."

This fall is particularly special because both Skyler and Koda are in the varsity program. Larry isn't taking the opportunity for granted.

"It flies by. I was thinking just yesterday he was a little squirt on the JV team at Lakewood, and he's grown a lot," Larry said. "It's really cool to have both of my sons on the same team. Honestly, I wasn't sure if that was going to happen, but Skyler has done a tremendous job. I have to give that young man a lot of credit."

This season means more to Koda's mom, Takeia, than maybe anyone else.

"For me and him, it's cool, it's whatever. My mom, she's the one that's really proud about it. She already has shirts made for both of us," Koda said of playing with his brother. "It's cool. He looks really good, and I love that. He's probably gonna be better than me by his sophomore year, I'm not going to lie. He's looking really good."

MULTI-SPORT ATHLETE

Koda literally does a little bit of everything at East Clarendon. Along with starring on the gridiron, he was a state qualifier in both wrestling and track, setting a new school record in both the 100m and 200m dashes. He also played for the EC baseball team that made a run to lower state this year. He feels that being a well-rounded athlete makes him better in each of the sports.

"Wrestling is more so conditioning. Wrestling practice is definitely different than any other practice, so it definitely does give me a lot more conditioning," Koda said. "With track, I definitely got way faster; that's the best part about it. Baseball, just coordination and arm strength, throwing the ball."

He also plays both sides of the ball in football, which makes him better in each position. As a quarterback and a receiver, he knows the little things he can do to get under the skin of a defensive back because he's seen it all as a safety.

"I would say it's cocky but I believe, if I can't guard it, they can't guard it," Koda said. "I love seeing, as a safety, what's hard to guard, what concepts are hard for everybody to follow. I think that's where we get a lot of our inspiration from."

MOVING TO EC

After playing JV football in his dad's program at Lakewood, Koda made the move over to East Clarendon as a sophomore. He joined a program that won just one game the year before and needed a little life. Koda wasn't entirely sure what he was getting himself into.

"It was a little iffy," Koda admitted. "I didn't know anybody here yet, so I saw the record coming to EC was like 1-9. I didn't know how we were going to do that year. I really didn't have a lot of confidence. We were good, we had potential, but I didn't think we were all the way there yet going to my sophomore year, so it was very uninspiring. Midway through the year, I realized we can actually be something these next two years, so I think it's actually fun. I like a challenge."

Part of the reason Koda was hesitant to was because the Wolverines didn't know who was going to guide the offense. Originally, Koda was going to play receiver, but when scrimmages didn't go very smoothly, he was moved to quarterback because of his knowledge of his father's offense.

"The offense always came natural. I never understood how you couldn't learn the offense," Koda said. "Our first year, we didn't have all of our plays that we do now. We were really just running counter and power. We really rarely threw the ball. But I didn't really like it. Now, going into my junior year, I realized it's fun to have the ball in your hand every play, so I liked it, but I would still rather play receiver because you get more spectacular plays there."

While Koda didn't particularly want to play quarterback, he wanted to help the team. Larry has always been proud of the way his son put himself to the side to do whatever was necessary for the Wolverines to win.

"There's not one time that he's come up to me and said, 'Dad, I don't want to do this.' If he had, it's an entirely different situation. He knows that he was the best person for that particular job the last couple of years," Larry said. "It just goes back to that team concept, doing what you have to do for the team. Has it hurt him individually in having opportunities at the next level? For sure. I think he knows that."

While he didn't particularly want to play quarterback, that decision helped the Wolverines win a lot more than they had the year before. Koda passed for 482 yards and five touchdowns, while running for 311 yards and four scores as East Clarendon went 5-6, including a 3-1 mark in region play. They finished second in Region V-1A, earning a home playoff game. He did some of that despite an injury to his left hand midway through the season.

"For the rest of the year, he couldn't pitch with his left hand, so we had to run triple option to the right or triple option pass to the left," Larry said. "He's a tough kid. Unfortunately, he's battled injuries all four years, whether it be a broken hand, a broken foot we didn't know about. Last year in the first round of the playoffs, pulled hamstrings, the whole nine yards."

Last year, they got even better. Koda played 10 games and passed for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns, rushing for 482 yards and 10 scores. The junior led EC to the playoffs with a 7-3 record in the regular season despite some nagging injuries. Koda didn't start the regular season finale against Marion, but when the Wolverines trailed 14-6 at halftime, he told his dad he wanted to suit up. They went on to win 42-22.

"He didn't have his shoulder pads or helmet on, and he just came up and said, 'Can I play the second half?' And we ended up scoring five touchdowns in the second half," Larry said. "He's that kind of player, a team player. He puts it on his shoulders."

Coming into his senior season, Koda's expectations were through the roof.

"I believe we've always aimed high, but this is the highest we've ever aimed. We need to at least go undefeated. That's the bare minimum. Win at least two playoff games. We can't just keep going just winning one and losing in the second round; that's not successful here. My dad definitely doesn't believe in that, and he preaches that. I want to at least win two playoff games. I do want to win a state championship, but two playoff games minimum right now."

The senior wanted to push himself every rep this fall, especially as he tries to catch the eye of college coaches. Without much film at receiver, every play counts.

"Before your senior year, you don't want to slack, but there's always a certain play or something you're not giving your full 100% effort on. I don't believe in that. This year, I can't do that at all," Koda said. "I have to go 100% every play whether it's a run play and I have to block, get a pancake, get them on the ground, that could be on film. Anything can always be a highlight. I need to ballhawk every single play and everything that's coming to me, I need to take advantage of."Despite his injury, Koda's expectations for the Wolverines remain high.

"The last two years, I definitely felt like I needed to be out there. I feel like there's not a lot of pressure this year. There is because I'm a senior, but not as we're going to lose if I'm not out there," Koda said before he got hurt. "I believe we still have a great chance to win every game if I'm not out there. That puts a lot less pressure on me, but I still do want to be out there on the field, so I do everything I can."

WATCHING FROM THE SIDELINE

Friday night was challenging for everyone involved. After Koda went down, Larry ran onto the field and held his son's head in his hands, trying to offer support. When Koda left for the hospital, Larry resumed his job on the sidelines, a monumental task when there are so many unknowns. Skyler resumed playing for his older brother. It hasn't gotten much easier in the intervening days.

"My heart just melts for him. It's weighed heavily on me. Put football aside, put my job description aside, and I just hate it as a dad with the expectations that he had for this season," Larry said. "It just stinks. We put it in God's hands. We're hoping optimistically that he can get on the field by the end of the year."

Through everything, Koda is gripping his faith more tightly than ever.

"He's been strong about it. He's been stronger than I expected, to be honest. He has a lot of faith in God, and I think that's where it resides right now," Larry said. "It's in God's hands now. If he can get back on the field for a game or two or more, that's awesome, but if that's not the plan, then it isn't."

Unfortunately, Koda won't be able to be on the field for most of his senior football season, but he's still going to be a member of the Wolverines.

Before his surgery on Wednesday, Koda went to practice to support his teammates.

"He already has been around. He came to school on Tuesday, pulled a chair out on the field during practice, watched the entire practice," Larry said. "The community has been great; they've been sending gift after gift, text messages, phone calls. The third-graders at Walker Gamble wrote him a bunch of letters. Just a lot of love being thrown his way."

That outpouring of support means the world to the Cornelius family. To Larry, it proves the impact his son has made at EC in such a short period of time.

"It feels good that he's made a positive impact on the community and they see that. Their hearts are melting just as much as mine. It's a sad circumstance, but it's one thing in life, and we're going to bounce back and be stronger for it."

The Wolverines are trying to rally around their senior leader after the injury. Larry has been impressed by the way they're attacking each rep, partially because an injury to your biggest star crystalizes the reality that an injury can happen to anyone at any time.

"Honestly, we've had the best week of practice we've had in a long time, might've been our best week in the three years I've been here," Larry said. "Any time you lose a starter, not just his caliber, I think the team realizes we have to get back to fundamentals. Takoda covered up a lot of things, a lot of our weaknesses. In order for us to win, we have to do the little things. That means more now than it did last week."

LEADERSHIP

Being forced to the sideline will allow Koda to show one of his greatest strengths, his leadership. The senior takes great pride in being a resource for his teammates no matter the circumstances. He tries to strike a balance between his dad's intense nature and his more relaxed presence outside of football.

"From a kid's perspective, I feel like it's harder to listen to a coach than a kid, somebody closer to your age, but I don't feel like we have that problem here. I believe they actually take pride in having somebody as a leader and somebody to listen to," Koda said. "They've always said I acted like my dad a little bit when I'm yelling at them because I do yell a lot on the field. I'm more chill outside of football, but I do yell a lot on the field. Outside of football, they're asking me questions in school about their work. I guess I am a senior, but I feel like I'm always in their top three options to come to for anything. They respect me a lot here.

"I do have pride in my last name, but I also do love being independent."