From the Bench: In Year Where Football Fans Believe Things Unfair, BHS's Lowther Faces Real Tragedy
By Jeff Toquinto on November 17, 2024 from Sports Blog
There is a lot of sadness and uncertainty right now in the world of West Virginia High School football. Legal wrangling, ongoing doubt about the future status of the postseason, and people screaming that things are not fair has saturated the fiber of state prep football.
While I will not belittle the concerns, it should come with perspective. Whatever transpires, even with the Supreme Court’s involvement, those involved will move ahead.
If you believe that is cruel thinking, my apologies. Understand, there are those involved with high school football that were dealt a cruel 
hand long before the litigation lunacy began.
hand long before the litigation lunacy began.
A case study for that would be Bridgeport High School junior Bryson Lowther. He has been dealt a combination of blows no student-athlete his age should have to deal with.
The first of those blows is unfortunate, but sadly comes with the territory of football. Lowther is recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee that took place before the first official snap of the 2024 season. He is now in recovery mode, having had surgery Nov. 1 under the skillful hands of Dr. Joseph Fazalare at United Hospital Center.
“I hurt it the Wednesday before our first scrimmage in August,” said Lowther. “I was playing on defensive end at practice and on that day, we were working on how to defend Morgantown’s offense.
“I read the play and was going to make the sack,” he continued. “You never hurt your teammate in practice so instead of tackling him I
tried to hold up and shift the momentum to my right leg. I heard my knee pop and cave in.”
tried to hold up and shift the momentum to my right leg. I heard my knee pop and cave in.”
Despite actually blowing out his knee, Lowther thought he was good – even though he probably had a reason to think otherwise, and we will address that shortly. The pain lasted, he said, for about 10 seconds and there was no swelling.
“It certainly didn’t feel like anything was torn,” said Lowther. “The coaches just sat me out after that for precautionary reasons.”
Lowther would wake up the next morning ready for another day of hot August practice. Instead, he awoke to a knee heavily swollen.
“The rest of the day it got progressively worse, and I figured out I had a tear,” said Lowther. “I got an x-ray, and an MRI, but I already knew what I was looking at. I knew my season was over before they told me it was torn.”
The reason for Lowther’s certainty was not rooted in a pessimistic outlook. Instead, it was rooted in experience. As a freshman, he saw the same swelling on his left knee, and it would be torn ACL there that ended that campaign for him.
“That was an in-game injury. I think it was midseason, about the fifth game, and it happened on a kickoff return,” he said. “I was running after a guy, and slowed down when the play was over, and it just tore.”
Season over. Surgery would be done, also by Dr. Fazalare, and rehabilitation began. It was a difficult journey for a teenager, and it made 
this second one even harder to deal with for him and for his family and friends.
this second one even harder to deal with for him and for his family and friends.
“It was gut-wrenching to see it happen,” his father Rich Lowther said. “To see him fight back and go through what he is going through makes me proud of him. Bryson has handled it well because he has a high pain tolerance, and he has been very mature about it.”
After watching him go through the first surgery and recovery helps make Rich Lowther have the confidence that his son can deal with this one, too. After the first surgery, Bryson Lowther was down seven months and returned to play in his sophomore season. Even better, he ended up getting varsity playing time last year.
“I got called up to varsity, I think in week three. I played offensive guard and saw a little bit of time at defensive end,” the 5’10, 225-pounder said. “I felt good and was confident about playing then and was really confident about this year. I spent a lot of time in the weight room getting ready for my sophomore year and this year.”
Lowther was looking at playing on both sides of the ball. He was figuring to see playing time at defensive end and left guard on a team that was predicted to be a title contender – and a 10-0 regular season shows that the predictions were correct.
“He was strong as a sophomore and he was putting himself in position to be a prime candidate for all-conference or even all-state because he spent a lot of time in the weight room, and busted his tail,” said BHS Coach Tyler Phares. “He’s such a great kid who worked so hard, and to see him go down was tough.
“The coaches love him because of that work ethic,” Phares continued. “You never had to question that work ethic or where his mind was so when he was injured it was a shot to the entire team. Having it happen twice is about as bad as it can get.”
Physically, that may be as bad as it would get. But things were about to get much worse for Bryson Lowther on a personal front.
Roughly a month ago, on Sept. 19 to be exact, Bryson’s mother, Melissa Helmick, passed away at the youthful age of 40 following an 
extended illness. The knee injury and all the pain associated with it paled in comparison.
extended illness. The knee injury and all the pain associated with it paled in comparison.
“It’s been hard,” Bryson said of his mom’s passing. “It’s also motivation for me to plug into being ready to play next season. I’m using that motivation to be ready by mid-summer so when August rolls around I can be ready to play my senior year. I just have to stay focused on getting better and doing it for her as motivation.
“Dealing with the therapy, dealing with my mom, it’s been rough,” he continued. “I’m getting through it, and will get through it,” he said.
Bryson Lowther, who his father called “his pride and joy,” has a lot of things working in his favor to get through the physical and personal woes on his plate. The love of his dad, an elevated level of maturity, support of his coaches and teammates, knowing what it takes to bounce back, and an unfortunate dose of perspective.
It is a perspective all of us could stand to use a little more of, and perhaps knowing what this young man is going through will put the high school sports situation – and all prep sports – into the proper perspective.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Bryson Lowther prior to surgery earlier this month, while the second photo shows him a season-ready shape during picture day. In the third photo, Lowther poses for a photo on the sidelines by himself and with teammates in the fourth photo. He is shown with his father Rich outside the BHS field house in the bottom photo. Sideline photos by Joe LaRocca, other photos courtesy of Rich Lowther.
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