Spring Break Spotlight: Sherrill defied the odds

Blake Sherrill lined up for a routine kick return during the second quarter of Sandpoint’s season opener against Post Falls on August 27, 2021.

What happened next not only could’ve ended Sherrill’s football season, but his whole senior year.

The kick fell a little short, resulting in Sherrill receiving the kick-off. Sherrill met a Post Falls defender head-to-head. He blacked out. Once he came to it, he realized he was hurting pretty badly.

“I blacked out for a second, but I honestly do that a lot while playing football,” Sherrill said. “I just remember feeling like I couldn’t get up and my back was killing me.”

The ambulance came on to the field and transported Sherrill to the nearest hospital.

Once Sherrill got to the hospital, all he was concerned about was the outcome of the game. He was trying to keep his mind off the pain.

“I just remember it being something like 7-0 when I left,” Sherrill said. “I tried to keep my mind off of the injury until later on. It didn’t hit me until the drive back from the hospital.”

Once Sherrill received his results, it was learned that he had fractured a vertebrae in his back.

This injury proved to be a significant one, with 25 percent compression in his back, which is a huge jump compared to the average five to 10 percent.

“It was crazy to me,” Sherrill said. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to play again or do anything again. It really scared me.”

Once Sherrill went in to see his first doctor, he said it was so significant that he needed three months of straight rest.

“After that, my dad said, we’re going to go get a second opinion,” Sherrill said. “He wanted to get a second opinion because he didn’t want me to be done with football that early.”

That second opinion that Sherrill received gave him the results he was looking for.

“We went to see a doctor who used to be a college football player,” he said. “He said everything just depends on how fast I could heal.”

Sherrill was keeping his workload light for the first three weeks, after his first couple of X-rays. Sherrill was cleared for rehab.

“When I came back in, he said it was healing super fast,” Sherrill said. “I started getting some muscles around it and got ready to come back.”

Sherrill’s time away from the field was tough on him emotionally. It was extremely hard for him to sit on the sidelines and watch his teammates practice knowing he couldn’t be out there with them.

“It was really dark,” Sherrill said. “I was so bad. I was out there throwing the ball every time I could, just hoping I could get back as soon as I could.”

Seven and a half weeks later, he got the news that he was cleared to get back on the gridiron. Sherill described his emotions as night and day.

“At first my timeline was going to be coming back during the first playoff game,” Sherrill said. “But I was able to come back during our final two league games. I was so happy and excited to know that I could play.”

Sherrill’s first game back was in a limited capacity with him taking snaps at punter. But, he did receive a standing ovation during his first game back.

“It was super special,” Sherrill said. “They gave me a special announcement and it was honestly amazing.”

Sherrill did experience some nerves when he first stepped back onto the field, however.

“I was nervous to get back out there and possibly make it worse,” he said. “But I talked to my coach about it and he said ‘You’re going to punt the ball and get off the field.’

The next game, Sherrill found himself back on the field, this time, back on the defensive line.

“It felt good to be back on the defensive line and push people around,” Sherrill said. “It’s always fun and great to be back with my d-line buddies.”

While playing three sports, Sherrill racked up a laundry list of small injuries, from bruises to dislocations, but this experience really helped him decide the direction of his future.

He intends to go to community college and study athletic training.

“Since I’ve gone through so many injuries, I’ve been able to help my teammates,” Sherrill said. “It’s always been fun, even though it sucks being injured, it's always been fun helping the guys out.”

During his sports career, he’s become the most attached to baseball.

“I’ve struggled the most with baseball, but I’ve also had the most fun,” Sherrill said. “I’ve been able to get better and learn from my mistakes. You’re failing 70 percent of the time, and in other sports you fail significantly less than that.”

Sherrill’s third sport is wrestling. He’s qualified for the state tournament each year during his high school career.

It’s also the sport he’s been involved in the longest being a wrestler since he was five years old.

He described baseball as the hardest sport mentally but said wrestling was the hardest sport physically.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Sherrill said. ”I had one practice where I lost almost nine pounds. It wasn't even that bad because you’re working hard and having fun.”

Sherrill was one of a few seniors on the wrestling team which thrust him into a leadership role.

“It was special,” Sherrill said. “When I was little, I had these three or four guys in the room that I’d look up to. I was like man, I’m going to be like them some day and now I’m living it.”