Game of the Week: Davidson vs. McGill

ALABAMA (WALA) - When the McGill-Toolen Yellow Jackets take the field Friday, they’ll have a lot on their minds. They'll be focused on the game plan and individual assignments, perhaps, but even more meaningful: They'll be thinking of their former offensive coach, Scott Lesley.

“He’s gone 51 yards on the toss sweep,” said Lesley watching his team’s game film. “It just gives me shivers to see the toss sweep work so well on that weak side, and I’m just so proud of those guys.”

Coach Lesley is left to watch the games from home after finding out he’d have to leave McGill-Toolen and focus on taking care of himself. A doctor’s appointment brought unsettling news. Cancer-related issues were back.

“When somebody looks at you, and you have children that you love and a family that you love, and they tell you it’s a 50/50 chance that you’re not going to be here, it changes your life,” Lesley said. “It affects you, and I thought I had gotten through it.”

Instead, doctors are keeping a watchful eye on his melanoma. Lesley knew he needed to be at home.

“My family is my ultimate responsibility,” Lesley said. “Being a man, his family is his ultimate responsibility, so he has to do all the things required to maximize his ability to take care of his family and be with his family and take care of any health issues so that you can be here.”

However, Coach Lesley misses his boys and the game he loves. He can’t help but feel guilty for his absence.

“We’re big on the saying, 'It doesn’t matter what the excuse is, it’s what the result is,' and the fact that I wasn’t out there with them - regardless of the fact that I had no choice in the matter - still I feel like I let those guys down,” Lesley said.

However, if you talk to players like junior kicker Thomas Hamlin, that’s not the case.

”Well, he always called me the Golden Leg because I guess he always thought I could kick pretty far. So he always called me Golden Leg, and every time I’d see him he would just call me Golden Leg and it meant a lot to me. And I know he has to be with his family and that means a lot, and I hope to carry that on because if something happens, I want to be with my family always, and that means a lot to me,” Hamlin said.

It's not just Hamlin, but the whole team. The yellow jackets have “Coach Lesley” stickers on the backs of their helmets to honor their former coach. They’ve donned the stickers at all four games this season and haven’t lost one.

“We can’t tell him as much as it means to us, so we put it on our helmets every game, and we have signs on the sidelines for Coach Lesley, and he’s just remarkable to us,” Hamlin said.

“To see that out there, it means a lot to me, especially when they’re playing like they’re playing,” Lesley said. “I want the kids to understand: You never know what you’re going to get dealt, you just have to make the most of it.”