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By David Boyce  |  Northwest Football vs. Central Missouri  |  Saturday, Sept. 30  |  4 p.m.  |  Arrowhead Stadium  |  Kansas City, Mo.
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MARYVILLE, Mo. - The prospect of seeing No. 55, senior Cole Forney play a few snaps on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Stadium excited Northwest Missouri State student Jessica Lutz.
 
Like Lutz, Forney grew up in Maryville. They went to high school together. They are what Lutz likes to say, townies. Residents in small towns stick together and pull for each other, especially when adversity strikes.
 
Last January, Forney not only almost saw his final season on the football field for Northwest disappear, but his life was in jeopardy. Driving south on Interstate-29 with teammate Jacob Vollstedt in the passenger seat, Forney hit an icing patch that spun his truck into the guardrail. Vollstedt suffered several cuts.
  
Forney was ejected through the door and landed many feet away. It was a tragic conclusion for two student-athletes who were heading to William Jewell for an internship.
 
Forney was taken to Mosiac Life Center in St. Joseph and later that evening transported to KU Medical Center. His injuries were extensive. He had a ruptured diaphragm, a fractured pelvis, and many other internal injuries.
 
"I was really worried," said Cole Forney's dad, Jay Forney. "We didn't know if he was going to live through it."
 
Northwest head coach Rich Wright received a call from Jacob Vollstedt's dad soon after the wreck and hopped in his truck to see Forney.
 
"It was very emotional," Wright said. "I was the first guy at the hospital. When you walk into a room and on one side of the curtain, you have one of your players, Jacob Vollstedt and he got some cuts. You see that. But you get on the other side, and you see Cole Forney and the multitude of injuries he had. He basically broke everything on the left side of his body. You see how badly hurt he was that night and watch how long he was in a medically-induced coma."
 
And the obvious thought is Forney would never play football for Northwest again.
 
Forney spent a month in the hospital at KU Medical Center. While he had a goal to return to the football field, it was hard to see that happening last February.
 
Lutz remembered visiting Forney at the hospital. He had the television on, and a black-and-white western was playing. Lutz recalls asking him, "Cole, what are watching?"
 
Forney's response: "I am watching sports center."
 
When Forney heard this story after last Saturday's 63-0 victory over Missouri Southern on Family Weekend at Northwest, a big grinned crossed his face.
 
"I don't remember much at the hospital," Forney said. "They had me on all different types of stuff. Everybody has funny stories about me in the hospital about me being looney as heck."
 
Forney was all smiles last Saturday for plenty of reasons. It was the second game that he saw some action at linebacker and his first at Bearcat Stadium since the 2015 season. He received a medical redshirt for the 2016 season because of football injuries.
 
Against Missouri Southern, Forney had a tackle and recorded half a sack.
 
"It feels great," Forney said. "It took a lot of hard work to get back out here and support from my family, but we made it."
 
The day meant a lot of his dad.
 
"It was emotional," Jay said. "He played well."
 
More than likely, Forney will see a few more snaps Saturday when Northwest takes on Central Missouri at 4 p.m. in the Fall Classic at Arrowhead. It is a special time for all the football players to compete in an NFL stadium.
 
Whenever Northwest takes on Central Missouri, the games are usually close and intense. It figures the same will happen again. Northwest, 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in the AFCA top 25, brings a 34-game winning streak into the contest. Central Missouri is 3-1.
 
As special as the upcoming game is likely to be, it will be hard to top what took place a week ago at Family Weekend. It is a time when the Bearcats reflect on former Northwest defensive coordinator and head coach Scot Bostwick and other members of the Bearcat family who suffered untimely deaths, like Nick Turner, who suddenly passed away Jan. 31, 2016.
 
Last week, at the pregame breakfast, Forney stood in front of his teammates and talked about his journey to return to the field as a player.
 
"It really got our energy going just because of what he represents for our university and our team," said Northwest junior linebacker Ben Althoff. "He is such a great role model for all the guys in the locker room to look up to. To overcome the adversity in his life is amazing."
 
The return of Forney meant a lot to sophomore Brody McMahon, who also grew up in Maryville and has known Forney long before he started playing at Northwest.
 
"That was incredible to see him out there," McMahon said. "He has had some tough luck. He loves the game of football. He is the toughest guy I know."
 
Forney said he played in five to 10 snaps in week three at Nebraska-Kearney.
 
"The first time I walked out there last week I had some Jello legs, but against Missouri Southern, it was a lot more normal, felt more like football.
 
"I knew that I had a great support staff and people around me who could help me get to this point. I never really doubted it."
 
Wright knew what was inside Forney and believed he would give everything he had to return.
 
"The human spirit is an unbelievable thing," Wright said. "I truly believe that. It is his determination and grit to persevere through it that I knew it would give him a shot."
 
Wright was recently asked by somebody if Forney would be the same player he was before the accident.
 
"I don't care," Wright said. "The fact that he is playing is what it is all about."
 
And that is why his family and friends like Lutz were so excited to see him on the field again. His determination and the support from so many people showed what can be overcome.
 
It means the world for Forney to put on the Bearcat uniform again and play for Northwest.
 
"I grew up watching these guys. It is a special place to play," Forney said.
 
Wright felt that emotion from Forney just before kickoff against Missouri Southern.
 
"I was standing with him at the tunnel," Wright said. "He was at the front of the tunnel. He had a red hat on. He and Jordan Bishop carried out Nick Turner's jersey as a piece of the players' family. You could tell by the look on his face how much it meant.
 
"He said to have the opportunity to come out here and play again was going to be something he remembered for the rest of his life."