A valley high school football player fighting back from a devastating injury has become an inspiration.
Malik Hausman owes his comeback to a player from a different school who stepped in when Hausman needed it most.
Hausman and Tony Fields II were on a recruiting visit to the University of Arizona in July.
Hausman plays for Bishop Gorman. Fields plays for Desert Pines.
"A car was approaching us 70 miles per hour, and I looked over, and I yelled, "Malik!" and I grabbed him and jumped out the way," Fields said.
The drunk driver caught Hausman's leg. His ACL and LCL in his knee were torn.
Just like that, his senior season was yanked away as he became confined to the sideline.
"One day at practice, I was in the weight room looking out on the field and just looking at everybody, and I went back into my locker, and I was thinking about it, and I just started crying," Hausman said. "That was the first time I cried."
He remains a captain for his Gorman team, as his role has changed.
"I've just been trying to be positive for my team," Hausman said. "Just keep them on the right track, like the younger guys. Just trying to coach them, get them ready."
He doesn't remember the accident.
The memories of those moments only haunt Fields, the friend who saved him.
"When I walk across the street sometimes I have flashbacks," Fields said. "At nighttime when I walk across the street I'm more cautious."
Both young men say the experience brought them closer together.
Hausman is rehabbing and expects to be back alongside Fields next year for their freshman seasons at Arizona.
