GRANGER — Ryder Bice’s life during the last two weeks has been similar to a Hollywood script.
Two weeks ago, the senior had a medical scare when he passed out following the second of a pair of two-point conversion receptions in the Granger football team’s 58-14 blowout of Somerville. Last week, Bice returned to the field to play the entire game in the Lions’ 35-33 squeaker at Burton, where he made the game-winning play by tackling a Panthers wide receiver on a game-tying two-point conversion attempt.
Granger (10-0, 7-0 in district) completed its regular season and had a bye this week before it begins its playoff run against D’Hanis or La Pryor.
Bice recollected on the events of the Somerville game.
“My heart was racing before the game and I could feel it a little bit, but I just thought I was nervous,” he said. “I wasn’t really worried about it.
About two minutes into the first quarter after I scored my second twopoint conversion, I walked up to my coach and said, ‘I think I’m going to pass out.’” Bice lost consciousness and does not remember anything that happened immediately after telling his position coach that he was going to pass out.
He does remember the scene when he woke up, however.
“I woke up to ice on me and people saying they can’t get my heart rate down. My heart was beating more than 200 beats a minute,” Bice said. “Until the EMS arrived, they couldn’t get my heart rate below 190. Once they got me up on the stretcher, it dropped back to normal.”
Being a competitor, Bice admitted he didn’t want to leave Lions Stadium in an ambulance and wanted to return to the field instead. Against his wishes, Bice was taken to Baylor Scott & White Hospital in Round Rock.
“I didn’t want to leave because my heart rate was back to normal, but they said I needed to go to the hospital,” he said. “I was at the hospital for about three hours, but I was cleared to return to action after I left at the hospital.” Bice said he has a minor heart murmur but also said the pre-existing condition had nothing to do with the rapid heartbeat. The fainting incident was believed to be caused by Supraventricular Tachycardia, or SVT, according to Bice.
A week later, the senior rover/wide receiver returned to action with a chance to help his team finish an undefeated regular season. Leading 35-33 after Burton scored a touchdown with less than a minute to go, the Lions’ defense lined up to try and prevent the Panthers from tying the game with a two-point conversion.
“It was pretty crazy and I was excited to see what they threw to my side,” Bice said.
As it turned out, the play went to Bice’s side.
After the Burton receiver caught the pass, Bice ran toward him and delivered a jarring hit that knocked the receiver to the ground. “I just hit him as hard as I could,” Bice said.
“Getting the game-winning tackle is always a great thing.”
Out of Granger’s 10 wins, two of them took place without the Lions needing to take the field.
Both McDade and Snook canceled their seasons prior to the start of district play, which gave the remaining six teams in the district – Granger, Bartlett, Burton, Iola, Milano and Somerville – two forfeit wins.
This also allowed the games that were originally scheduled for Nov. 7 to be moved up to Oct. 31. As a result, Granger and the other three playoff teams from the district – Burton, Iola and Somerville – received byes going into the playoffs.
Bice and his teammates hope to do something that happened 28 years ago in Granger – win a state championship. He hopes to do that before graduating high school in May and going to trade school to become a plumber.
“It’s been really exciting,” Bice said of his senior season thus far. “The last game made us realize that we need to lock in because the season isn’t over yet. If we get one percent better each practice, I think there will be a good chance that we make it to state.”
That would be an ending fit for Hollywood.
Bice
