Centennial football star's mom battling liver failure out of hospital: 'I wasn't missing the playoffs'
FRANKLIN – Centennial football running back Dominic Reed takes no plays off. That's not in his DNA.
Reed has never had the luxury of taking the game he loves for granted. He's learned hard-life lessons about appreciating what he's been given and maximizing every moment since his mother, Candace Robertson, was diagnosed with acute liver failure five years ago and is battling the rejection of her second liver transplant.
"What my mom's been through ... playing football is the easy part for me," said Reed, whose Cougars travel to Page at 7 p.m. Friday for a Class 5A quarterfinal showdown in the TSSAA football playoffs. "What she deals with is hard. I keep telling myself that. I'm playing a game. Her situation isn't a game."
Reed was itching for his team to increase its intensity in an otherwise low-key practice session Tuesday with just helmets and shoulder pads.
"He's one of the most unselfish and hardest working kids I've ever been around," Centennial first-year coach Jamaal Stewart said. "The kids love him. He's a team leader."
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior is among the state's top 5A players. He's a Mr. Football semifinalist and leads Centennial with over 1,300 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns. He also has over 55 tackles on defense and has helped guide the Cougars to a 10-2 record and their first quarterfinal game since 2016.
Dominic Reed was middle schooler when mom first needed liver
He was a student at Freedom Middle School in Franklin when his mother informed him and his four older siblings she was in liver failure and needed a transplant in late 2018. Robertson had to wait six months to be put on a transplant waiting list and eventually received a new liver in January 2020.
But by the middle of that year, her body had rejected it, prompting doctors to put her back on a waiting list. She received a second transplant in December 2020.
"My mom fights," Reed said. "She's a fighter. She's missed games I've had, but she's been to a lot of games when maybe it was better for her to be home. She's been to all of our playoff games."
And Robertson plans on being at Page on Friday despite being in liver rejection for a second time. She remains in high spirits despite her health taking a downturn and knowing that doctors will not allow a third transplant.
"I'm in chronic rejection with acute rejection on top of it," Robertson said. "I was hospitalized in October for a few weeks. I had to fight tooth and nail for them to let me out (of the hospital) even though they didn't want to. But I told them I wasn't missing the playoffs."
Robertson said she doesn't plan on missing her son's games as long as they remain in the playoffs but knows that once the season is over, she'll likely be back in the hospital.
The Centennial community has rallied around Reed and Robertson so much so that Robertson said that no matter what her future holds she's confident her "baby boy" will be OK. Reed talks through a group text with his brothers, Denzel, Jevon and Devon as well as sister, Shania, constantly. The four also keep an eye on their younger brother.
"I'm the blessed one, really," Robertson said. "God has blessed me with wonderful kids and through it all, we pray every day that God's will be done."
Reed, 17, has offers from East Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Eastern Kentucky, but hasn't thought much about the recruiting process since the season started. College football is likely in his future but he's learned to be patient and enjoy each day as it comes.
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That's his approach on the field. With 2022's leading rusher Taner Lee suffering through ankle and knee injuries this season, Reed has filled that void offensively while also being arguably the Cougars best defensive player. Playing both sides of the ball has forced Stewart to pick and choose when to unleash his star back. But against Page, a team that beat Centennial, 24-12, Oct. 20, Stewart may not have a choice.
"I'm thankful we're in this position," Reed said. "And my love for the game keeps me going. Our team has to have that love for each other too and we can win."
Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football playoffs: Dominic Reed draws courage from mother
