More than a number: Swank honors late father with switch to 31, helmet sticker ahead of Week 1 win

BELLVILLE — Clear Fork senior Kasey Swank reached over to turn his alarm off on his cell phone early Friday morning.

It was finally game day as the Colts were set to host the Lucas Cubs in what was sure to be a backyard brawl of a Week 1 football game. As it turns out, it was with the Colts coming out on top 17-14 in double-overtime.

As Swank wiped the sleep from his eyes, he had his day already planned out.

Get up early, get some breakfast, do some final preparation for the big game and head to the field early to get his mind right. But, before heading to the school, Swank made a very important stop on his way. The Bellville Cemetary. It is there where his late father, Charles Swank, is buried. Kasey was about to play in the first football game of his senior year and the first football game without his father in the stands cheering him on. He wanted to make sure to say a few words to the man who helped him fall in love with football and baseball.

"I got up early, went to breakfast and then went and visited him before coming to the game," Swank said. "It gave me so much motivation, and I went out and left it all on the field. I hope he is proud."

Kasey helped the Colts pick up a Week 1 win by playing nearly every down on defense and playing three different positions on offense including a few snaps at quarterback when starter Mason Sansom went down with cramps. All after missing his entire junior season with an ACL injury.

It was easily a performance his father would have been proud of.

Charles Swank, 39, died unexpectedly on Dec. 8, 2022, while on a firefighting training exercise in Pensacola, Florida. A 2002 Clear Fork grad, Charles grew up in Butler and played baseball and football for the Colts. He was a captain of both teams during his senior year and ran for more than 1,000 yards helping his team win a league championship in both sports.

He later listed in the United States Army and served his country until an honorable discharge in 2006 when he immediately started the next phase in his life as a firefighter and a father to Jaxon, Kasey, Haylee, Trey, and Troy and a husband to Alaina.

Needless to say, he raised his children with sports as a cornerstone of life lessons. He spent years in youth baseball and football programs and helped with the athletic boosters and countless other organizations in order to give his children the same and maybe even better opportunities he had growing up in the Clear Fork Valley.

First-year Clear Fork Coach Aaron Brokaw, who was a high school teammate of Charles, wanted to figure out a way to honor such a pivotal individual in the Clear Fork community. So, he approached Kasey with a couple of ideas and one stuck. The Colts would sport a No. 31, Charles's high school number in all sports, decal on their helmets.

"He was a freshman when I was a senior," Brokaw said. "He was a long-time family friend and the Brokaws and Swanks go back a long way. Kasey and I talked midsummer, and I leveled with him. We did a lot of things for Charles to show our appreciation for everything he was involved in within our community. I left it up to him. I didn't want to not do anything, but I also didn't want to open up a wound. I told him that if he wanted to do something, I wanted to do something. If he didn't, I was OK with that. He thought his dad would like that and I threw out the idea of putting the 31 decal on our helmets, and Kasey thought it would be perfect."

The Colts went to work on Thursday preparing for Lucas with one final practice. When everything was finished, Brokaw gathered his team around and brought out a sheet full of No. 31 decals and each and every Clear Fork Colt took turns placing the sticker on their helmets to pay homage to a staple in the community.

"There were some guys who showed some emotion and that is such a great thing," Brokaw said. "Charles was important to the community in so many ways and not just a baseball coach. He was active in the boosters and in the strength program. He really was a cornerstone of our community."

Kasey was proud to place the sticker on the back of his helmet.

"Coach approached me and asked what I thought about putting a No. 31 decal on our helmets and I said absolutely," Swank said.

And the Colts honored Charles in a big way with a dramatic Week 1 victory at home in front of the Clear Fork faithful, the first home football game since his passing. The Colts played their typical brand of football with hard-hitting defense and ground-and-pound offense, something that Charles would have loved to see.

"You hope that putting that decal on their helmets that the kids do the right things and honor him the way he deserves to be honored," Brokaw said. "He definitely deserves it."

But Kasey took it one step forward. Always sporting No. 18 from youth sports through his junior year, Kasey decided to make a last-second change. After Griffin Blakley graduated from last year's team, the No. 31 jersey was now open for anyone to wear. Naturally, Kasey grabbed the jersey and threw it on wearing it proudly and representing it with class on Friday night, the way it should be worn.

"It was my first game without him here, and I never imagined it would be this tough," Swank said. "I knew that I instantly needed to switch my number before this game. This is my last opportunity to play football, a sport he loved, and I am proud to wear this number."

And Brokaw was proud of the way his do-it-all senior played while honoring his father.

"I caught him before he made his way into the sea of people who always greet us walking off the field and I just told him how proud I was of him," Brokaw said. "He stepped into some spots in this game where he definitely didn't expect to be thrown into, and he did an amazing job. He has a great family who support him and are telling him the same things right now. It is important to let your kids know that when they are doing things right, you are proud of them."

And it was that number that helped the Colts pull off a thrilling win that included a 20-yard point-after attempt in overtime, a 37-yard field goal in double overtime and an interception by a freshman to seal the deal. It was as if the Colts had a 12th man on the field all night long.

"He definitely had a hand in it," Swank said. "That win was more than us, that's for sure."

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

Twitter: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Clear Fork's Kasey Swank honors his father Charles Swank with a switch to No. 31