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Remarkable careers helped Fauquier High football stars earn college offers
Fauquier High defensive back Pete Kidwell and wide receiver Walter Davis both found themselves in the shoes of a quarterback last season.
Although the circumstances were different in each case, they were testament to the strengths that made Kidwell and Davis attractive college recruits. Versatility was a selling point for Davis, who earned an athletic scholarship offer from NCAA Division II Shepherd (W.Va.) University, while toughness was a highlighted characteristic for Kidwell, who will play at Davidson (N.C.) College, a Division I non-scholarship program.
Unlike Davis, Kidwell didn't actually play quarterback. Rather, for last season's Northwest Region playoff game against Potomac, Kidwell found himself in the unfortunate predictament of injured Fauquier QB Kyle McCartin, who spent the entire season on the bench after tearing his ACL in the first game of 2007.
Kidwell's season ended the week prior to the Potomac game when he aggravated a lingering shoulder injury against Liberty, one he had played through over the entire second half of the season.
"He’s so tough that nobody really had any kind of idea what kind of pain he was in," former FHS coach Greg Hatfield said. "Then in the Liberty game it gave out on him."
Kidwell finished that game and even accumulated seven tackles, 38 yards and a touchdown receiving, and 87 yards in kick returns, but the damage done to his shoulder kept him out against Potomac.
"In the Liberty game I couldn’t even lift my arm up. I couldn’t get my shoulder pads off," Kidwell said. "Telling my coaches that I couldn’t play [vs. Potomac] was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.
"I was sitting there with Kyle and I felt like he had felt all season. It was awful."
Kidwell was later diagnosed with a torn labrum, which he believe he suffered in a game two weeks before playing Liberty, and nerve damage, which he believed he suffered in a game one week before Liberty.
Despite suffering the injuries in November, Kidwell didn't have surgery until early April because he was prescribed only rest after one MRI and two doctor visits. A second MRI in March reveled the labrum tear.
Meanwhile, Davis' experience in the shoes of a quarterback was more practical. He became a part of Fauquier's quarterback-by-committee after McCartin went down, adding that position to a list that included wide receiver, running back, defensive back, kick returner and punt returner...
See the Friday print edition of the Fauquier Weekend for the complete story.
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