Days after father’s death, NC high school football player led his team to state title
BY LANGSTON WERTZ JR. NOVEMBER 22, 2021 5:00 AM
On Friday night, when Providence Day beat Rabun Gap and won its first Division I state championship in 10 years, some fans may have noticed an addition to the Chargers’ uniforms.
The back of their helmets had a sticker with the initials, “EB,” and the school reserved the special perch above the stadium where Eddie Balzer used to sit, sometimes in his wheelchair, to watch the team play — to watch his son play.
Balzer worked at Providence Day from 1994-2017 and had two kids graduate from the school — Chelsea in 2011 and Corbin in 2014. His third child, Chase, is a 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior on the football team. A couple weeks ago, Providence Day beat Charlotte Christian in the N.C. Independent Schools state semifinals, denying the Knights a shot a fifth consecutive state title.
The next day, Eddie Balzer died. “The week before the Christian game, we were lifting and meeting on Sunday,” Providence Day coach Chad Grier said. “His dad had just had surgery and was in ICU. Chase came anyway. He said his dad was still alive but he wasn’t responsive. I knew that wasn’t good because Chase doesn’t talk at all. But Chase came to every practice that week, and he and his mom said how important it was for him to be a part of this, and I told him on that Sunday that nobody wants you to play. What we want to do is, we want to be here and love on you and your family.”
Chase came to every practice before the Christian game and played well in the Chargers’ emotional 21-17 win. Then, less than 24 hours later, the worst news came.
‘MENTALLY, I CAN’T HANDLE IT’
Eddie Balzer was 57 when he passed away. He and his wife, Jane, had been married 31 years and were both lifers, working at Providence Day. Eddie had to stop in 2017 when he became ill with diabetes, something he had been battling for several years.
Things turned for the worse recently when Eddie had to have surgery to amputate his foot and, according to his son, he went into cardiac arrest during the procedure. He was placed in intensive care, but doctors were never able to wake him.
On Sunday morning, the day after the euphoria of the semifinal win over rival Charlotte Christian, Grier’s phone buzzed. Chase Balzer was texting him, telling his coach what was happening.
“Mentally, I can’t handle it,” Balzer texted. “Buddy,” Grier wrote back, “whatever you need.” “We didn’t know what to expect,” Grier said. “We met Sunday and tried to game plan (for Friday’s state championship game) and didn’t think we could count on him football-wise.
On top of it all, he had oral surgery scheduled on Monday, and his mom said he might miss two days. I wasn’t counting on him being able to play.”
Grier’s mind shot back to when Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman was playing for him at Davidson Day School. Two days before the 2015 state championship game, Hartman’s adopted brother, Demitri Allison, who was attending Elon University, committed suicide in Chapel Hill. Grier had coached Allison in youth ball and knew about Allison’s tough upbringing. Hartman’s family adopted Allison and helped him with his schoolwork and Allison eventually got offers from Ivy League schools, Grier said, but took a scholarship to Elon.
“He blossomed in every way,” Grier told The Observer in 2016. “I remember I went to Sam’s house right after it happened. That was Sam’s brother. It was devastating. I said, ‘I don’t expect you to play Friday.’ Before I could say anything else, he looked at me and said, ‘I’m playing.’ ” Like Hartman six years ago, Chase Balzer told his coach he was going to play Friday.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT’S HAPPENED’
Chase Balzer said that visiting his father in the ICU, unresponsive, was “the worst feeling I’ve ever had,” but he said he knows what his dad’s wishes would’ve been. “If my dad was able to talk, he would say he wanted me to play,” Chase Balzer said. “He’s the one who got me into this, and he would’ve wanted me to play and my family wanted me to play.”
So on Monday, Balzer underwent his dental procedure, to remove some baby teeth so his adult teeth could grow in. Then he hit the practice field. He said that was the best thing for him. “I love football,” he said. “Football is the big motivator for everybody who plays, and I think it motivated me to do well this week. I think football helped me get my mind off of it. If I’m home alone, I don’t think that I would in the right mind state. Being at practice with my friends and being at school just helped so much.”
Balzer said Friday night came quickly and the game almost went in a blur.
BALZER GREW THROUGHOUT THE SEASON
Providence Day was expected to be a state championship contender when the season started, but lost three of its four games. An injury to a starter at left tackle after the second game thrust Balzer into a role he wasn’t expecting, and Grier wasn’t expecting either.
And Balzer flourished.
As Providence Day went on a six-game win streak — beating Charlotte Christian and a powerhouse Rabun Gap team with multiple Division I recruits — Balzer started to blossom.
“He was not a guy we were counting on at the beginning of the year,” Grier said. “Through sheer work ethic, you could see him grow his confidence. He’s got a chance now to be really good.” On Friday night in the biggest game of his life, Balzer was again “really good,” according to his coach. Providence Day won its seventh straight game, with those new stickers on their helmets, and Balzer could look up in the stands and see a special sign in the place where his dad would sit. In the championship game,
Providence Day led 7-0 then trailed 9-7 and then won 14-9. Fans stormed the field, greeting the team, dressed in red jerseys and red pans. Balzer held a championship trophy.
“I was talking (to my dad) the whole game,” Balzer said. “Just like he was there. And everybody was so emotional. It was one of the best things that has ever happened and it’s perfect timing and it was great.”
Balzer paused a second. You could hear him take a deep breath. “This was the most support I’ve gotten, and I love all of them,” he said of his team. “Coach Grier did so much for me in that time. The stuff they did at the game. They had a moment of silence for us and the decals and the sign. It said, ‘In loving memory of Eddie Balzer.’ ” And Chase Balzer said he couldn’t think of a better way to remember his dad than that.
BY LANGSTON WERTZ JR. NOVEMBER 22, 2021 5:00 AM
On Friday night, when Providence Day beat Rabun Gap and won its first Division I state championship in 10 years, some fans may have noticed an addition to the Chargers’ uniforms.
The back of their helmets had a sticker with the initials, “EB,” and the school reserved the special perch above the stadium where Eddie Balzer used to sit, sometimes in his wheelchair, to watch the team play — to watch his son play.
Balzer worked at Providence Day from 1994-2017 and had two kids graduate from the school — Chelsea in 2011 and Corbin in 2014. His third child, Chase, is a 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior on the football team. A couple weeks ago, Providence Day beat Charlotte Christian in the N.C. Independent Schools state semifinals, denying the Knights a shot a fifth consecutive state title.
The next day, Eddie Balzer died. “The week before the Christian game, we were lifting and meeting on Sunday,” Providence Day coach Chad Grier said. “His dad had just had surgery and was in ICU. Chase came anyway. He said his dad was still alive but he wasn’t responsive. I knew that wasn’t good because Chase doesn’t talk at all. But Chase came to every practice that week, and he and his mom said how important it was for him to be a part of this, and I told him on that Sunday that nobody wants you to play. What we want to do is, we want to be here and love on you and your family.”
Chase came to every practice before the Christian game and played well in the Chargers’ emotional 21-17 win. Then, less than 24 hours later, the worst news came.
‘MENTALLY, I CAN’T HANDLE IT’
Eddie Balzer was 57 when he passed away. He and his wife, Jane, had been married 31 years and were both lifers, working at Providence Day. Eddie had to stop in 2017 when he became ill with diabetes, something he had been battling for several years.
Things turned for the worse recently when Eddie had to have surgery to amputate his foot and, according to his son, he went into cardiac arrest during the procedure. He was placed in intensive care, but doctors were never able to wake him.
On Sunday morning, the day after the euphoria of the semifinal win over rival Charlotte Christian, Grier’s phone buzzed. Chase Balzer was texting him, telling his coach what was happening.
“Mentally, I can’t handle it,” Balzer texted. “Buddy,” Grier wrote back, “whatever you need.” “We didn’t know what to expect,” Grier said. “We met Sunday and tried to game plan (for Friday’s state championship game) and didn’t think we could count on him football-wise.
On top of it all, he had oral surgery scheduled on Monday, and his mom said he might miss two days. I wasn’t counting on him being able to play.”
Grier’s mind shot back to when Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman was playing for him at Davidson Day School. Two days before the 2015 state championship game, Hartman’s adopted brother, Demitri Allison, who was attending Elon University, committed suicide in Chapel Hill. Grier had coached Allison in youth ball and knew about Allison’s tough upbringing. Hartman’s family adopted Allison and helped him with his schoolwork and Allison eventually got offers from Ivy League schools, Grier said, but took a scholarship to Elon.
“He blossomed in every way,” Grier told The Observer in 2016. “I remember I went to Sam’s house right after it happened. That was Sam’s brother. It was devastating. I said, ‘I don’t expect you to play Friday.’ Before I could say anything else, he looked at me and said, ‘I’m playing.’ ” Like Hartman six years ago, Chase Balzer told his coach he was going to play Friday.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT’S HAPPENED’
Chase Balzer said that visiting his father in the ICU, unresponsive, was “the worst feeling I’ve ever had,” but he said he knows what his dad’s wishes would’ve been. “If my dad was able to talk, he would say he wanted me to play,” Chase Balzer said. “He’s the one who got me into this, and he would’ve wanted me to play and my family wanted me to play.”
So on Monday, Balzer underwent his dental procedure, to remove some baby teeth so his adult teeth could grow in. Then he hit the practice field. He said that was the best thing for him. “I love football,” he said. “Football is the big motivator for everybody who plays, and I think it motivated me to do well this week. I think football helped me get my mind off of it. If I’m home alone, I don’t think that I would in the right mind state. Being at practice with my friends and being at school just helped so much.”
Balzer said Friday night came quickly and the game almost went in a blur.
BALZER GREW THROUGHOUT THE SEASON
Providence Day was expected to be a state championship contender when the season started, but lost three of its four games. An injury to a starter at left tackle after the second game thrust Balzer into a role he wasn’t expecting, and Grier wasn’t expecting either.
And Balzer flourished.
As Providence Day went on a six-game win streak — beating Charlotte Christian and a powerhouse Rabun Gap team with multiple Division I recruits — Balzer started to blossom.
“He was not a guy we were counting on at the beginning of the year,” Grier said. “Through sheer work ethic, you could see him grow his confidence. He’s got a chance now to be really good.” On Friday night in the biggest game of his life, Balzer was again “really good,” according to his coach. Providence Day won its seventh straight game, with those new stickers on their helmets, and Balzer could look up in the stands and see a special sign in the place where his dad would sit. In the championship game,
Providence Day led 7-0 then trailed 9-7 and then won 14-9. Fans stormed the field, greeting the team, dressed in red jerseys and red pans. Balzer held a championship trophy.
“I was talking (to my dad) the whole game,” Balzer said. “Just like he was there. And everybody was so emotional. It was one of the best things that has ever happened and it’s perfect timing and it was great.”
Balzer paused a second. You could hear him take a deep breath. “This was the most support I’ve gotten, and I love all of them,” he said of his team. “Coach Grier did so much for me in that time. The stuff they did at the game. They had a moment of silence for us and the decals and the sign. It said, ‘In loving memory of Eddie Balzer.’ ” And Chase Balzer said he couldn’t think of a better way to remember his dad than that.
