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The deciding Touchdown
The deciding Touchdown - Less than a Minute before halftime,, MB RB Lawson McKnight runs 64 yards for a TD to make it 21-14 going into the half. Oxfiord did not score again.- In Mountain Brook's 42-14 Win at Oxford, on Friday, September 19, 2025. Photo by Alex Millender
If Mountain Brook High School football coach Chris Yeager could direct people to a real-life example of Spartans’ culture, his finger would point directly to Lawson McKnight.
During his senior year, McKnight volunteered to play a position he had never played before. Later, he returned to his original role when a need arose — then downplayed a serious injury and delivered a remarkable performance when the Spartans needed him most.
McKnight began the season at free safety. He learned quickly and embraced his new role, saying he “really did love it.” McKnight contributed steadily for defensive coordinator Shane Stearns in the first few games. But once injuries piled up in the running back room, he offered to help.
When Mountain Brook lost its backup running back, coaches asked McKnight to fill in. He responded without hesitation.
“Yeah, I’m more than up for the challenge,” McKnight said of attempting to play both sides of the ball for the Spartans.
But even that changed quickly. During the Pell City game on Sept. 12, standout running back Stuart Andrews got hurt. McKnight made plenty of contributions on both sides of the ball that game, but the following week against Oxford, the Spartans needed him most on offense.
That willingness led to one of the most remarkable performances in program history — albeit one that came at a heavy cost. In the Spartans’ game against Oxford, McKnight injured his shoulder on the team’s fourth offensive play. He refused to come out, downplaying his injury to the training staff. He went on to rush for 312 yards, despite what was later discovered to be a broken bone in his shoulder.
“I knew my guys needed me,” McKnight said. “I didn’t tell the trainers until halftime. I was just kind of playing through it. And really, I was really just thinking the whole game, I can’t let this team down. I can’t let these guys down. It’s just kind of playing for them.”
A game between Pinson Valley and Mountain Brook High Schools on Thursday, October 9th, 2025, at Wille Adams Stadium in Pinson AL. Photo by James Nicholas
Mountain Brook's Lawson McKnight (23) may be injured but is still in high spirits during a game between Pinson Valley and Mountain Brook High Schools on Thursday, October 9th, 2025, at Wille Adams Stadium in Pinson AL. Photo by James Nicholas
The injury took away the mobility in McKnight’s left arm and altered the way he carried the football the rest of the evening. Contact is unavoidable for a running back — and it was extremely painful. But McKnight deflected the credit to his offensive line.
“You should have seen the holes the offensive line made. I could drive a car through them,” he said.
Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager called the performance “legendary.”
“The thing that is significant about his injury — you think, well, he rushed for 312 yards and at the end of the game he gets injured. Well that’s not what happened,” Yeager said in an interview with Mountain Brook play-by-play announcer William Galloway.
After the game, McKnight learned the full extent of the injury — a fracture that required surgery and ended his season. His season and career were over just like that.
“It was probably one of the lowest moments of my entire life,” he said. “But I knew, like in the back of my head, I knew the Lord had a plan for me. I knew this was just a part of his plan.”
After a couple days to wrap his mind around the finality of his playing days, McKnight’s team-first instincts took over again. He was determined not to let that game be the end of his contributions to the 2025 Spartans. He calls himself a de facto graduate assistant coach, pouring into his teammates during the week and giving coaches an extra set of eyes on Friday nights.
From the press box, he’s been able to see the game from a different perspective.
“I can see the whole defense,” he said. “I’ve learned how the whole team works together.”
People tend to embellish their athletic exploits as they age, but McKnight will have to do no such thing. His final moments as a football player seem straight from a fictional story. But once he gets to Ole Miss to begin the next chapter of his life next fall, he’ll be able to talk about that night without exaggeration.
And Yeager will tell the story long after McKnight has hung up the cleats.
“I said, ‘Lawson, what made you do it?’ He looked around and pointed to all the other guys [his teammates].
“That’s Mountain Brook football. That’s what being a Spartan is all about.”
