In an important youth football game, one swift kick to the face from a defender knocked the top, front teeth from Zack's mouth. The bloody QB climbed to his feet and tossed his teeth to the sideline. They sat in a cup of milk for the remainder of the game as Zack led his team to a score, then clinched victory with a series of sacks as a defensive end.
"That was the first time I ever thought, 'Wow, this kid has something special in him,' " Ty said
Fake front teeth and all, Zack's toughness persisted. As a sophomore, first-year starter for Rick Darlington, the Apopka coach, Zack suffered a torn labrum in his non-throwing arm. His shoulder popped from its socket several times in a single game, but he continued to play, biting down hard on a towel to suppress his desire to scream when medical staff intervened.
The next year, he fractured the wrist of his throwing arm with several games left in the season but played while wearing a splint and led Apopka to an 8A state championship with a 53-50 win at the Florida Citrus Bowl.
And then there was the time, driving home from practice in Ty's senior year, that the brothers saw an elderly man struggling in a lake after his boat capsized. Before Ty parked the car, Zack had dived from the dock. He flipped the boat and pulled the man to safety.
"That's just normal instinct for him," Ty said. "He's an incredible leader, especially in tough moments. He loved football not because of the X's and O's; he loved football because of the toughness, the leadership opportunities, the brotherhood. Those are all things that the military has to offer.
"When you look at it like that, it's not any wonder this is what he has chosen."