A senior running back for the St. Dominic football team, Overton went through pregame warmups for the first time in three months. The broken collarbone that sidelined him was as good as it had been since mid-August. He noticed his legs felt better than he remembered. He didn’t realize why until he took a knee for the pregame prayer in the grove of trees near St. Dominic’s Crusader Field. He felt the sticks and grass as he knelt. He’d left his knee pads in the locker room.

“I was freaking out,” Overton said.

Overton, 18, asked an injured teammate to search for them while he joined the team on the sideline as kickoff neared in St. Dominic’s Class 4 quarterfinal showdown with Parkway Central on Nov. 26. When his teammate returned empty-handed, Overton hustled to dig them up on his own as the coin toss began. As the game commenced Overton was in a rush to get the pads on and struggled mightily.

“It’s one of the stupidest things to stress yourself out about,” Overton said with a chuckle.

The 5-foot-7 and 155-pound Overton got his pads on and when the Crusaders took over on offense he was given his first carry of his senior season early in their drive.

He took a jet sweep 42 yards to the end zone.

“It was crazy,” Overton said. “It was a memory you never forget.”

Overton’s senior season wasn’t supposed to go this way. It was expected to be a coronation for one of St. Dominic’s all-time football standouts. An Archdiocesan Athletic Association first-team all-conference selection as a freshman, Overton made a name for himself the moment he took the varsity field.

“He was maybe 100 pounds soaking wet,” St. Dominic coach Blake Markway said. “He’s one of the most electric athletes I’ve seen in my 20 years of coaching.”

Overton will join countless others across the nation by signing a binding national letter of intent Wednesday morning, the first day of the regular signing period for high school senior football players. Overton has pledged to Truman State University, a place that he’s thrilled to continue his academic and athletic career.

“They’ve got a great culture,” Overton said.

It’s a culture that will be stronger with Overton. Markway couldn’t say enough about Overton’s work ethic, especially in the offseason. There are eight racks in St. Dominic’s weight room and Markway is deliberate with who he assigns to those various racks. Usually the senior leaders are dispersed around so they can show the underclassmen how to get down to business.

By Overton’s sophomore year he was setting an example others followed, regardless of age.

“I gave him a senior role as a sophomore and junior,” Markway said. “That work ethic everyone looked up to. He’s a tone setter.”

As a freshman Overton rushed for 711 yards and scored eight touchdowns. As a sophomore he powered his way to 1,351 yards and another 15 touchdowns. As a junior he rushed for 1,231 yards, caught 27 passes for 411 yards and scored a total of 29 touchdowns as the Crusaders won the first district championship in school history.

After his junior season, Overton was a Class 4 first-team all-state selection by the Missouri Football Coaches Association. During that meeting a coach from another team offered praise Markway found rang true.

“The way (Overton) goes, the team goes,” Markway said. “That was Jackson in January workouts. That was Jackson in July workouts.”

Overton was at the peak of his powers entering the fall. He’d run a full season of track the previous spring, which he credits with making him faster. A student of the game, he knew the playbook better than ever. After being one of youngest and smallest players on the field in his high school career, Overton was primed to be among the area’s top playmakers.

All those hopes and expectations came crashing down days before the season began. St. Dominic took part in a preseason jamboree where teams scrimmage against one another on half the field for a predetermined number of plays. It’s a practice game before the real thing starts a week later.

Overton was tackled during a routine play, and while he was down a pile of players were pushed on top of him. This is not an uncommon occurrence, but the way Overton was positioned he took the brunt of the weight on his left clavicle.

“I heard the bone break,” Overton said. “I sat there in disbelief.”

Overton tried to shake it off. It wasn’t until he attempted to play defense that he realized it was a bad as he thought. After talking with the team trainer his jamboree was over.

“That’s where things fell apart physically and mentally,” he said.

After a sleepless night on the family couch with his arm in a sling, Overton received the news he dreaded. Not only was the bone broken but it was an angulated fracture, which takes longer to heal, and in Overton’s case would not be made better with surgery.

The best-case recovery time was 8-10 weeks. Overton was looking at a senior season lost before it began.

Instead of letting the news drown him, Overton went to the place that made him feel whole.

He went back to practice.

When he arrived for practice that Monday he was greeted by St. Dominic assistant coach and former longtime McCluer North coach Jim Schottmueller. The Crusaders’ offensive and defensive line coach told Overton to go home. The risk of him getting hurt worse was too great for him to be at practice.

“I told him no,” Overton said. “I pulled up a lawn chair and watched practice from behind the end zone.”

Overton never missed a practice, a meeting or a game as he recovered. Not even when the Crusaders went at 6 a.m. twice a week.

When the Crusaders were in the midst of a frustrating four-game losing streak Overton was right there with them. He felt a sense of ownership with the team. He’d grown up playing with these guys and wasn’t about to abandon them.

In turn, they gave him a chance to get back on the field.

With Overton still on the mend, St. Dominic won its second district title in school history when it won at Hazelwood East 31-12 on Nov. 12. Leading into that game Overton’s doctor said he was close but wasn’t ready to give him the green light to play.

As his shoulder recovered throughout the season Overton was gradually allowed to take part in some parts of practice to keep himself in shape. He could do drills as long as there was no contact. Players who aren’t supposed to take contact are given a red penny to pull over their jerseys.

The Friday morning before St. Dominic was set to host Parkway Central, Overton’s doctor was confident the shoulder had healed enough to put the decision in Overton’s hands.

When he arrived at school later that day, Overton walked into Markway’s office and dropped the noncontact red penny on his desk.

“Let’s ball,” Overton said.

After he finally got his knee pads on, Overton carried the ball five times for 65 yards and a touchdown against Parkway Central. The following week he rushed 13 times for 109 yards and two more touchdowns against West Plains as St. Dominic punched its ticket to the first state championship game in school history.

The week leading into the title game is special for everyone involved. The number of teams practicing across the state are few. Winter sports are already rolling. The Crusaders — and Overton in particular — truly savored that last week as they prepared to rematch with AAA foe St. Mary’s.

“Emotions are always heightened in November and December (at practice),” Overton said. “You get one last hurrah with those guys. It’s a total blessing.”

Overton made it through the first quarter of the state championship game, but early in the second he took a hard shot directly on his left shoulder and knew something wasn’t right. He came off the field and after going through some tests with the team trainer was ruled out the rest of the game. Overton’s shoulder was still healing and the hit he took injured his rotator cuff.

“I knew that was a risk when I got cleared,” Overton said. “I don’t regret a thing. I just wanted an opportunity to play with those guys again.”

St. Mary’s won the game 42-0, but St. Dominic accomplished something few outside its own locker room believed possible even before Overton was injured. The Crusaders wanted to give their teammate some kind of senior season. It turned out to be one none of them will ever forget.