Homecoming for a high school student is an exciting time – a week of festivities, the annual parade, the crowning of the queen, and the big game. For An’Darius Coffey, the freshman quarterback for Winona High School, this homecoming meant so much more.
Coffey’s father, Maj. Antonio Coffey, is in the United States Army and is currently stationed at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. Being away Antonio can’t see his son’s successes on the football field, but his wife and family members send clips and pictures of An’Darius’s impressive season.
This past Friday, when the Tigers took on the Kemper County Wildcats, An’Darius got to play for the one person he’s been wishing could be cheering for him in the stands –his dad.
An’Darius said he had no idea that his dad was coming.
“He told me that he was coming Friday,” he said. “But, I wasn’t sure because he’s tried to come and the Army kept pushing him back.”
But, this time Antonio was able to make it. He said he surprised An’Darius while he was at football practice, and everyone was in on the surprise.
“I was trying to surprise him at school, but my flight arrived late in Memphis,” he said.
Antonio said when he talked to An’Darius’ mother Yolanda Forrest-Mister, she told him their son was at practice, and he headed to the practice field.
“He called me the week before and said he was coming in,” Forrest-Mister said. “I just kept it to myself because I knew if I told anyone, they would let it slip.”
She said she kept asking An’Darius when his dad was coming home.
“He said, ‘He’s coming Saturday’ and I just said ‘Oh, okay’ and I kept it a secret. I just told his coach and couple of parents,” Forrest-Mister said.
But, instead of that weekend, he came home Tuesday and surprised his son at the Tiger’s practice field. Winona Police Chief Investigator Dan Herod filmed the reunion between the two and it was hard to keep down the emotions.
“He’s gotten so big,” Antonio said.
“It was so emotional,” Forrest-Mister said. “He’s been gone for quite some time. He hasn’t been able to see him play any type of sports. But, when he saw him, he was like a kid at Christmas. It was an emotional time.”
Forrest-Mister said she was talking to An’Darius to distract him and he didn’t see Antonio behind him. “He said ‘be quiet, be quiet’ and I kept talking to An’Darius and then he turned around and saw him. It was like he had to do a double take and then he just took off running toward him.”
“I was trying not to cry. I had to be strong in front of my boys,” An’Darius said with a smile. “But, I got a little something in my eye.”
“You could tell in the video that I got that he was crying, his voice was trembling,” Forrest-Mister said. “He shed a few tears, but he had to wipe them away before they came. Then all the guys came over and started cheering.”
Forrest-Mister said she became emotional, too.
“I couldn’t hold it back. I would wipe a tear and they just started to flow,” she said.
For the first time in a while, An’Darius had both of his parents in the stands cheering him on.
“That made me feel good,” he said.
But, the reunion was cut short for a little while, An’Darrius and his fellow Tigers had to battle Kemper County, and the came out on top with a 51-0 win.
“I was trying to show off,” An’Darius said.
“It was by far, one of the greatest moments for me. It was great to see him in action,” Antonio said. “People were telling me how good he is. It makes me proud, proud to be his dad. He’s a good kid. He’s humble, and I couldn’t have asked for a better son.”
Antonio said it’s his goal to see An’Darius play in the state championship and that pushes An’Darrius to keep going.
“It motivates me to go harder to be able to get to that game,” An’Darius said.
He said his grandmother almost gave the surprise away, but she kept it under wraps. “She kept asking me, ‘Aren’t you getting a surprise?’ And, I asked her ‘What do you mean?’ But, she never said anything. She almost gave it away though. That’s probably why they didn’t tell her, because they knew she would tell it.”
Forrest-Mister said it can be hard on a child when one parent isn’t there for whatever the reason is, but it’s even harder when the parent is in the military.
“Because they have to leave for so long. It’s not only hard on the child, but it’s hard on other parent. It can get emotional. He doesn’t let his dad see him cry. I tell him ‘It’s gone be okay.’ And, we pray that he comes back safe.”
Forrest-Mister said An’Darius got to spend a week and three days with Antonio before he went back to Washington. She said Antonio is a good dad, and he tries to make time to be with An’Darius, but sometimes, the military has other plans.
But, this time everyone’s plans worked together and An’Darius received the surprise of a lifetime.
“It was exciting,” she said. “I’m just happy for him.”
