A young man, who was recently homeless, led his team to their first championship football game in more than 60 years.
Braheam Murphy was a young man who was all but homeless, in need of some stability and guidance.
His new football coach, Sam Greiner, was getting to know Murphy and would often give him a ride home. But it was rarely to the same place.
Greiner told CNN, “I didn’t know it at first. I didn’t know that Braheam didn’t have a home,” “Eventually he just opened up to me. And he was like, ‘I have to stay with my sister from place to place.’ … And I didn’t know what to do at the time, so I go into my office and I’m thinking, something’s tugging at my heart.”
Greiner called his wife, Connie, and asked to have a guest for dinner who would need to stay the night. One night turned into two, and then it became a week. A week then became a month and eventually “Braheam just became a family member. Adding “He’s been living with us ever since.”
That was more than two years ago.
As for Murphy’s ability on the football field. He’s the team’s quarterback and ran 95 yards for a touchdown in the final minutes to help win a high school state championship… the first North Carolina state title in more than 60 years at his school.
This is a team that just two years ago won only one game and had barely enough players to fill a roster.
But the coach with a huge heart nurtured Murphy, helping him grow not only into a star athlete but also a star student with plans to attend the US Military Academy at West Point next year.