Athlete of the Week: C.E. King’s Bryce Lyons keeps team morale up in spite of horrific season-ending knee injury

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — When you see C.E. King senior Bryce Lyons at football practice, you can’t help but notice what he means to the team.

“I miss the atmosphere. I miss being out here with my guys practicing,” Lyons said.

“Bryce was a kid that you can coach as hard as you want, tell him what you want, and he’s also the kid who’s going to tell you, ‘yes, sir’. Regardless of what you told him,” C.E. King Head Coach Cory Laxen said.

His best friend, quarterback Timothy Potts, added, “At practice, he gave us a good look, I mean, he’d go hard, hit hard. He’s a great kid outside, and that’s my best friend.”

“He’s always been there for me through the hard times, the rough times,” senior Le’Jerric Clark said. “When I’m feeling down, when I’ve got something going on, he’s a guy I can count on. He’s always a guy you can trust.”

“It’s an honor that I’ve gotten to know Bryce and be as close to him as I am, I mean, a real honor”, senior captain Dionne Sims said.

Bryce is the ultimate teammate and friend. He is sidelined after a severe knee injury that tore his ACL, PCL, dislocated his patella, and tore both his meniscus and lateral meniscus, ultimately ending his high school senior season.

“Seeing your brother have a dream ripped away from him, you kind of sympathize with him, like on a different level”, Sims said. “It’s like your heart kind of shatters for him, you know.”

SEE HERE: ABC13 introduces Athlete of the Week, highlighting achievements of high school Houston-area athletes

“I’ve been through every emotion: I’ve been upset, happy, frustrated, but emotionally, I mean, I can’t be too down because I know that this is only temporary”, Lyons said.

As a reminder, Bryce is still with him. Senior Dwight Wiley drew Bryce’s number 12 on a piece of athletic tape and put it on the back of his helmet as a reminder.

“He’s right here with me”, Wiley said as he pointed to his heart. “He stamped with me. Make me play for him harder,” he said.

“I was actually in the hospital when I got the picture sent to me that Dwight had THE TWELVE on his helmet. And it meant a lot”, Lyons said.

Now, everyone on the Panthers team has a 12 decal on their helmet, and Bryce is in their hearts every second in the game.

“It’s like he’s with us at all times”, Sims said.

“He’s still with us, we’re trying to go all the way for him,” Wiley said.

“Everybody on the team lets him know that the season is for him”, Clark said.

“He worked so hard for his opportunity, and sadly that happened, you know, why not go out there and do it for him?”, Potts said.

Bryce’s injury hits home to another player whose season ended, but on a larger scale. Houston Texans wideout Tank Dell suffered a gruesome knee injury on December 21, which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2024-2025 NFL season.

Dell’s injury came after he caught a touchdown pass from quarterback CJ Stroud, but was ultimately hit by his own teammate. The former Houston Cougar tore his ACL, MCL, and LCL, and dislocated his kneecap.

Linked by a common bond and hearing about Bryce, Tank arrived at CE King’s game against North Shore on Friday night and spoke with Bryce to give him some words of encouragement.

“It made me feel good, and to know this is only temporary,” Bryce said about his conversation with the Texans star.

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