Not to sully the message here - because it certainly needs to be taken to heart - but I have to disagree with the "in 20 [years] no one will remember ... that game with 5 touchdowns" part.

I'll remember.

I have lists of such things.

It's what I do.

Here's a reason why:

1/ https://twitter.com/Abennettt12/status/1178489009489756160

Years ago, when I was the sports editor of the Miles City Star, the Cowboys were having a down year. They had graduated most of their starters from a very good team the season before and were struggling to find their way in the new season.

2/

One of their few returning starters played fullback and linebacker. He had a decent season as a junior, but he wasn't one of the Cowboys' primary threats. When I interviewed the head coach for a season preview, I asked him if this player could be counted on for leadership.

3/

The coach shook his head and gave me a smirk, telling me that the kid "wasn't that type of player." He didn't give me specifics, but I didn't ask for them. He was a 17-year-old kid and I didn't need to pry into his life as part of a fall sports tab feature.

4/

It turns out that the kid had a somewhat troubled personal life and found himself in trouble more than one would like. He maintained his eligibility, but I got the feeling that it was by the skin of his teeth some weeks. He was having a fairly good season through six games.

5/

That having been said, the Cowboys had lost three straight games and were 2-4. They were in danger of going winless in conference play and having their first losing season in over a decade.

Their Week 7 opponent for Parents' Night? The first-place Billings Central Rams.

6/

The Rams got out to a 26-7 lead by halftime, giving the fans at Denton Field little reason to believe that the Cowboys would get off of the mat and mount a comeback.

That's when Miles City's fullback took over and had the best second half I've ever seen a single player play.

7/

He had a good game prior to the half, having rushed for 69 yards on 12 carries. It was his effort on defense that helped keep the 19-point deficit from getting worse.

He ran for 63 yards on eight carries in the 3rd quarter, including a 27-yard TD that pulled MC within five.

8/

Another TD run gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game, but it also served to wake up Central, which quickly took the lead back.

He then scored twice more in less than 30 seconds (thanks to a BC turnover). Central tied the game with less than two minutes to go.

9/

That was enough time for the Cowboys to mount another drive. And for the fifth time in the second half - and fourth in the fourth quarter alone - he ran in for the score, giving the Cowboys a 49-42 victory.

He finished the game with 30 carries for 245 yards and five TDs.

10/

He had 176 of those yards in the second half and 113 in the fourth quarter alone.

Most of those carries were spent dragging numerous Rams along with him. One double-digit rush featured a Central player being carried on his back for six yards.

It was the game of his life.

11/

I mention this because he died in a car wreck less than a year later. He had been implicated in a series of thefts and felt he had no option other than to drive his truck into a ditch. He was barely out of high school. He didn't have a chance to learn from his mistakes.

12/

When he died, most of the talk that I had heard around town focused on the negative. He was already being written off as a bad kid who wouldn't be missed, not really.

The news story focused on his run-ins with the law.

Frankly, it made me sick to my stomach.

13/

I remembered how proud his father was of him after his huge game - his brightest moment, just a handful of months earlier. His dad wanted the metal press plate of the game story I wrote to put on his wall. Every time he spoke of his son it was with pride and love and joy.

14/

I wrote a small feature in the sports page, highlighting his best moment when so many others were focusing on his worst. I felt it was important to give his father something positive to have when his world was so very dark. It wasn't much, but it was what I could do.

15/

I never scored five touchdowns in a game. I was a good player, but I caused a lot of problems for myself and others. I did some things at his age that I still regret. When he died, it felt personal to me, because I had been in similar shoes, just luckier ones.

16/

Unlike him, I had the opportunity to learn from my mistakes and grow into what I hope is a reasonably functional adult.

I am a father of three sons who are each much better people than I am, so I know the pride his father felt that day.

I wish that he had the same chance.

17/

But if remembering his five-touchdown game and thinking of him at his best moment in sunshine of his short life - instead of choosing to dismiss him as a rotten apple - I'm going to do it.

Documenting those moments in the sun - even if they seem trivial - holds value.

18/

I just realized that my original thread had a typo in the initial tweet - my pinned tweet. I've deleted the old one and replaced it with this.

19/19