30 YARDS between JJ Booker and the end zone. All for a coach watching and smiling from above. 
 
In 2007, Blue Ridge RB JJ Booker was having a career season. Over 1,500 yards, dozens of TDs. 
 
Booker was the senior star of a Tiger team that began the season 7-0, was ranked No. 1 in Class 3-A, AND beat rival Greer that year — all firsts in school history.
 
For his efforts, Booker was named to the Shrine Bowl, becoming one of few in Blue Ridge history to receive the honor.
 
Even better? His head coach, David Farnham, was chosen to lead Team SC in the Shrine Bowl that season. Booker and Farnham would represent The Ridge as a pair.
 
Tragically, Coach Farnham was diagnosed with cancer in the middle of the 2007 season, with the Tigers soaring. It progressed quickly. It became clear the beloved HC didn’t have long left.
 
During Blue Ridge’s second round playoff game vs. Greenville that season, Farnham was fighting for his life. But he showed up for his men, just like he always did. The Tigers lost a close one to Greenville, but Farnham was honored and presented with his Shrine Bowl coaching jacket during the game.
 
Just a few weeks before the 2007 Shrine Bowl, Farnham tragically succumbed to cancer at age 57. The Blue Ridge community mourned.
 
And Booker? At the Shrine Bowl where he was supposed to be coached by longtime mentor Farnham, Blue Ridge’s star RB was the one who sealed SC’s first Shrine Bowl win in years…
 
…with a late 30-yard TD run.
 
It was a bittersweet moment that represented something far bigger than a game. Booker and Team SC dedicated the win to Farnham’s memory.
 
And when you ask Tiger fans today about their favorite eras and figures, don’t be surprised when both Booker and Farnham’s names come up.
 
30 days until high school football is back.