Description

A true story of hometown heroes.

Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was home to the greatest high school football rivalry in the state. There was Central Bucks West, captained by senior fullback/ linebacker Bryan Buckley. And there was Central Bucks East, led by senior lineman Colby Umbrell.

Bryan and Colby would meet each other as opponents in a game played on a grass field, but their dreams and devotion to their country after the horrific events of September 11, 2001 would lead each of them to the conflict in the Middle East. Only one would return.

This slice of small-town American life is the compelling chronicle of two outstanding athletes: their lives, the game they loved, and the separate journeys they would undergo from the football field to the battlefield. But it is also a chronicle of those who helped shape them into the men they became, and the community that watched and cheered as they grew from game-playing boys into fighting men-and witnessed a sacrifice it would never forget.

About the Author

Mike Sielski is the sports columnist for Calkins Media, and is the recipient of seven awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors, the most prestigious award in sports journalism. He is the co-author of How to Be Like Jackie Robinson: Life Lessons from Baseball's Greatest Hero.