Hunting the big game

Besides football, Newsome defensive end Chad Byrd has a passion for the outdoors.

By JOE SMITH, Times Staff Writer
Published September 21, 2007

LITHIA - As a defensive end, Newsome senior Chad Byrd is used to dodging large linemen.

But few right tackles bear the bite of the dangerous2,300-pound buffalo Byrd dared to stare down this summer in South Africa.

Byrd, a fourth-generation hunter, was on an two-week safari with his father, Jimmy, and grandfather, Leland, when a pack of buffalo herded around them.

Jimmy had just shot a cape buffalo, regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in the wild. That sparked a few other angry buffalo to cock their heads and prepare to charge.

"It was pretty frightening," Byrd said with a grin. "But it's one of the risks you take when you hunt big game."

Byrd will play in his biggest football game tonight when Newsome 3-0 travels to face nationally ranked Armwood and blue-chip lineman Matt Patchan.

But win or lose, Byrd will get up at 5 a.m. Saturday for his weekly hunting trip to Okeechobee, where he'll try to bag a deer with his weapon of choice - a bow.

"Hunting is one of Chad's biggest passions, ever since he was 6 or 7," Jimmy Byrd said. "He loves to be outdoors, hunting and fishing. And with us, it's a big family thing."

Most athletes have posters of Michael Jordan or Peyton Manning in their bedrooms. Byrd's room boasts a couple of deer heads, some horns and animal pictures on the wall.

The most impressive display rests in the 1,200-square-foot "trophy room" of their Dover home. Heads of about 25 animals are mounted on the wall, from zebras to deer and buffalo to elk.

"It's not about the kill," Byrd said. "It's about being outside, spending time with family. It's a sport."

Growing up, Byrd said, his primary sport had always been basketball. But during Byrd's sophomore year, Wolves coach Ken Hiscock plucked the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Byrd out of the hallway and said, "Boy, you need to play football."

Byrd, whose specialty is containment off the edge, is a big reason Newsome senior linebacker Ryan Gerena said the Wolves "have the best defense we've had since I've been here."

"Byrd's real quick," Newsome junior Trent Cornwell said. "It's tough to get anything past him."

That holds true on the field - or in the woods.

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com or (813) 310-9024.

[Last modified September 20, 2007, 21:54:49]