Gaffney's Jaquan Barnes has overcome long odds off and on the football W hat’s harder, battling 250-pound offensive linemen who move like a shooting guard or a family life filled with turmoil?

Gaffney’s Jaquan Barnes will tell you overcoming a troubled home life.

“I just keep my head up,” Barnes said. “Sometimes it’s hard but I don’t let it get to me.”

Barnes’ father is in prison, while his mother struggles to hold things together for his five siblings. Barnes is a father himself. He was a freshman when daughter, Ja’Keria Campbell, was born.

“I just take it day by day and I appreciate the people who have helped me,” Barnes said. “My dad has always been there for me and my mom tries to support us.”

Barnes calls his daughter his inspiration. He spends as much time as he can with her, mostly on every other weekend. She attends his Gaffney High football games and can recite his football number.

“When I take my helmet off, she says ‘daddy,’” Barnes said.

He had a job over the summer to help pay his baby’s expenses. Now that school is back, other family members are helping with the finances.

The Gaffney coaches are aware of Barnes’ difficult off-the-field situation.

“A lot of our kids are in the same boat,” Gaffney co-defensive coordinator Ben Fuller said. “We take care of (Jaquan). Nowadays, these kids have a lot more responsiblity.”

On the field, Barnes faces obstacles as well. The senior comes in a 5-foot-7, 160 pound package. He overcomes his physical limitations with a second-to-none will to succeed.

“I’m undersized, but I have a lot of aggression (a reference to his home life),” Barnes said.

“He’s probably the heart of our defense,” Fuller said. “He’s our defensive vocal leader.”

Fuller notes that Barnes was selected as a team captain by his teammates.

Barnes said leadership comes with maturity.

“I feel like they look up to me,” Barnes said. “I don’t try to act like the boss.”

Barnes was the defensive player of the game in the team’s season-opening win at Boiling Springs this past Friday. In that game, he was credited with a team-high five big hits. Tyquille Byars was next in big hits with one. One of Barnes’ big hits knocked out the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback, while three others came on plays where he lined up on the other side of the field.

“He just has a motor that doesn’t stop and he just doesn’t like to lose,” Fuller said.

Barnes put its this way.

“I was just amped up,” he said. “This is my senior year. No, I mean to say that it is our year.”

Barnes wants to attend college, hopefully on an athletic scholarship, to make a better life for himself and Ja’Keria.

“I want to play ball,” he said. “If I could play in college that would be great.”

He also has big dreams for this Gaffney team.

“All of the coaches are cool,” he said. “Everybody has bonded this year. It’s like a family. I know that if everybody gives 100 percent we can (win a state championship).”