By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

Antonio “Tony” Gladney is a kid who would make any father proud. Walked into Parkway last year as a freshman and put a 4.0 GPA on the board. The definition of polite. Voted as “Most Popular” in the freshman class.

“Love that kid,” said Parkway coach Coy Brotherton.

And Gladney is not exactly lacking on the football field either. In his first game as a starting running back, he rushed for 266 yards and four touchdowns. After three games, he has rushed for 331 yards to spark the Panthers to a 3-0 start.

Tony’s father, Antonio, was also an outstanding football player, too, during his days at Haughton 20 years ago, so you know that there would be a little extra pride involved.

Reality, however, is a different story.

On June 19, 2009, Antonio was shot and killed down at a gas station on Hearne Avenue. There had been an altercation earlier in another location and escalated again. Gladney was shot three times. He died eight days later. (There was an arrest, but the charges against the defendant were dropped two years later in 2011 due to conflicting witness testimony.)

Antonio Gladney left behind a 20-month-old son, named after his father.

“I use it as motivation to keep going,” Tony says. “I know he was a good player and I just want to continue the legacy.”

There have been Gladneys playing at Haughton for almost as long as people can remember and Antonio was the latest in a long line. His name is still on the Record Wall at the Haughton field house for career interceptions.

“People have told me he was a very good player, always got his work done at school and just a great man,” Tony says. “He played both sides of the ball.”

Tony is down Sligo Road from Haughton and playing at Parkway, but the connections between the two schools are deep. The current coaches are brothers. Their father, Bob Brotherton, was Antonio Gladney’s position coach at Haughton.

Even though he was four years ahead of Gladney at Haughton, Coy Brotherton remembers what a dynamic player Tony’s dad was, so he is especially proud of the 15-year-old sophomore.

“It’s kind of amazing to see a kid like that, who lost his dad at such a young age, be successful not only in sports but also in school,” Coy Brotherton says. “He’s very well respected among his peers and his teachers and everybody else.”

He doesn’t say it, but you can tell Brotherton takes a little bit of pride in having a star running back who shares the same Haughton connection, even though they are at Parkway. That gives their relationship a little extra meaning, especially when they talk about Antonio Gladney.

“Me being from Haughton and knowing the Gladney family, we’ve talked about it some,” says Brotherton. “It’s a personal thing for him, but Tony has a great mom and a great household.”

And what team does Parkway play this week to open the District 1-5A season? Of course, it’s Haughton.

Gladney started five games last year as a wide receiver, but Brotherton knew what he had even before then.

“We knew when he was in middle school (at Elm Grove) he was going to be good,” Brotherton says. “He was a man among boys then. Last year, we had a freshmen team that went undefeated, so we knew the talent that all of them have, but especially Tony.”

“I worked hard during the summer and the hard work has paid off,” Gladney says. “The coaches here keep pushing and I do what I go to do. We just need to keep it going.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com