By Mark Wells
mwells@elberton.com
and Rose Scoggins
rscoggins@elberton.com
Former Elbert County Blue Devil Mecole Hardman added a second Super Bowl trophy to his case after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII Feb. 12 to win their second championship under Head Coach Andy Reid.
While Hardman had already been sidelined for the National Football League season’s grand finale due to an ongoing injury, his plans for attending the game took a turn after his girlfriend, Chariah Gordon, went into labor early Sunday morning.
“OMG HER WATER BROKE,” Hardman tweeted on social media at 5:40 a.m. local time Sunday.
Hardman and Gordon had previously announced they were having a baby boy in October 2022.
After encouraging his team via Twitter posts during the game, Hardman announced the birth of his son in a tweet that said “He’s HERE” nearly 24 hours later.
Hardman had an up and down season this year for the Chiefs as the former Blue Devil and University of Georgia star played in just eight of the Chiefs’ 17 regular season games played this season because of an abdominal injury.
During the eight-week stretch he was on the field, Hardman had 25 receptions for 297 yards and four touchdowns.
Hardman also made headlines when he set an NFL record in Kansas City’s game against the San Francisco 49ers as the first player in the Super Bowl era to score two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in the same game, showing his dynamic playmaking ability.
After being absent from the Chiefs lineup from Week 9 onward, Hardman made a return to the field in the AFC Championship game that saw the Chiefs clinch their Super Bowl berth with a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hardman was involved in the game as he rushed twice and caught two passes for a total of 17 yards of offense, but injured his pelvis and was held out for both the remainder of the game against the Bengals and the Super Bowl.