LUMBERTON — From the athletes to the coaches to the fans, everyone is missing high school athletic competition, and patiently waiting for games to resume soon from their pandemic-induced delay.

But for one group of athletes, the delay comes as a benefit — the seasons they would have missed all or part of because of injuries will now be played in the spring semester, allowing them more time to get well.

Fairmont’s Jahkeem Moore and Niyasia Shephard and Lumberton’s JB Brockington are among that group.

Moore, one of the county’s best all-around athletes, tore his left shoulder labrum during a basketball game against South Columbus last winter, though he didn’t realize he had the injury until June and had surgery in July.

He is expected to be cleared to resume athletic activites in November, meaning he would have missed little if any of a regular 2020-21 basketball season — but would have missed all of the football season.

“I think it helps me out a lot that they pushed it back to the spring, and I’ll be able to have a senior (football) season,” he said. “Being that I can work and get back and play with my teammates makes me happy.”

The benefit for Moore could go beyond just this school year, Fairmont football coach George Coltharp said, as the opportunity to play senior-season football games could open additional opportunities at the next level.

“For a kid like Jahkeem, who is such a good athlete in all the sports he plays, whether it’s football, basketball, baseball, he hadn’t really decided on what he wanted to do,” Coltharp said. “For him to have that opportunity for him to showcase his talents, that’s really, really important.”

The competitive impact for the Golden Tornadoes could be immense as well. Coltharp expects to use Moore at multiple positions on both sides of the ball, including potential snaps at quarterback.

“For Jahkeem, it’s just really important to get the opportunity to play, epecially with what we’re going to be doing with him in our offense,” Coltharp said. “He’s going to be really a feature for us … he’s just that kind of athlete.”

For the Golden Tornadoes girls basketball team, Shephard is in a similar situation. She tore her ACL during the last basketball season, and likely would have missed at least a portion of her senior season as she continues to recover. Now, with practice starting in December and games delayed until after Christmas, she could be ready for the start of the season.

“For me it’s good, because if we would’ve came back in November, I probably wouldn’t have been ready,” she said. “I’m very excited to get back on the court again.”

Shephard’s presence on the court will help Fairmont as it continues to build in coach Marcus Thompson’s second year; Thompson said Shephard is a great teammate and helps the Golden Tornadoes’ efficiency on the floor.

“She was a big part of what we started off doing last year, and losing her took a lot from us, the things we can do,” Thompson said. “Niyasia can play (point guard, shooting guard or small forward) position. When she went out she was averaging four or five assists per game.”

As the season is not only delayed but also shortened, with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association allowing a 14-game regular season for basketball, Shephard thinks that will help her as well, given that she may not be as conditioned as she would have been without the injury.

“It can help me that way,” Shephard said. “Because coming off an injury, I didn’t get to do the workouts, and stuff like that.”

At Lumberton, JB Brockington was a key reserve as a freshman in the Pirates’ run to the 4A co-state championship in basketball, and played varsity snaps later in the football season. But he broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in early August, and would have missed a fall football season. He anticipates being medically cleared Nov. 11.

“It just gives me time to get my body back right, to get back in shape, to get back 100%,” Brockington said. “After my injury, I kind of got out of shape. It’s given me time to come back and be ready for the first game.”

Brockington said the recovery process has been easier in the current circumstances than it might have been if he had to watch his teammates play games while he was out with the injury.

“It makes it a lot easier. I know when that time comes, I can be right back (there) — it’s like I never got injured. I’m just missing workouts here and there. When I get back right, me and my boys are going to turn up this year.”

The Pirates football coaching staff is equally glad Brockington, a wide receiver and defensive back, will get the chance to play in the spring, as they anticipate an impactful sophomore season.

“We’re expecting big things out of JB; he’s going to be like a Swiss army knife for us,” Lumberton football coach Adam Deese said. “With him being hurt right now in the fall, that would’ve been a big blow for us. He got playing time as a freshman last year on the varsity level, not only with basketball but with football. He’s going to be our shutdown corner, and we’ll use him as well on the offensive side of the ball as a receiver.”

While these athletes surely miss being on the field just as much as their peers, they’re also pleased their peers aren’t missing them on the field.