TAMPA, Fla. — Sometimes when it rains, it pours.

Jonathan Rodriguez can relate. This Lennard senior just can’t catch a break. 

Actually, he’s caught two of them. The first, a broken arm his freshman year. The second, another broken arm: this one ending his high school football career.

“I wasn’t crying. I wasn’t upset,” Jonathan said. “I was just (like), 'Coach, there’s something wrong with my arm.' I showed him and that was it.”

If you think Jonathan is sitting around feeling sorry for himself, think again. 

“Just like we’re in a rainy day today, the last couple of years have been rainy for him,” Lennard head coach Matt Kitchie said. “But every day, he’s had a smile on his face. He’s just a great kid to be around. 

“And more importantly than not, the kids love him.”

Jonathan doesn’t have time to wallow in self-pity. Two days after he broke his arm, he got an immediate perspective. His family’s house burned down — along with it, Jonathan’s car and his pet hamster, Bibbles. And it was his birthday.

“Just cherish every little moment with your family, because you never know when it will be your last,” Jonathan said.

The fire started while his dad was working on a motorcycle. Static electricity lit a gasoline tank on fire. The flames spread quickly throughout the house and the family had about two minutes to get out.

“I don’t even want to think what could have happened,” he said.

Jonathan’s family lost practically everything. But the Lennard community has rallied to provide help. And the football team is rallying around their senior. That support means everything.

“More than you can imagine,” Jonathan said. “All of them have been checking on me. I have a group chat. And they’ve all been (checking). So, a lot.”

“He just had a great attitude through the whole thing,” Kitchie said. “And most people would give up at that point. And I think the moral of all of this is that no matter how rainy the day, we’re going to get through this.”

A senior season gone before it really even started. A house gone in a flash. It’d be easy to give up. That’s just not Jonathan’s style.

“It’s tough because I only got in one game. And then that was it,” Jonathan said. “And it being my senior year, obviously I love the sport. But I can’t do anything to get those memories back, so when I think about things I could have lost, it definitely outweighs what happened.”