This is reality television of the heroic kind

The entire portrait of Mickey Matthews' life will be painted all over the cable television dial tonight.

On one channel is the James Madison University football coach's dream - his Dukes competing for a national championship. On another channel is the former Georgia assistant's nightmare - his only son dealing with paralysis suffered in two devastating car crashes less than a year apart.

By pure coincidence, the two conflicting stories of a coach and his boy's challenging long odds stacked against them in search of satisfying endings will air simultaneously.

At 8 p.m. on ESPN2, Matthews and James Madison will face Montana in Chattanooga, Tenn., to decide the NCAA Division I-AA football champion. At 9 p.m. on Spike TV, Matthews and his son, Clayton, will be featured in the first installment of the documentary series, True Dads with Bruce Willis.

"It's hard to put such a devastating event and having a paralyzed child in the same vein as a football game," Matthews said of the juxtaposed major focuses of his life.

The programming conflict presents a problem for Augusta businessman and intimate family friend Ken Hardy. He'll be in Finley Stadium watching Matthews and son try to outwit Montana. He hopes his own sons at home can figure out how to tape the documentary.

Hardy feels only one conclusion tonight will be appropriate.

"With what they've been dealt in the last 18 months, it's real justice that here they are playing for the national championship," said Hardy, who met and befriended Matthews when he was an assistant under Jim Donnan at Georgia and was in charge of recruiting the Augusta area. "Good things should happen to good people."

Off the football field, not much good has happened to the Matthews since Aug. 3, 2003. Clayton, a rising junior wide receiver at James Madison, was driving friends home when he lost control of his car making a wide turn. The Mustang plunged down a hill into woods, throwing Matthews from the car because he wasn't wearing his seat belt. He broke his neck and was paralyzed from the chest down.

Eight months later on his way from Harrisonburg to Charlottesville, Va., for treatment, Matthews' mother lost control of the car when it hydroplaned in a severe downpour heading over the mountains. The collision with the guard rail was relatively minor, but it was enough for Clayton to suffer whiplash and another broken neck. After months of rehabilitation and some progress, he was a step back from where he started with much less mobility in his arms.

The setback hasn't kept Clayton Matthews from serving as a volunteer assistant for his father's team, breaking down game films and coaching the kickers and special teams.

"I think he's doing as well as can be expected for someone who fate dealt two cruel and untasty blows," Hardy said. "He's handled it with a lot of virtue."

Hardy and Matthews are so close that the coach and his family used to spend every Christmas in Augusta when Matthews was an assistant at Georgia from 1996-98. They still attend the Masters Tournament every year together.

It was Hardy who was instrumental in getting both the LeZotte brothers - Matt and Tony - to attend James Madison, where they became two of Clayton Matthews' closest friends. Hardy's son, Sam, was Matt's center at Westside High School. Matt is the senior backup quarterback for the Dukes. Tony, James Madison's freshman safety, was named a second team all-American on Tuesday.

The documentary will show an ongoing battle that might take a lifetime to win. Tonight's national championship game is the culmination of an entirely different chapter, one that has in some ways been inspired by the coach and his son.

"The strength that Coach Matthews has shown and the whole family has shown has rubbed off on our team," Matt LeZotte said. "They've proved that against all odds we can come out on top."

This is Clayton Matthews' senior class. These are his closest friends trying to do as Clayton did in high school when he led Oconee County to a Georgia Class AAA state title in 1999.

While seeing teammates do the kind of things he did before the accident can lead to bouts of depression, it also can temporarily suspend his own reality with moments of exhilaration.

"He's really enjoying being here because this is his class," coach Matthews said on the eve of the title game. "You're searching for any positives for him to improve his life."

Accentuating the positives comes naturally to the football coach. College football doesn't allow the luxury of dwelling on the negatives. There is always the next game to get ready for and the next challenge to rise up and meet.

That's how Mickey and Clayton handle their new life and relationship every day.

"Mickey will accept no negative discussion from anyone," Hardy said. "This game is a tribute to them. Mickey kept going and kept incredible responsibilities to coaching his team and helping his son. I can't fathom what my reaction would be if I was in the same situation."

The coach's determination has rubbed off in his son. In a preseason interview with The Washington Post, Clayton sounded very much like his father when he talked about his situation. The surgeries and monthly stem cell injections he takes in Mexico are part of a systematic gameplan with a different kind of championship goal in mind.

"People say you've got to deal with being paralyzed," Clayton said. "They say, 'Just move on and deal with it.' But I've been taught my whole life not to deal with it. I've always been told to play until the last whistle. I'm going to have hopes of walking again until the day I die."

Tonight you can watch two very different kinds of reality TV. These are a couple of heroes you'll find very easy to root for.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.