Injuries hamper Devils during season's first half
by Andrew McDermott, Sports Page Editor
October 6, 2010
Challenging. Exhausting. Persistent. These are some of the words Leechburg’s varsity football players use to describe this year’s season at its midpoint.
To begin, Leechburg football is a very small program with about 32 players – if everyone is healthy. But injuries have made the season even more challenging. Junior quarterback D.J. Oberdorf has been hampered by a knee injury, while senior lineman Tyler Foster is out for the season with a torn ACL. Seniors Brandon Ion and Chris Williams have also missed time. These losses have changed Leechburg’s game plan for the season.
“With all the injuries to the team,” Foster said, “freshmen and sophomores have been taking bigger roles in the team. Also, players have had to move to positions they have never played before or haven’t practiced at this season.”
One example is senior James Dunmire, who had to move back to quarterback from wide receiver when Oberdorf was injured. Senior Dan Coutch also had to move from linebacker to defensive lineman when Foster went down.
Coutch explained the team’s philosophy during this challenging period: “Even with all the injuries, we still have exhausting practices and we have to persevere through the tough times. We just have to keep going.”
Coutch’s observation seems to summarize the team midway through season. Even though the team has suffered injuries, the healthy players have had to keep going to try their best until other players can return.
Leechburg will play Northgate this week at home. Oberdorf will return this week, and Brandon Ion and Chris Williams returned from their injuries against OLSH this past week. Most of the starters returning should help the Blue Devils challenge their opponents the remaining games.
|
