This article was written by Sandra Porter.
Friday nights are special in the fall. They are filled with football, team spirit, cheer teams, bands and banners. They are intended to be fun competition, excitement, and opportunities to develop sportsmanship.
But this past fall in the La Grange vs. Sweeny game, the game went off the rails. With two minutes remaining, La Grange was driving to tie the game. The comeback seemed a sure thing, until a Sweeny defender intercepted a pass. As the defender was running the ball back, and being ushered out of bounds, my grandson Mason, who was a good 10-15 yards from the action on the play, was pounded by a Sweeny football player -- and critically injured. His spleen was ruptured and he was bleeding internally. With his life hanging in the balance, he was air-lifted to a trauma center in Austin for emergency surgery – one that required 7 units of red blood cells and 2 units of plasma to save his life. Though he survived, for the rest of his days he will be at increased risk for infection as a result of the removal of his spleen. Video of the hit can be viewed above.
That nightmare still haunts me. I can still feel the scare of seeing my grandson in shock trauma ICU and watching my daughter fear for the life of her son. How have we gone from football being a game meant to be a fun extracurricular activity to one that can threaten the lives of our youth? And where is the discipline to ensure sportsmanship?
Notably, the player who hit my grandson was penalized for a personal foul -- but nothing more. There was no further action than a meaningless penalty at the end of a game. My daughter was told by the Superintendent of Sweeny Schools that the Sweeny player was under the team's disciplinary protocol the week following the hit, yet he played the next full district playoff game that week. And, a week after critically-injuring Mason, he gave the opposing team's QB a concussion, with a helmet-to-helmet hit that sent the QB to the hospital.
To be fair, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) website addresses this issue clearly. The protocol for a blatant personal foul should result in the player at fault missing a full half of a game; if it occurs in the second half of the game, the player should miss the first half of their next game. However, the UIL rule was not followed nor enforced. Despite numerous requests by my daughter that the UIL investigate the foul and discipline, the UIL has neither acknowledged her communication nor responded.
Youth participation in football is down across the state. Some suggest the sport is at risk all together, if it does not ensure the safety of its players. To be sure, the game is a contact sport; injuries will happen. But a blatant, punishing and unnecessary hit that threatens a child's life is one that requires our attention.
I write today with two motivations. First, I want to draw attention to safety for the game. Mason's younger brother, a sophomore, loves the game and wants his own Friday night lights experience—but he and others need us to protect the game. Bluntly, it is time that schools and coaches take stronger action to discipline unwarranted injuries, and it is past time for the UIL to take a stronger stance and to look to the examples of the NCAA and the NFL as they work toward a safer game.
And, second, in order to make a positive difference now, my daughter and I have started a GoFundMe page with a goal of providing EvoShield shirts with abdominal and rib protectors for La Grange freshmen, junior and senior varsity football teams. There has been a great deal of healthy attention to protecting against head injuries; these shirts serve to protect the abdomen and ribs. Any donation, no matter how small, is sincerely appreciated. https://www.gofundme.com/please-help-us-protect-our-youth
Interested parties can also donate by tagging the La Grange (Texas) Leopards football team on the Taylor Haugen Foundation website. The foundation was established by Taylor's parents following the death of their 15-year-old son, resulting from a hit to his abdomen during a high school football game.
We hope you will join us to protect our youth and do all we can to make football as safe as possible.
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By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.
The Longhorns rank No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. They are top 10 in first downs allowed, tackles for loss and passing yards. Much of that is built against opponents starting former walk-on quarterbacks ( Michigan ) and freshmen ( Mississippi State and Oklahoma.)
But the level of quarterback play Texas will face, in both talent and experience, is about to get much better over the second half of the season.
Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night in the first matchup of top five teams in Austin since 2006, before playing the next week at Vanderbilt. Bulldogs senior Carson Beck was a preseason first team Associated Press All-America pick, and standout Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia has carried the Commodores to a surprising 4-2 start, including a historic win over then-No. 1 Alabama.
Quite simply, Texas hasn't defended this caliber of quarterback all season.
Beck is a player on the doorstep of the NFL, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.
“There's nothing in the throw game (Beck) can't do,” Sarkisian said. “He's played enough football now, too. It's kind of hard to confuse guys when they've played that much football.”
Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) has allowed just one team to pass for more than 200 yards this season. Beck passed for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions last week in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State. His 36 completions set a Georgia record.
Even when Beck struggled early in Georgia's loss to Alabama, he rallied the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter lead. He finished with 439 yards in the loss where Georgia's rally ended with an Alabama interception in the end zone in the final minute.
Sarkisian recruited Beck when the Texas coach was an assistant at Alabama. Beck had initially committed to the Crimson Tide before switching to Georgia.
Beck is 18-2 in his career as a starter, and 6-2 against top 20 opponents.
The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) will need another exceptional game from him Saturday. A second SEC loss could threaten any chance of playing for the SEC championship, and raise the alarms on the College Football Playoff as well.
Texas has all but overwhelmed opposing quarterbacks so far.
In last week's 34-3 thrashing of rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns sacked Sooners freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. five times, and held him to 27 yards on 20 carries. Texas allowed just 225 total yards.
Hawkins was the first Sooners freshman to start at quarterback against the Longhorns in the 120-year history of the rivalry and was quickly swallowed up by a relentless pass rush.
By the numbers, the Longhorns program is on pace for a historic season. Sarkisian has said his favorite stat is points allowed, which is not many.
Texas has surrendered only three touchdowns all season. Opponents have snatched four turnovers inside Texas territory, but none have produced points.
That ability to snuff momentum can drain an opponent, Sarkisian said.
“We're so composed as a defense,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “We're so confident, that no matter what happens, everything is going to be alright.”
The only time Texas has trailed this season was a 3-0 early deficit against Oklahoma. Several Longhorns starters were still on the field when the Sooners' final drive stalled at the Texas 6-yard-line as the game ended.
The stars emerging for the Longhorns have been second-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons.
Hill leads the team in total tackles (42), sacks (4 1/2) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). His sideline-to-sideline speed and move this season from the edge to the middle of the Texas defense has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns All-American Derrick Johnson 20 years ago.
Simmons has four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses, second on the team in both categories.
“Size, speed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in summing up the Texas defense.
“They’re the complete package on defense," Smart said. "The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our best teams here.”By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.
The Longhorns rank No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. They are top 10 in first downs allowed, tackles for loss and passing yards. Much of that is built against opponents starting former walk-on quarterbacks ( Michigan ) and freshmen ( Mississippi State and Oklahoma.)
But the level of quarterback play Texas will face, in both talent and experience, is about to get much better over the second half of the season.
Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night in the first matchup of top five teams in Austin since 2006, before playing the next week at Vanderbilt. Bulldogs senior Carson Beck was a preseason first team Associated Press All-America pick, and standout Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia has carried the Commodores to a surprising 4-2 start, including a historic win over then-No. 1 Alabama.
Quite simply, Texas hasn't defended this caliber of quarterback all season.
Beck is a player on the doorstep of the NFL, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.
“There's nothing in the throw game (Beck) can't do,” Sarkisian said. “He's played enough football now, too. It's kind of hard to confuse guys when they've played that much football.”
Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) has allowed just one team to pass for more than 200 yards this season. Beck passed for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions last week in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State. His 36 completions set a Georgia record.
Even when Beck struggled early in Georgia's loss to Alabama, he rallied the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter lead. He finished with 439 yards in the loss where Georgia's rally ended with an Alabama interception in the end zone in the final minute.
Sarkisian recruited Beck when the Texas coach was an assistant at Alabama. Beck had initially committed to the Crimson Tide before switching to Georgia.
Beck is 18-2 in his career as a starter, and 6-2 against top 20 opponents.
The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) will need another exceptional game from him Saturday. A second SEC loss could threaten any chance of playing for the SEC championship, and raise the alarms on the College Football Playoff as well.
Texas has all but overwhelmed opposing quarterbacks so far.
In last week's 34-3 thrashing of rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns sacked Sooners freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. five times, and held him to 27 yards on 20 carries. Texas allowed just 225 total yards.
Hawkins was the first Sooners freshman to start at quarterback against the Longhorns in the 120-year history of the rivalry and was quickly swallowed up by a relentless pass rush.
By the numbers, the Longhorns program is on pace for a historic season. Sarkisian has said his favorite stat is points allowed, which is not many.
Texas has surrendered only three touchdowns all season. Opponents have snatched four turnovers inside Texas territory, but none have produced points.
That ability to snuff momentum can drain an opponent, Sarkisian said.
“We're so composed as a defense,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “We're so confident, that no matter what happens, everything is going to be alright.”
The only time Texas has trailed this season was a 3-0 early deficit against Oklahoma. Several Longhorns starters were still on the field when the Sooners' final drive stalled at the Texas 6-yard-line as the game ended.
The stars emerging for the Longhorns have been second-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons.
Hill leads the team in total tackles (42), sacks (4 1/2) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). His sideline-to-sideline speed and move this season from the edge to the middle of the Texas defense has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns All-American Derrick Johnson 20 years ago.
Simmons has four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses, second on the team in both categories.
“Size, speed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in summing up the Texas defense.
“They’re the complete package on defense," Smart said. "The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our best teams here.”