The La Marque Cougars and Dickinson Gators couldn’t get past the season opener without suffering some big losses.
The Cougars lost senior running back Russell Ball for the season early in their game Friday night against Bay City.
Dickinson lost two starters — sophomore tailback T.J. Boyd and sophomore nose guard Joe Molina — for the rest of the season in their opener against St. Pius on Friday night.
The two running backs, considered among the best in District 23-4A, will be hard to replace, and it’s a bit odd that two stars have fallen so quickly.
“I haven’t seen anything like that in a long time,” Dickinson coach Warren Trahan said.
La Marque coach Bryan Erwin agreed. “It’s unfortunate that two of the best backs in this county and the state only got to play one game,” he said. “But it’s part of the game, and injuries are part of the game. This is what it’s all about — overcoming adversity and responding to negative situations in a positive way and becoming closer as a football team.”
Ball went into the season tabbed as one of the best running backs in the state by Texas Football magazine, and he was looking forward to leading the defending Class 4A, Division II champion Coogs to another state title.
But he partially tore a knee ligament returning a kickoff halfway through the second quarter and will undergo surgery today. Despite the early exit, he led the Coogs in rushing Friday night with 51 yards on four carries.
“It really saddens you for Russell,” Erwin said. “He’s a great kid. He’s got a great demeanor and personality, and he’s a great ball player.
“He means a lot to this football team. He’s still going to have a big impact on this football team. He’s at practice every day. He’s already talking about having surgery in the morning and being at the ball game tomorrow night, and I believe if there’s any way he can do it, he’ll be there.”
Despite the injury, Ball’s future looks bright. He had orally committed to Florida State University before the season, and Erwin said the Seminoles will honor the commitment.
“We’re very happy about that,” Erwin said. “We certainly appreciate Florida State’s commitment to him. We’re excited that his future is taken care of. Now we have our future to take care of.”
Dickinson, which beat St. Pius, 27-16, will be hard pressed to replace Boyd, who rushed for 787 yards and five touchdowns on 88 carries last season. He ran for 133 yards and a touchdown in the first half before going down with a knee injury. Molina also tore his anterior cruciate ligament — just like Boyd and Ball.
“Both of them (Boyd and Molina) will be a big loss, hard to replace,” Trahan said. “But I think we have adequate replacements, kids who are going to step up and get the job done.”
At least Boyd is young and has two more years of high school football left.
“He’s a good kid,” Trahan said. “He’s got a good work ethic. He’ll come back strong.”
Last year, Dickinson was devastated by injuries, including the loss of quarterback Mike Funchess, who didn’t play a down until the final week of the season.
“As far as bad luck, yeah, it reminds me a lot of last year,” Trahan said.
Speaking of bad luck, a few La Marque fans are blaming Ball’s injury — and the Coogs’ 20-9 loss at Etheredge Stadium — to the fact the Coogs switched to the other side of the field for home games this season to avoid the glare and heat of the sun.
But Ball and Boyd blame their injuries on another curse — the Playmakers Curse. Both were among a group of local athletes honored as playmakers for their respective teams by The Daily News’ sister paper, the Texas City Sun, on the front cover of the Sun’s annual high school football preview published last week.
“I know Russell and T.J. have talked,” Erwin said. “They’re good friends. They’re claiming that it’s the Playmakers Curse.”
