The tough side of high school athletics

Williamstown senior running back Chris Inge planted his right leg while carrying the football on Oct. 21 against Kingsway.

In that instant, his scholastic career was over.

Shawnee senior running back Kyle Wigley planted his left leg while carrying the football on Sept. 23 against Clearview.

In that instant, his scholastic career was over.

It happens all the time. Injuries are part of the game.

The season goes on. The band plays on. The team marches on.

But those moments should serve as reminders, too. They should make us all pause and realize how precious these games are to these kids and how quickly and indiscriminately it all can be snatched away.

"When you hear that you're not going to be back on the field again with your teammates, it takes your breath away," said Inge, who was Williamstown's top rusher, dependable defensive back, and unquestioned team leader when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last weekend at Kingsway.

Wigley filled almost exactly the same role for Shawnee before tearing the ACL in his left knee at home against Clearview. He was tops on the team in rushing yards and touchdowns. He was a standout defensive back. He was an acknowledged leader.

"The first thing you think about is how hard you worked for this and how it's your senior year and you'll never get another chance," Wigley said. "It's like, 'This is it? How do you go forward?'"

Their experiences were eerily similar. When Wigley went down against Clearview, he knew something was wrong because he couldn't get up.

"I always bounce up," Wigley said. "But this time I couldn't."

Inge felt the same way.

"I always pop right back up, even if something is hurting," Inge said. "But I couldn't do it."

Wigley is about a month ahead of Inge in dealing with this unwanted new experience. He has been through the emotional stages. He has come to terms with his new role: part-time cheerleader, part-time assistant coach, full-time inspiration for his teammates.

"You just want to be with your teammates, help out in any way you can," Wigley said of a Shawnee team that is 5-2 and likely headed to the South Jersey Group 4 tournament.

When Shawnee rallied for a 20-16 victory over Cherry Hill East on Oct. 6, the first thing quarterback Jamie Jackopin said after the game was that Wigley had given him the confidence to succeed before the go-ahead drive.

"I was thinking about him the whole time," Jackopin said.

Inge hopes to provide the same kind of support for a Williamstown team that is 6-1 and also en route to the South Jersey Group 4 tournament.

"I love everybody on our team," Inge said. "They're still my guys. It's still my team. I don't want them to see me down. I want them to go on like I still have the pads on."

One of the most compelling things about scholastic sports is its fleeting nature. We all know that high school is gone in a flash, and that every one of those vibrant young athletes will soon be left with dusty trophies, old jackets, and memories.

Impermanence creates urgency. The big clock that's ticking on these careers - on every player's teenage years - raises the stakes and puts everybody in a hurry-up drill.

"During preseason, we always talk about how anyone can have a season cut short with an injury and to play every play as if it were your last," Shawnee coach Tim Gushue said.

It ends for all of them, injuries or no injuries.

But for these two seniors - star running backs, team leaders, dedicated athletes who deserved better - one stunning instant closed down their careers and forced them to find a wisdom beyond their years.

"It can make you stronger," Wigley said. "You have to try to look at the good side of things. In reality, that's tough to do. But you have to try to stay positive and stick with your teammates and realize that you did all you could. You left it all out on the field."