Homecoming O-H football game canceled due to Pateros injuries

The Titans found themselves without a Homecoming football game this week when they received a call from Pateros to cancel. This game will not be rescheduled and is considered a forfeit by Pateros and a 2-0 win for Odessa-Harrington.

When coach Jeff Nelson was asked for information regarding the cancellation, he said, “Pateros only has eight healthy players. They started with 14, but they have had several key injuries.”

The Pateros Billygoats/Nannies have one teammate currently in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, after he came off the field and collapsed during a game against Waterville. This was the result of a head injury sustained approximately two weeks prior.

Lately there has been a rash of serious injuries and fatalities resulting from high school football. According to the Seattle Times, the United States has had four game-related deaths since early September 2015. A 16-year-old from Franklin Parish, La. suffered a neck injury, a 16-year-old from Bartlesville, Okla. a head injury, a 17-year-old from Warren Hills, N.J. a lacerated spleen and most recently a 17-year-old from the Seattle area died as the result of a head injury. A fifth death involved a 17-year-old from Georgia who collapsed during high school football practice on September 22 and died two weeks later.

But the sport has also gotten safer and should continue to do so. In 2009, the Zackery Lysted Law went into effect in Washington state (the same year as the last high school football related death). The law bars youth athletes showing signs of concussion from returning to play or practice without a healthcare professional’s written approval. Since then, every state in the nation has adopted the law.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the Pateros teen to help his mother (a single mom of three) pay medical expenses and stay with him. Anyone wishing to donate can do so at http://www.gofundme.com/f5536jk8.