Injuries seem to be increasing by Joey Martin - posted Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 @ 3:11 pm  E-mail Story |  Print Story  "We have to stay away from injuries." "We must stay healthy." "We can't afford injuries." That coachspeak can be heard from just about any coach in talking about any upcoming season. But as the Little Rascals would say, "How true, how true and how." Injuries play a big part in the success of a team each year, but this year just seems bigger than the norm at every level. Vidalia High lost quarterback Michael Whitley for at least two weeks against Delhi Charter with a sprained knee and lost running back and top linebacker Johnny Anderson for the year with a broken ankle. Ferriday lost quarterback Shannon Morales in the season-opener for a couple of weeks against Natchez with a dislocated shoulder, while having lineman Lee Quinn and running back/linebacker Dontrell Domino knocked out of their game with Block. LSU lost offensive lineman Chris Faulk for the year with a knee injury during practice. Alabama running back Jalston Fowler sustained an injury to his right knee during the fourth quarter of Saturday's 35-0 victory over Western Kentucky. He did not put any pressure on the leg as he was helped off the field and was eventually transported to the locker room on a cart. Fowler wasn't just Alabama's third running back behind Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon. He was also receiving snaps at fullback whenever Alabama went to its I-formation and, at times, H-back. After rushing for 68 yards in the Crimson Tide's season opener against Michigan, Fowler notched 18 yards on three carries Saturday before he went down with the injury. Sure, it's Alabama and they have more star running backs than Concordia Parish has mosquitoes. But still it makes it to where you cringe if another one goes down - same as with LSU and its offensive line. Southern California kicker Andre Heidari underwent surgery earlier this month to repair a torn meniscus in his knee and will be sidelined about two more weeks. Heidari suffered the injury in the season opener against Hawaii and did not accompany USC to its game against Syracuse on Saturday. Coach Lane Kiffin did not provide an update on the condition of center Khaled Holmes, who left the stadium on crutches with a protective boot on his lower leg. Reserve center Abe Markowitz left the stadium with his arm in sling. That left freshman Cyrus Hobbi and starting guard John Martinez as the top candidates to play center this week. And there are many more instances of teams losing key players.. Of course, the two most serious injuries occurred Saturday as Tulane senior safety Devon Walker fractured his spine while making a tackle. Walker was in stable condition and recovering in an intensive-care unit after a three-hour surgery to stabilize his spine at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa., Ok. Walker's injury occurred on the final play of the first half, hours after Tulane opened the Conference USA portion of its schedule against Tulsa. Tulsa was leading 35-3 and facing a fourth-and-2 with the ball at the 33-yard line on Saturday when the Golden Hurricane called timeout. Tulane then called timeout. Arkansas may have taken the brunt of injuries over the weekend in its loss to Louisiana-Monroe. Quarterback Tyler Wilson left the game with an apparent head injury, while defensive back Tevin Mitchel was also injured in the game, on a scary play, resulting in Mitchel being carted off the field.  The sophomore corner-back collided head-on with linebacker Alonzo Highsmith. Mitchel remains at a hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas and is doubtful for Saturday's game against Alabama. Freshman fullback Kody Walker will miss the rest of the season with a lower-leg injury. Not good news for junior running-back Knile Davis who will lose another potential blocker. It's the head injuries that scare me the most. I hate to see Tyler Wilson get back out there, especially against Alabama this week. I like the new rules trying to protect players from head injuries, but there is one thing that concerns me. The players who don't like sitting out will not be as truthful about their injuries to doctors as they should be, and that will lead to some returning too early to the football field and more hard hitting. In his book, "Through My Eyes," Tim Tebow talks about receiving a concussion against Kentucky. "We called Trick Left 351 P-Stick Lion, and as we were breaking the huddle, I remember thinking that we actually should have scored on the play before," Tebow wrote. "I went into my count and caught the snap. I looked for my receiver who was on a slant across the middle. This play would be a touchdown. Darkness. My parents looked serious, with a low metal ceiling above them. Darkness. "It's okay, Timmy," Kyle, our assistant trainer, said. "Just roll over." I couldn't figure out why I was rolling over or what the other metal was around me. "They're just gonna slide you in there for a CAT scan." I rolled, stayed quiet, and waited for an explanation of why I was there." Tebow explained that while he was waiting for the slant to come open, a Kentucky defender had flown into him, hitting him below the chin. "They told me much later that the blow to the chin wasn't what caused my concussion, but rather the back of my head hitting my offensive lineman, Marcus Gilbert, in the knee as I fell backward from the hit" Tebow said in his book. "Rather than being apologetic, Marcus pointed out that he was the one who should be hurt and that no one was asking if I'd damaged his knee with my head (I hadn't). I threw up as I was taken off in a cart." Tebow said Florida coach Urban Meyer walked into the University of Kentucky Medical Center and told him his first question when he briefly came to was "Did I hold on to the ball?" "I did. And my second, in the hospital was, 'Did we win?' We did and John Brantley had filled in nicely in the fourth quarter." Tebow said that was about the time the fog lifted for him. Florida had a bye week before playing LSU. There was a lot of speculation as to whether Tebow would play. Even before the game, Meyer told Tebow he was not going to play. "I keep asking myself, if you were Nate (Meyer's son), would I let you play." Tebow was actually cleared to play and told Meyer he had no headaches, which was not true and Tebow said he could barely see by the end of pregame warm-ups. Tebow played and Florida won 13-3. But the story could have been a whole lot different if he would have suffered a hit to the head. And that's the scary part. Just ask Ferriday's Dr. Dennis LaRavia, who is a big fan of high school and college football, and has served and serves as an unofficial team doctor for local teams "My policy has always been if I see a young man injured, especially around the head, neck or back, to pull that young man over and evaluate him at that time," LaRavia said. "If there are any questions, I will have him evaluated further and ask that he be held out. There have been instances where doctors have had to contend with players, parents or coaches at times who want the player to keep playing. To me, the future of the young man is the most important issue." LaRavia said concussions have always been a part of football, but safety has become a more important issue now. "And you have football being played at a faster speed now with bigger boys and bigger hits," he said. LaRavia emphasized that every athlete is different and there are differences between mild concussions, moderate concussions and serious concussions. "There are 65,000-to-67,000 concussions in high school football every year," LaRavia said. "But you can't put them all in one basket. Each one can be different depending on the athlete and the injury." As for Wilson's injury, Wally Hall of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette tweeted that he was told Wilson's injury was not a collarbone separation and that HIPPA law means it is up to his family to say it is a mild concussion. "If a young man is under 17 and has a concussion and a parent comes out on the field and tells me they want him to play, I will tell them no," LaRavia said. "If they decide otherwise, I will tell the coach that this is all on the parents. Unfortunately, there would be nothing else I could do." LaRavia said he would also like to see high schools have a trained medical person available at all games. "The key thing is for coaches to be sensitive when a young man is not acting right after an injury," he said. "Their future is more important than a season."