by Emilio Ceja

St. John Bosco celebrated its diversity with its annual Club Carnival, where students had the opportunity to join some of the many clubs offered at Bosco, such as Seal Team Bosco, Key Club, Spanish Honors Society and more. 

All the clubs had a table they decorated to attract the students’ attention. Throughout the event, students enjoyed a relaxed environment with food, music, games and friends, where students could learn about and sign up for clubs in which they are interested.

One unique club is Seal Team Bosco, an athletic minded club where Bosco students can meet new friends and teammates from our sister school St. Josephs. They practice and prepare for the Annual U.S. Navy Seal Invitational, where they compete against other schools and clubs. The team trains through morning runs and swimming, along with weightlifting and various skills related to military experience. Mr. Ed Torre, the club’s faculty moderator, trains the team and helps sharpen their physical and mental skills through the tough mentality of being a soldier.

Senior Noah Quezada was in charge of the table for Seal Team Bosco at the club carnival.

“We are a very dedicated group, who love to workout and build experiences together,” said Quezada.

Another prominent club that had a table at the carnival was the Spanish Honors Society. Not necessarily a club, the Spanish Honors Society has a requirement students have to meet in order to join, which is two years of Spanish with a B or better. If the requirement is met, the students are handed an application that has to be filled out asking about the different Spanish classes they have taken. Ultimately, the student’s former Spanish teachers must approve their admittance into Spanish Honors Society.

But that’s not all. After the teachers’ approval, the students have to be approved by one of the deans with their signature and recommendation. Ms. Cindy Rayas the club coordinator is in charge of holding meetings in her classroom and is also a Spanish teacher at Bosco. The Spanish Honors Society also holds fundraisers where they sell pizza to raise money for different charities throughout the year.

“We had more than 30 kids sign up for the club, all meeting the requirements for the club,” said Miss. Rayas.

One of the most well known events they put on is the Dia De Los Muertos Celebration. This event is held yearly and includes all cultural parts of the Hispanic “Day of the Dead,” such as altars, pan dulce, tacos, and face painting to look like the traditional skeletons.

Seniors in the Spanish Honors Society also get to show off fancy cords marking their participation in the society when they graduate.

Another club is the Key Club, a service oriented club that offers a chance for students to make friends and complete service hours in a fun and easily accessible environment. Key Club is not a club specific to only Bosco students. It is a national and international club that many schools and organizations offer. Although not Bosco specific, the Key Club’s coordinator is Ms. Norma Aguilera, a Spanish teacher at Bosco. At their specific table, the Key Club had a poster featuring their past service initiatives, along with applications for new members.

“I really enjoyed the table arrangements. I liked how they were in a circle and students could walk around and visit each club individually without a lot of foot traffic,” said Ms. Aguilera.

The 2019 Club Carnival allowed Bosco to show all it has to offer to its students. The way the event was set up, from the individual tables, the lawn games and the music, made possible this essential part of the Bosco experience.

by Lucas Garrison, Sports Editor

October has fallen upon us, and yes that means the most important time of the month is here: Halloween? NOPE, it’s postseason baseball. The usual teams are atop their divisions, with the Dodgers of the National League, and the Astros, and Yankees, of the American League. Of course, these teams would be the obvious favorites, but there are several sleeper teams that are viable contenders.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

The National League now is a completely different story when comparing the National League to the American League. The Dodgers enter into October, as the heavy favorite to represent the National League. Now yes, the National League has other teams that will be able to provide a tough time against their other opponents, but in my opinion, there is no other team that will be able to take the National League away from the Dodgers.

Now to move to the Dodgers, the team in my opinion, who has the best young core in Baseball will represent the National League for the World Series, in my opinion, this season. Let us start off with the Dodgers who have a strong rotation, not the best, but very strong. Obviously they will be lead by probable Cy Young winner Hyun-Jin Ryu, as well as Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, and Rich Hill. The Dodgers this Postseason, are attempting to strengthen a pretty weak Bullpen by moving young player Dustin May who started several games, and more than likely will be a future starter. They also move Tony Goslin to the bullpen who has taken reps as both a starter and a bullpen pitcher. He will provide another solid arm coming out of the bullpen. Not only do these Dodgers have these young future stars coming out of the bullpen, but they have their usual bullpen guys with Joe Kelly, Julio Urias, Kenley Jansen, and Ross Stripling.

The Dodgers on the offensive side of the ball continue will look to not only rip balls left, right, and center, but will also look to play some small ball. In my opinion, this is one of the several advantages the Dodgers have this season. They have guys that go deep basically every at-bat, Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy. Then you have your guys that hit the ball shallow and get on base, Russel Martin, Justin Turner, Will Smith, and Kike Hernandez. The Dodgers will look to move onto the NLCS, and hopefully will be joined by Alex Verdugo who will add yet another solid bat to the lineup. The one question that needs to be asked though is, who will be left off the roster. Will it be rookie sensation Gavin Lux, or will it be a veteran guy like David Freeze, or will it the solution be to leave Alex Verdugo off the roster, and keep with this hot roster. Whatever the solution is, the Dodgers will still have a great postseason roster. That’s why they will be in the World Series for a third straight year, and hopefully win the ‘ship.

The Nationals and the Braves are the two teams that will give the Dodgers trouble, but they will be unable to take down the Dodgers. The Nationals yes, in my opinion, have the second-best rotation in baseball. The Nationals have a rotation that features, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin. However, the Nationals who threw Max Scherzer in the Wild Card game more than likely will not be available until game 4 or 5. The Nationals are also being lead offensively by, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto. Rendon this season has made an MVP case for himself this season. Rendon this season is batting, .319, with 34 home runs, and 126 RBI. Rendon will look to lead this team on the offensive side of the ball. Soto will add a solid second bat for the team, and they will form a solid tandem as we have already seen this Postseason.

To look at Atlanta, they started off this season solid than just got much better by adding Star pitcher Dallas Keuchel. Atlanta probably has a top 3 young core in baseball, behind the Dodgers, and the Nationals. Atlanta this Postseason will more than likely be lead by Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, and Freddie Freeman on the offensive side. On the Pitching staff, they are being led by Ace, Dallas Keuchel, Mike Soroka, and Mike Foltynewicz. These Pitchers together this season have been able to keep the run count short against them allowing for the perfect complement to an already outstanding offensive team.

Atlanta plays the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. The Cardinals are being lead by Paul “Goldy” Goldschmidt on the offensive side of the ball. They look solid, but they just don’t have the star power that Atlanta or the Dodgers do. They do have the veteran presence, however. Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright being the Veterans of this team. This team will provide so solid competition to the Braves, but I do not expect anything special from them.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

The American League once again looks like the powerhouse in the MLB. They feature the number 1 team in baseball, the Houston Astros, who finished the regular season with, 107 wins. The Yankees however, are the team that I believe will meet the Astros in the ALCS, and move on to the World Series. Now, this is not to say that the American League will only have these two teams sweeping on through. Other teams to keep an eye out for include the Twins, and the Rays. The Rays who currently take on Houston, are the winners of the Wild Card and have a very solid all-around team. The sad fact of the matter is that they will be unable to defeat the Astros, for the soul fact, they have the stronger starting pitching staff, and just much more star power.

The Yankees and Astros have so much star power from the pitching staff to the offensive side of the ball. Let’s start off by looking at the Yankees. The Yankees are the power-hitting powerhouse of the MLB this season. Those power hitters include Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, and Luke Voit. These 4 guys are the guys you don’t wanna see if you are a pitcher for the soul fact that they can, and most likely go yard every single at-bat. Now yes the Yankees Pitching staff is very weak in the Bullpen, and in their starters. However, they will out-hit you, and out muscle you on the offensive side of the ball.

The Astros will have their hands full the entire postseason. They face the Rays in the first round, who, no will not be able to take down the Astros, but the Rays will train your starters, and take on every pitcher in your bullpen. But with all that the Astros finished the regular season with the best record in baseball with 107 wins and 55 losses. Those 107 wins have to be credited to an excellent starting pitching staff. They started off in the offseason by adding Wade Miley to their already strong pitching staff. They made sure to add a solid number 3 guy behind Justin Verlander, and Gerrit Cole, who by the way is having a Cy-Young worthy season. But the Astros were not done yet, at the trade deadline they went and traded for Diamondbacks Ace Zack Grenkie. So now the Astros have a 2 excellent pitchers, 1 great pitcher, and 1 good pitcher. Look out for the Astros.They will be a solid team in the AL Postseason, but I do not think they will be able to outweigh the power hitting beast known as the New York Yankees.

The World Series this season will no matter what feature the Los Angeles Dodgers for the third straight year. However, whether it is the Houston Astros, or the New York Yankees representing the American League. It will lead to an exciting World Series.

ALDS

Houston Astros Vs.  Rays

WINNER: Astros

Yankees Vs. Twins

WINNER: Yankees

ALCS

Yankees Vs. Astros

WINNER: Yankees

NLDS

Dodgers Vs. Nationals

WINNER: Dodgers

Braves Vs. Cardinals

WINNER: Braves

NLCS

Dodgers Vs. Braves

WINNER: Dodgers

WORLD SERIES

Dodgers Vs. Yankees

WINNER: Dodgers

by Hunter Richardson, Assistant Sports Editor

The Braves open Trinity League-play tonight with Servite on the road, attempting to once again conquer the toughest league in the nation. The Braves have three road games to start league-play with the currently number two ranked team in the nation looking to repeat as Trinity League champions. 

 

Coach Jason Negro’s team is coming off a dominant nonleague run going 5-0 in easy fashion against high quality out-of-state opponents. The Braves took down three tough east coast squads in Don Bosco Prep, Dematha and Our Lady of Good Counsel at home, running through the opposition with a stout defense as well as an explosive offense at the helm of second year offensive coordinator Steven Lo. On the road during non-league play, the Braves gave opposing fans a show in two commanding victories against Mililani of Hawaii and Liberty of Nevada.

It is time to turn the page for the Braves, as they are looking down the familiar slate of games in the hardest football league in the country, the Trinity League. The Braves are beginning league-play with three consecutive road games versus Servite, JSerra and Orange Lutheran. This is a difficult challenge that Coach Negro’s team has to deal with before the inevitable game of the year against the number one team in the country, league rival Mater Dei.

Tonight the Braves begin their journey to defend the Trinity League title on the road against Servite, who comes in with a record of 4-1, with their only loss of the season being dealt by powerhouse Bishop Gorman from Nevada. The Friars have been a model of consistency over the years as they continue to be one of the top teams in the Southern Section.

The Braves come into tonight’s game boasting a juggernaut offense led by Clemson-commit, senior quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei has shredded opposing defenses so far this season averaging just shy of 300 passing yards per game and throwing for 18 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Bosco football this season has not been all-offense either, as the defense has held opponents to a combined 53 points in the first five games of the season. The Braves leading tackler, linebacker Danny Lockhart, and team leader in sacks, defensive tackle Kobe Pepe prepare to lead this defense to a dominant showing against some of the best offensive players in California this league season.

Tonight’s game will give Brave fans a glimpse into whether or not this season’s squad is legit in their national championship campaign. If the Braves continue to look as powerful and consistent as they have so far this season, they should have a successful beginning to Trinity League play tonight against the Friars. The game is at Orange Coast College at 7 P.M.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: 52-14

by Timothy Levine, Executive Editor, and Isaiah Holm

With the 2019-2020 school year in full swing, there comes a new set of athletic seasons for St. John Bosco, but this year there will be one big change that comes from the California Interscholastic Federation, CIF. 

In a unanimous vote, the CIF Federated Council approved a new rule that starting this year will ban California teams from playing high schools around the country that don’t compete in their state championship playoffs. This rule will have a huge impact on certain sports at St. John Bosco and affect California athletics as a whole.

CIF has some clear reasoning behind this rule, which includes their belief in the balance of academics and athletics. These schools are allowed to recruit and promote their athletics in ways that schools under CIF are simply unable to. Monty McDermott, the Director of Athletics at St. John Bosco, believes that these academies can sometimes barely be recognized as academic institutions.

“They do not have any transfer rules, academics are not their first priority, they are boarding schools. It is probably not a good idea to play those types of schools if you can even call them high schools,” said Mr. McDermott.

CIF believes that these schools go against their “mission as an organization” and are inherently detrimental for athletics in schools, according to the Los Angeles Times. While this rule seems to allow for a fairer playing field, it also eliminates certain matchups that garnered much attention, such as the Mater Dei vs. IMG Academy game from last year’s football season. However, matchups against teams like IMG Academy may not be positive for schools like St. John Bosco. McDermott believes that this allows IMG to recruit and take players from their program.

“There has actually been a case where they have tried to take a few of our kids, and there are no rules against it. They can call our kids on the phone, they can come to their living room, they can say, ‘hey come out to IMG; we will give you whatever whatever whatever.’ So when you play them, you give them a free recruiting trip to recruit your players,” said Mr. McDermott.

Outside of these big matchups, it affects many sports at St. John Bosco and their respective schedules. One sport that is impacted by this rule is basketball. Basketball is a prominent sport at St. John Bosco, and the team has participated against prep schools in the past. Basketball is one of the largest sports in California as well, and head coach Matt Dunn believes that the rule will affect California basketball as a whole through certain scheduling conflicts.

“I think the biggest change is tournaments we can participate in, because we can not participate in any tournaments that [prep schools] are playing in, so I think some of the bigger events it makes it harder to play in,” said Coach Dunn.

However, Coach Dunn believes that showcases will play a bigger role in basketball going forward, due to its selection of specific games.

“In a showcase, it’s not as big of a deal because we can play in the same showcase they are in, just not against them,” said Coach Dunn.

When asked about how it would affect Bosco basketball directly, Coach Dunn is unconcerned, as he believes it will bring no significant changes for them.

“I don’t think so, not really. I mean, I’m sure it does in some ways that there are schools that aren’t going to come to events that we play in that they normally would, but otherwise it doesn’t affect us,” said Coach Dunn.

While it may not have an impact on Bosco basketball’s schedule, Coach Dunn is mixed on his overall opinions of the rule, as he has experienced losing a player to one of these prep schools and believes their recruiting abilities make it unfair for CIF schools.

“I do like the rule, but obviously we also enjoy competing against the very best so losing that chance it’s not a great thing, but overall I’m not a big fan of playing against guys that are trying to take your players,” said Coach Dunn.

Another sport that is impacted by this rule is wrestling, another winter sport and a successful one for St. John Bosco. However, head coach Jeff Anderson believes that it will not have a huge impact on wrestling as a whole in California, but just for those teams at the top that try to compete against these elite prep schools.

“As a whole, most teams in California are not going to be directly affected by the change.  The rule is a problem though for teams that want to compete against some of the best teams in the nation,” said Coach Anderson.

Bosco wrestling strives to be a top team in the state of California and for the past eight years has competed at the Ironman Invitational, arguably the most competitive in-season tournament in the country. However, with the rule change, Bosco will no longer be able to attend this prestigious event.

“It has a negative effect on our schedule. We are one of those programs that want to compete at the highest level. Because of the rule, we are no longer able to compete at the Walsh Ironman, arguably the best tournament in the nation,” said Coach Anderson.

When asked about his overall thoughts on the rule, Coach Anderson understands CIF’s motives behind the rule and their good intentions. However, he believes that the rule should be amended for wrestling as many schools are still following national and state guidelines, but simply choose not to compete in the state tournament.

“It indiscriminately targets schools that are not a member of their respective state organization by choice, but are still sanctioned and accredited by their state’s governing bodies. A lot of prep schools fall into this category. They are sanctioned and abide by all the National Federation of rules for wrestling, but CIF is presenting it as they can do whatever they want,” said Coach Anderson.

While CIF may have had good intentions with this rule, the reality is not as black and white, as different sports are affected differently by this rule and some are hurt more than others.

by Ryan Tavera

The Cross Country team has set big goals for this year and are training their hardest to make them a reality, with head coach Tim McIntosh leading the team the runner’s hopes are high for the upcoming season. 

2018s Cross Country team performed very well, placing second in the league. Head coach Tim McIntosh hopes to repeat the success they had last year and go beyond what is expected from the team.

“High expectations for this year, felt last year was very young they really developed a lot in track and this year our goals we want to win the league and get up on that podium at CIF and State,” said Coach McIntosh.

The Cross Country team has high expectations for the upcoming season, every runner is preparing themselves for the upcoming season both as a team and individually.

“Goal for the season to work together as a team, we had trouble getting the team together, we were always just scared, this year we really matured and we just got to work together and push those hard days and run for each other,” remarked Senior Alex Frias

2019s Cross Country team feels very confident to be number one this season, the team believes they have really tied everything together and are prepared for what lies ahead.

“We’ve really matured last year was a bigging stepping stone for us and this year we really put the pieces together and I feel like we’re ready to roll,” said Senior Alex Frias

The team believes they have never felt better, the bond between each player not only as teammates but as friends seems to be what will really take this team to the next level, every player pushing each other to be the best they can.

“Our greatest strength is our brotherhood, whether its the last guy on the team we’re always just running together and pushing ourselves to the best of our ability,” said Alex Frias.

With expectations high and goals set to be the best, it is all up to the team to train as hard as they can and stay both physically and mentally strong for the upcoming season. Each runner must fully apply themselves in the sport and fix their mentality to be the best. Junior JT Mcoy understands the mental aspect and realizes it is the most important part of the sport.

“Its definitely the mental game, when you’re in a race and everything hurts, it’s that mental part to keep pushing yourself and get over it,”

Physically the team is putting in work Monday through Saturday arriving at school at 5:45 am to make sure they are on top of the competition and in shape to compete. The team is doing double practices to make sure they get the most out of a day.

“It can be mentally tiring anybody can improve in running but to make it in the big leagues the milage is tough your body gets tired,” said Coach McIntosh

The Cross Country Team is made up of many talented runners, only three seniors and the rest being Juniors and sophomores, many are returning runners who want to quench their thirst for the first place title, these runners are willing to put in the time for the victory. The work ethic is definitely there for these runners, Coach McIntosh is excited for what has to come, he believes that with this year’s team they are more fit than ever to be number one.

Regarding big events coming up for the team this Friday, September, 27th is a Trinity league meet, then the team comes back again in November and does it again, they have a big race in Clovis and two meets in Fresno.

by Hunter Richardson, Assistant Sports Editor

Bosco football flies across the Pacific to take on Mililani of Hawaii in Bosco’s first true road test before the beginning of Trinity League play.

This week the Braves are playing the second half of a “home and home” series against one of the top teams in Hawaii in Mililani. Last year the Braves defeated the Trojans by a score of 52-14 in a game where the Trojans started fast, but the Braves ended up dominating using their size and speed.

Coach Negro’s team seeks to replicate last year’s success against the Trojans with a solid performance in the “Aloha State” before they get a bye week prior to the start of league play.

The Braves have had a dominant start to the season in the non-league games with a 4-0 record and a plus-128 point differential. Bosco football has made an early statement this season for being the top team in the country alongside league rival Mater Dei.

They look to add another win against a good out-of-state opponent in the undefeated Mililani Trojans. Bosco football’s case for top team in the nation depends not just on winning football games but how good they look doing it against these top teams. It is important for Bosco not to have a let down in Hawaii this week before the opening of Trinity League play where all eyes will be set on the eventual match-up between the Braves and the Mater Dei Monarchs.

Last week, the Braves got a good look at league opponents in the Trinity League vs USA event, and their opponents likewise got to see the Braves pull out a fourth consecutive win against the Falcons of Our Lady of Good Counsel from Maryland by a score of 31-8. Bosco lead throughout the whole game with the defense holding the Falcons to very few yards on offense.

The Falcons from Maryland came into this game ready to play, as early on their defense held the Braves at bay for most of the first half with the halftime score of 14-0 in favor of the Braves.  As predicted the Braves ended up wearing down the Falcons defense and dominated the second half on the ground, rushing for a total of 199 yards as a team.

Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei led the first half charge on offense throwing two touchdowns giving the Braves their 14-0 lead at half. Uiagalelei added on a second half touchdown giving him three on the game and nearly 300 overall yards through the air once again.

The defensive side of the ball which was dominated by the Braves senior defensive tackle Kobe Pepe was the player of the game with 14 tackles and two sacks.

The Braves look to duplicate dominance once again against Mililani in Hawaii tonight and finish non-league play undefeated at 5-0.

by Hunter Richardson, Assistant Sport Editor

The Braves return home this week as they invite another top cross-country opponent in the Falcons of Our Lady Of Good Counsel from Maryland.

Bosco football, led by head coach Jason Negro, look to take down another top 25 team this week in Our Lady of Good Counsel, who boasts a stout defense only giving up a combined seven points in their first two games of the season. The Falcons who are 2-0 on the season come in attempting to be the first team to knock off the Braves at home at Panish Family Stadium.

This will be the toughest opponent for the Braves this season so far as they look to continue their hot start to the season coming into this game at 3-0. The Braves have dominated the opposition so far this season, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 140-35, and they will seek to continue this trend against the Falcons.

The offense will have their work cut out for them as they are going against a defense of the Falcons that have dominated their first two opponents on that side of the ball. The offensive line of the Braves have a large task ahead of them to keep this defense of the Falcons at bay and give the high-octane offense and skill players of the Braves a chance to get in space and use their speed to take control of this game.

The Braves defense can help their offense by wearing down the Falcons and keeping them off the field, giving the offense of the Braves the ability to control the game and have the ball the majority of the time.

The Braves continued their hot streak of blowouts with their rout of the Liberty Patriots by a score of 49-7 as part of the 2019 Polynesian Football Classic.

The Braves offense came into this game clicking on all cylinders coming off a 56-point performance against Don Bosco Prep. The Braves continued off of that performance, as they had no problem making big plays on offense against this Liberty defense.

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw for five touchdowns and nearly 300 yards. Uiagalelei found his favorable matchup in junior wide receiver Beaux Collins, throwing four of his five touchdown passes to Collins. Collins has also racked up 178 receiving yards in this game, showing his big play making ability by completely leaving the Liberty defensive backs in the dust. Uiagalelei also added on a rushing touchdown to give him six total on the day.

The offense of the Braves was able to get the running game going as well, mainly through sophomore, “Speedy” Rayshon Luke, tallying 92 of the 124 rushing yards and adding on a touchdown of his own in the process. Luke’s big outing in this game is promising, as the young sophomore running back trio of the Braves, which includes Luke, Jabari Bates and Michael Hayes, continues to improve each week in the wake of the full return of senior Nathaniel Jones.

The Braves offense up and down dominated Liberty’s defense totaling 414 overall yards on a little over 17 yards per play.

The defensive front seven has been key for the Braves. This was no different against the Liberty offense, who could not get anything going due to the Braves powerful defense. Liberty totaled less than 250 yards, while the Braves defense also showed their big play making ability, forcing two turnovers from the Patriots. Senior Linebacker Danny Lockhart once again led the team in tackles this week with nine, with one of those being a sack.

The Braves special teams unit has also been steady through its last two games including this one, as senior wide receiver and kicker Logan Loya went 7 for 7 on his PAT attempts, staying perfect on the season in that category.

The Braves look to keep their undefeated season alive tonight against Our Lady of Good Counsel from Maryland. Don’t anticipate a barn burner; the Braves will dominate again in week four.

Final Score:  Braves 42 – Our Lady of Good Counsel 7

by Kourt Williams

One of football’s most notorious injuries is a torn ACL, which stands for the anterior cruciate ligament. This injury will have any athletic player no matter the size, on the sidelines for an entire season, if not longer.

Just ten days ago, The University of Alabama head coach, Nick Saban confirmed, Dylan Moses, the team’s starting middle linebacker suffered a torn ACL two days prior to their first game of the season opener against Duke University. Also on two Saturdays ago, starting USC quarterback J.T Daniels suffered a torn ACL and is reportedly out for the remainder of the football season.

Nick Saban holds Alabama to a high standard, and even with the loss of Moses, he still believes his team has what it takes to play at a continued high level.

“It is also a character check for everybody on our team, to be able to keep the faith, to respond to adversity the way they need to, to accept the challenge, and rise above the challenge,” Saban said, according to NBC sports.

Historically, Saban has been able to keep his team encouraged despite hardship and with Moses out for the season, Alabama is planning on starting a true freshman, Shane Lee to fill Moses’s shoes.

USC head coach, Clay Helton felt nothing but disappointment to see his starting quarterback suffered an injury so great.

“It was a gut-wrenching feeling when Daniels went down. It’s just heartbreaking to see a kid who has poured so much into this team,” Helton said, according to the Associated Press.

A torn ACL has put many athletes in very difficult situations. Some are able to bounce back and be just as good, if not better than they were before the injury, and most never seem to get back to their true selves. This is because the injury is so severe that unless an athlete is able to get back to full recovery and able to get all strength back in that leg, there will always be a sense of hinder and caution when they play.

St. John Bosco High School football running back, Nathaniel Jones has also suffered a torn ACL in game one last season. Up to this point he has made a full recovery, however, there are question marks still in the air. One being he will he be able to be the same pound for pound running back he was prior to his injury.  I have observed some of his recovery workouts, and we are hopeful as a team that he will continue to contribute to our offense and return as our starting running back.

“I’m stronger than I was before, when you tear your ACL, you learn new things. The doctors actually said I worked so hard during rehab that the leg I tore my ACL is stronger than my other leg. So I’m confident and ready to go,” Jones said.

Many doctors and physical therapists say the cause of an injury is an imbalance in strength in the hip, quads, and hamstrings. Which are the primary muscles supporting the knee. Since the knee is a joint that is only connected by muscles and tendons, this risk of injury is very high when those muscles are not as strong as they need to be.

St. John Bosco’s head athletic trainer Melody Mohebbi, who was Nathaniel Jones’s primary physical therapist, says that a torn ACL is one of the most common sports injuries, and is also one of the most severe.

“The reason why torn ACL’s happen to so many athletes so frequently is that players tend to overtrain and not get enough rest and recovery. The overall cause of the injury is all the muscles in the leg that supports the knee aren’t as strong as they need to be to support the athlete’s cuts and how they maneuver,” Mohebbi said.

Theresa Chaia, from the Hospital for Special Surgery, says having overall and fairly equal strength in the hip and legs prevent ACL injuries.

“Having adequate strength in your hips and thighs is key to providing support for your knees and preventing ACL injuries,” Chaia said.

A torn ACL is an athlete’s worst nightmare. If you are an athlete playing any sport, it is vital that you have the understanding that this is an injury you want to avoid at all costs. However, with a little extra work on improving those surrounding and supporting muscles for the knee, like the hip, quad and hamstring and exercising regularly like squats and lunges, cutting the chances of the injury happening to you is fairly slim.