SOUTHERN SECTION SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW : Jose Avalos Back on Right Track : Santa Ana Guard Survives Scary Injury

Few football players are fazed by news accounts of those who have died or have been confined to a wheelchair because of football-related accidents.

Most continue playing, reasoning that, “Hey, that stuff only happens to the other guy. It’ll never happen to me.”

But for a few scary moments on the night of Sept. 19, Santa Ana High School’s Jose Avalos felt what it was like to be the other guy.

Only this time, luck intervened, sparing Avalos from lifelong confinement to a wheelchair.

What at first appeared to be a serious neck injury turned out to be a minor concussion. Avalos missed only one game and will take his usual spot at offensive guard and defensive tackle tonight at 7:30 when the Saints (12-1) play El Toro (13-0) for the Southern Conference title in LeBard Stadium at Orange Coast College.

A brush with a life-threatening injury shook Avalos up a bit. First, he considered quitting the team. Then, after deciding to return, Avalos realized that he had become too cautious on the field--that he wasn’t playing with enough aggression.

He had to get rid of the mental scars.

Eleven weeks later, they are gone.

“When I make a tackle, I don’t even think about getting hurt,” Avalos said. “If something bad happens, you have to put it behind you. If you get caught up in your past, you’re dead.”

It’s to the point where Avalos uses his injury as an incentive.

“I try to make the other person feel like I did,” he said. “I try to settle the score.”

Avalos was well behind on the count during that fateful September night in Santa Ana Stadium. After he had lowered his head to make a tackle on Nate Primous in the fourth period of Santa Ana’s 25-6 loss to Saddleback, three other players fell on top of him.

Everyone got up from the pile except Avalos, who remained on the ground, motionless.

The initial prognosis was not good. Team doctors thought Avalos had suffered either an internal head injury or a neck injury.

As Avalos waited for an ambulance, visions of wheelchairs danced through his head--when he was conscious, that is. For about 20 minutes, the junior drifted in and out of consciousness, blacking out for a few moments and then waking up to pain.

“It was like I had an earache, a headache, a neck injury and was hit with a rock in the head all at the same time,” Avalos recalled.

Avalos thought he was paralyzed. He couldn’t move his fingers or toes. He tried to move his head, but there was too much pain. Avalos remained still, but he could feel his whole body trembling in fear.

Suddenly, the mere thought of football, the sport he had played and loved since he was a child, the game he hoped to make a career of someday, was making him sick. He wanted to quit right then, but he found it too painful to speak.

Avalos was eventually taken to Western Medical Center, where doctors determined that he had suffered only a minor concussion. The news obviously brought much relief to Avalos, his parents, coaches and teammates, but it hadn’t changed Avalos’ mind.

After spending Friday night in the hospital, Avalos returned home Saturday afternoon thinking that he had played his last football game.

Those intentions lasted for one day.

Avalos tuned into the Rams’ game against the Indianapolis Colts that Sunday and noticed a rookie guard who stood only 6-foot-1 but was doing a number on the opponent.

Avalos, who is 6-0 and 215 pounds, had always felt overlooked because of his size. But here was Tom Newberry, a stub of a lineman, starting and excelling for the Rams in his first season in the National Football League.

Instant idol.

Instant rejuvenation, too. Newberry’s success reminded Avalos of his dreams of playing college and pro football and restored hope that he could make it, despite his height. He realized that he couldn’t quit now, and he didn’t want to let his teammates down.

Avalos missed a week of practice and a game (against Mater Dei), but returned to the practice field the following Monday, headaches and all.

He wasn’t fully recovered, but he realized that if the coaches knew he was in any pain he wouldn’t play. So he quietly forged on, despite an occasional dizzy spell.

“I admire the coach (Dick Hill) for what he tells us about mental toughness, and I was trying to live up to that,” Avalos said. “The team needed me, and I didn’t like sitting out, especially after missing the Mater Dei game.”

Mental toughness is great but, as Hill said, it can get you in trouble sometimes.

“There’s a point between being courageous and stupid,” Hill said. “We try to encourage them to be honest, but I think Jose is an intelligent young man. I don’t think he was stupid.”

The headaches went away after two or three weeks, and Avalos returned to form shortly thereafter. He went on to have an outstanding season, earning All-Century League and Times All-Orange County first-team honors.

Avalos is part of a Saint offensive line that has helped clear the way for tailback Robert Lee and quarterback Richard Fanti, who have combined for 2,344 yards rushing.

“He’s one of the best pulling blockers I’ve ever had,” said Hill, who has been coaching high school football for 30 years. “He’s the type of kid who has continued to improve. We brought him up to the varsity last year and he has worked hard on the weights. He’s a very strong kid, and he has a lot of desire.”

That’s obvious, considering the way Avalos came back from his early season injury. The incident briefly clouded his goals but, thanks to his desire and some inspiration in the form of a short but talented professional lineman, Avalos is back on the right track.

By the way, guess who suffered a minor concussion in the Rams’ game against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday night?

Yep, Mike Newberry.

But if the Ram guard is anything like his young admirer, you can bet he won’t be out for long.

SAINTS LEADERS

SCORING

Robert Lee -- 156 points Richard Fanti -- 36 points Darrell Bailey -- 30 points RUSHING

Robert Lee -- 1,784 yards (7.2 average)

Richard Fanti -- 560 yards (4.9 average)

Efrain Islas -- 330 yards (11.0 average)

RECEIVING

Darrell Bailey -- 19 catches, 289 yards Efrain Islas -- 12 catches, 222 yards PASSING

Com Att Yds TD Int Richard Fanti 58 116 1,059 12 5

SANTA ANA SAINTS Century League (12-1) Newport Harbor -- Won, 29-6 Saddleback -- Lost, 25-6 Mater Dei -- Won 31-20 Mission Viejo -- Won, 19-0 Ocean View -- Won 22-17 Villa Park -- Won, 33-14 Canyon -- Won, 37-0 Foothill -- Won, 34-18 El Modena -- Won 27-21 Santa Ana Valley -- Won, 27-0 Dominquez -- Won 28-14 Esperanza -- Won 17-14 Lynwood --Won, 26-6