Central has had an unusual number breaks this season

BLOOMINGTON — Coaches will tell you that to win a state championship, you need some breaks along the way. If so, Central Catholic High School’s football team is well-equipped for a title run.

The 10-0 Saints have had an inordinate number of breaks in recent weeks. Three offensive linemen have cracked or broken bones on their hands/arms, requiring them to play in casts.

Yet, none has missed a start en route to today’s second-round Class 4A playoff game against Quincy Notre Dame (8-2) at Bill Hundman Memorial Field.

First, right guard Jack Wombacher cracked his growth plate near his left wrist, forcing him to wear a cast for the final two regular-season games. In the regular-season finale, center Zach Eyre broke a bone in his left hand. Three days later, right tackle Chris Levitski broke a bone in his right hand in practice.

Coach Bobby Moews’ team nearly had three starting linemen in casts for last week’s playoff opener against Eureka. However, Wombacher’s cast was removed earlier in the week, allowing him to play with tape on his wrist and hand.

Still, Eyre and Levitski lined up with hard casts covered by protective foam rubber.

“I’ve been coaching here since ’94, and I can’t remember a lineman having a cast on,” said Saints’ line coach Jim Malinowski. “Now, we’ve had the whole right side.

“It’s a tough position to have that. The key to being a lineman is to use your hands. When one of them is a club, it’s a little difficult.”

The most severe injury belongs to Eyre, a senior who also stars on the defensive line. Eyre broke his third metacarpal in two places on the opening play of an Oct. 19 game against Springfield. He played the rest of the way and had a cast put on last week.

Eyre broke the first cast in practice, requiring a second one prior to last Friday’s 45-0 win over Eureka. Tuesday, he underwent surgery to have a metal plate and six screws inserted in the hand. Another cast was applied on Thursday, and the 6-foot, 230-pound Eyre will play in today’s 1:30 p.m. game.

“I’m a senior, and I don’t have very many games left. I’m trying to play and make sure we keep going,” he said.

“It’s kind of weird that this (the broken bones) all happened at once. If it was spread out through the season, it would have just been normal injuries. But they’re all pretty close together. I guess we’re just adapting to it and getting used to it.”

Eyre said the adjustment on defense has been the most difficult because “you’re trying to grab and rip and pull them (blockers) away.”

On the bright side …

“You can use it as a club,” he said.

Levitski agreed, saying, “I’m beginning to use it as a weapon.”

“It took me awhile to get used to it,” the 5-11, 239-pound senior said. “But I’m getting better at it. I’m going to wear it the rest of the season. I’m supposed to leave it on for four weeks, so I’ll keep it on if we go that far.”

Wombacher is closer to full strength, having his wrist/hand taped prior to each practice and game as a precaution. The 6-3, 245-pound junior was injured in a practice drill.

“I looked down and there was a big lump there,” he said. “I asked my teammates if it was all right, and they said, ‘No.’ The trainer was like, ‘You have to get an X-ray.’ ”

“It makes it more interesting,” Wombacher said of playing in a cast. “You have to have position because they (defenders) can slip off real easy. It’s kind of crazy everybody (with breaks) is still going strong and still playing.”

Moews called the rash of breaks “one of those freaky things,” and said, smiling, “They just can’t hold as well I guess.”

Moews said he will allow Eyre to determine how much he plays today.

“Knowing Zach, he’ll play as long as he can,” Moews said. “We’re going to say, ‘Zach, when you’re ready to come out, you make that call.’ He’s a tough kid, he’s a senior and he deserves that.”

Source: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/11/02/sports/doc472bca3265180910743329.txt