ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is common among high school football athletes, this year the Pine Grove Football team has 3 ACL tars. Gabe Frew OL and DL, Junior, tore his ACL with a couple minutes left in the 2nd Quarter. Gabe Frew said the feeling of a torn ACL is terrible,unbearable. Gabe Recently had his surgery on his ACL, Frew said, “It hurts, but I’m ready to come back next year better and stronger than this year.” . Starting corner and wide receiver Shea Morgan, tore his ACL against the Tri Valley Bulldogs. Morgan jumped to contest a pass in the end zone as he landed he said he felt it pop and he had instant pain. Morgan said, ” [I’m] ready to bounce back better than ever. I’m ready to make a statement.”  Shea said, “I got a patellar graft. It was done by Dr. Phillips he said the surgery went well, but I have a bigger incision because my patella is bigger than an average humans. It hurts a lot, but it’s recovery season. Be ready for my comeback.”

When the head coach at Pine Grove Frank Gaffney heard the news he was encouraging he said, ” Time to get that taken care of and start the healing process. The road to recovery starts today.”  He also said “I’ve been through it myself it’s not a fun process, you gotta set a goal and work for it. These 3 players all had their surgery,they are doing physical therapy to strengthen their legs for next season.” Gabe Frew said,  “Therapy isn’t fun but I’m hungry; as I watch my team out on the field I just wanna get back on the field.”

The  ACL is one of the ligaments that help stabilize your knee joint and is one of four ligaments that connect the shinbone and thighbone. There are close to 100,000 to 200,000 ACL ruptures per year in the United States alone. 71.2% of high school ACL injuries to males occur in football. When you tear the ACL, you will hear or feel a pop, or you many have a sharp intense pain. The ACL is the second most common injury in the NFL behind concussions.