Despite a 43-0 rout over Valley in the season opener, concern has broken out for the Boulder City High School football program.
On the verge to having yet another standout performance, the season may be lost for senior quarterback Gage Hopkinson, after suffering a broken collar bone on a design run late in the first quarter.
Throwing for 144 yards and rushing for another 80 yards on the ground, Hopkinson accounted for three touchdowns in what was supposed to be an encore senior season.
Now with surgery already complete, a time table for return remains unclear. As in it is unclear if Hopkinson will return at all.
“Gage was having a great game,” head coach Bubba Mariani said. “It’s the kind of game you expect him to have. It wasn’t really a big hit, he just landed awkwardly. Right now, he’s gotten surgery taken care of and we’re in a wait-and-see period. We’d like to have him back later this season if doctors medically clear him, but we certainly won’t rush him back until he’s fully healthy.”
Left without a star at the game’s most important position, an untimely second week bye now looks like a godsend for the program that will have to regroup without one of the best players in the state.
“It’s funny, before the game we were really upset about the second week bye, because it disrupts trying to get into a rhythm, but now we couldn’t be happier,” Mariani said. “Gage is a great player and will certainly be missed, but I honestly believe we’re going to be OK. We have a lot of questions to figure out the next two weeks in practice, but I know this is a talented team. I still expect us to have a great season.”
Perhaps a silver lining for the program, while one star is currently on the mend for the time remaining, another star is currently shining, after senior Easton Welbourne opened the season with an impressive performance.
Playing all over the field, Welbourne caught three passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 63 yards and a score.
Playing quarterback at times, Welbourne passed for 16 yards.
When asked who would take over quarterback duties moving forward, Mariani remained coy, but said the Eagles are fully confident that whomever takes over the job will be able to handle the position.
“We have a few options that we’re going to see play out over the next two weeks,” Mariani said. “The good thing about our team is we have athletes; we have skill position guys. Gage going down hurts us, but we still have players that are going to make our next quarterback better. The game plan remains the same, we want to utilize our strengths and spread the ball around.”
One of those options could potentially be junior quarterback Christian Terzian, who completed his only pass attempt for a 24-yard touchdown pass.
While quarterback play moving forward remains to be seen, what is clear in the now is the Eagles defense is ready to shoulder the load.
Pitching a shutout in their season opener, Mariani was impressed with his defensive unit.
“I thought they did a great job of getting after it,” Mariani said. “Coming into the game, we really didn’t know what to expect but after watching that performance, we have a lot of confidence in this group. We will certainly lean on them this season, while we try to get the offense figured out.”
On defense, senior Jacob Grace-Madrigal and Steven Usyznski made five and four tackles respectively, while junior Aiden Armstrong grabbed an interception.
Off for the next week, the Eagles will resume play on Aug. 30 in their home opener against Somerset Losee.
Contact Robert Vendettoli at robvendettoli@yahoo.com.