Warriors aim to rebound from loss to Knights, loss of players

WASILLA — On a night in which Wasilla was officially eliminated from postseason contention, the Warriors lost a pair of all-conference standouts to injury.

During the second half of Colony’s 53-24 win over the Warriors at Veterans Memorial Field, quarterback Adrese LaVern and wide receiver Tim Orr suffered serious injuries during a 1-minute span in the game.

With 5:03 left in the third quarter, LaVern sacked deep in their own territory. LaVern suffered a broken upper arm in three places and was taken off the field in an ambulance.

Wasilla head coach Jim Shetter said LaVern underwent surgery on Saturday morning to repair the injury.

“He’s doing good,” Shetter said Saturday evening.

Shetter said a recovery of six to eight weeks is expected for LaVern, who is also a standout on the Wasilla boys’ basketball squad.

“Hopefully he’ll be ready for basketball,” LaVern said.

Even though the game was paused for more than a half-hour as medical personnel tended to LaVern, just a minute expired on the game clock before Orr was hurt.

On first down, Orr went to make a catch on a slant pattern and collided with a Colony defensive back. Orr suffered a concussion on the play, and could also be lost for the season.

“He could be out,” Shetter said. “We’re going to get some more information this week.”

Shetter stressed the most important thing is making sure his athletes get healthy.

“That’s the No. 1 thing —safety,” Shetter said. “They’re a person and a student first, before a football player.

Shetter said he himself felt bruised the day after seeing a pair of players go down with significant injuries.

“I’m just very upset to see that,” Shetter said. “Both are seniors. They’re really good people. It’s tough to see them get hurt.”

Shetter said he spoke with members of the Colony coaching staff on Saturday, and praised their concern for his players. Members of both coaching staffs agreed the hits involved with both injuries were clean.

“Football’s a tough sport,” Shetter said. “It’s a field of battle out there.”

Even though Wasilla has been eliminated from the playoffs, Shetter said the Warriors can still finish the regular season with success.

“We’re out of the playoffs, but we can still come out and be 4-4 for the year,” Shetter said. “That’s now our goal.”

Wasilla, 2-4 overall, hosts Houston in its homecoming on Friday and will travel to Palmer on Sept. 26 for the annual Potato Bowl.

“We want to keep working hard, have fun playing the game and finish the year off with a positive note,” Shetter said.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.