Injuries already a factor

Have you seen ESPN this week? Or listened to the radio? Or checked that little note next to your starting running back in your fantasy league?

Sure you have, because you want to stay up to date on the latest injury news across the National Football League. They're a part of the game, every game, every week.

But sometimes injuries get lost on the collegiate level, perhaps because there are about 80 players on a team -- and some teams, like USC, have high school All-Americans everywhere. In high school, injuries get lost a little more. It's not that they don't matter or don't affect that player's life and team.

But usually, it's only worth a note in a game story or follow up package and that's it. Maybe it's because they're kids, so you don't want to bother them. Maybe it's because coach's prefer to move on and only talk about the "guys who are here." Or maybe it's because no one gambles on them.

Whatever the reasons, injuries play as big a role -- if not more -- at this level.

Some of the smaller schools in The Beacon News Coverage area have varsity rosters that number only in the 40s. Many players, even at the "big" schools, play both ways. So if a starter goes down, it's like losing two players.

These kids play football , so like Tommie Harris, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, they get dinged up every week. Some more seriously than others.

Here we are in Week 2, and already injuries are going to play a big role in several games.

Batavia running back J.R. Kabba, a senior workhorse and track star who checks in at 6-1 and 183 pounds, had his leg rolled over in the second quarter of the Bulldogs' opening week loss to St. Charles East. Kabba is a force to be reckoned with when he's got his hands on the ball -- he runs the 400-meter dash in under 50 seconds -- but he'll be out for at least two weeks, if not much longer. While Kyle Duhig is a more than capable backup, losing a player like Kabba will definitely alter the Bulldogs' offensive attack.

On a less serious level, Aurora Christian quarterback Jordan Roberts tweaked an ankle in the first half of the Eagles' victory over Immaculate Conception. While he finished out the game and practiced this week, an injury like that may cut down on his mobility and potentially limit what he can do.

Then there's a situation like Oswego-Bartlett game. The Hawks come rolling in after a big first week victory over Glenbard North to establish themselves as a legit threat in Class 8A. But in that win, they lost a starting defensive tackle and linebacker. This should benefit the Panthers, who like to run the ball behind a massive offensive line.

There don't seem to be big upsets on Friday nights like you see across college and the NFL largely because the talent gaps are wider in high school, but when five wins only gets you eligible for the playoffs, these games matter. And as players get bigger and faster on Friday nights, injuries will happen more often and in the end, begin to affect games just as much as on the higher levels.

jowczarski@scn1.com