The collision was fierce, the impact a thud that almost echoed throughout a noisy stadium.
It was the opening kickoff of Serra's CIF Southern Section playoff semifinal against Paso Robles. A moment earlier, Rico Perez found himself moving down the sideline, tracking his son, Ardis, on kickoff coverage.
"I was running downfield with him because to me, he was running too fast," Rico Perez said. "When he dove, he had no control over his body."
Perez crashed head first into the hip of his target and suddenly lay motionless on the field.
"Seriously, all I could think of was my two boys when that happened," Serra coach Scott Altenberg said. "I was standing over him and was just terrified, like a father."
Right next to him was Rico Perez. Ardis Perez saw them both.
"I remember the whole thing," Ardis said. "I wasn't unconscious, my eyes just closed, I don't know why. I wanted to get up but they wouldn't let me.
"I saw my dad, he started praying so I closed my eyes and started praying, too. Three minutes later my movement came back to me."
A broken fifth cervical bone should mean the end of a football career. Ardis Perez comes back tonight to prove otherwise.
For seven games this season, the only thing Perez, a junior linebacker, had to worry about on a football field was a 50-50 proposition.
Tonight, he has no choice. It has to be 100 percent.
A team captain, he has been in on every pregame coin toss for Serra, but in tonight's Mission League game against Harvard-Westlake, he'll be in shoulder pads.
"It's a miracle," Rico Perez said.
Can a miracle be an understatement?
Perez was cleared to practice last week by Torrance orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gregory Yoshida. Tonight, Perez will enter the game on Serra's second defensive series, let him get his feet wet and allow the coaches see how far he can go. They want to turn him loose for real next week against Chaminade.
And yes, there will be a legion of nervous followers.
During practice, Perez wears a standout gold jersey, a reminder to all of what Perez has endured. The jersey also serves a more important purpose.
"That's for me, so I can see where he is at all times," said Altenberg, who added he has never been as nervous for a game than this one. "I want to know if his head's dipping or something crazy like that."
Rico Perez is anxious, too, as he tries to put thoughts out of his head until game time. But he has seen the determination in his son, has been convinced by the medical experts who cleared him.
"I feel good, because God has given him a second chance to walk, to play, to do something he wants to do," Rico said. "It will probably bring a tear to my eye."
Rico Perez, a former standout at Leuzinger High and a longtime coach, said he let his son, Altenberg and the doctors make the decision for his son to return to collisions.
The injury occurred in November, and a month later, he was on the track working out. By February, he was his league's JV 100-meter champion.
Merely running competitively by that stage might have been enough for someone with a broken neck. Serra, and the Perez family, began to understand the inner strength Perez possesses.
"I always think, `Why it was me out of everybody else? Why did it have to happen to me?' " Perez said. "After surgery, I just knew I was going to be able to come back and play with my team again.
"I've got to work harder, because anything can happen to me now. Anything could go wrong, so I just had to get stronger and mentally prepared for this year."
The return couldn't happen fast enough for Perez. His father, though, was content to be as cautious as possible - if a return was going to happen at all.
"We learn from this," Rico said. "He looks good. He's not nervous."
"He feels like he had a concussion or something. I can't stress enough to him that this was a real injury, that this wasn't a headache."
"He says, `Dad, I understand but this is something I want to do.' I don't live through my son. I already played ball. I'd like to see him go on to college if he can, and if not become a police officer or a fireman."
The least nervous person in the stadium will be No. 5 in the white uniform, a player again, not a tragic story.
"I was never really scared," said Ardis, who has watched a video of the play only once. "I love the game so much, I'm never really scared of the game. I'm just excited to get back in there and play with my team again, get the feeling again.
"I'm going to think `It's finally here. I finally got my chance to show everybody that I'm not afraid, that I'm back.' Everybody thinks I'll be scared and nervous and hurt myself again. I know it's not going to happen."
It was the opening kickoff of Serra's CIF Southern Section playoff semifinal against Paso Robles. A moment earlier, Rico Perez found himself moving down the sideline, tracking his son, Ardis, on kickoff coverage.
"I was running downfield with him because to me, he was running too fast," Rico Perez said. "When he dove, he had no control over his body."
Perez crashed head first into the hip of his target and suddenly lay motionless on the field.
"Seriously, all I could think of was my two boys when that happened," Serra coach Scott Altenberg said. "I was standing over him and was just terrified, like a father."
Right next to him was Rico Perez. Ardis Perez saw them both.
"I remember the whole thing," Ardis said. "I wasn't unconscious, my eyes just closed, I don't know why. I wanted to get up but they wouldn't let me.
"I saw my dad, he started praying so I closed my eyes and started praying, too. Three minutes later my movement came back to me."
A broken fifth cervical bone should mean the end of a football career. Ardis Perez comes back tonight to prove otherwise.
For seven games this season, the only thing Perez, a junior linebacker, had to worry about on a football field was a 50-50 proposition.
Tonight, he has no choice. It has to be 100 percent.
A team captain, he has been in on every pregame coin toss for Serra, but in tonight's Mission League game against Harvard-Westlake, he'll be in shoulder pads.
"It's a miracle," Rico Perez said.
Can a miracle be an understatement?
Perez was cleared to practice last week by Torrance orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gregory Yoshida. Tonight, Perez will enter the game on Serra's second defensive series, let him get his feet wet and allow the coaches see how far he can go. They want to turn him loose for real next week against Chaminade.
And yes, there will be a legion of nervous followers.
During practice, Perez wears a standout gold jersey, a reminder to all of what Perez has endured. The jersey also serves a more important purpose.
"That's for me, so I can see where he is at all times," said Altenberg, who added he has never been as nervous for a game than this one. "I want to know if his head's dipping or something crazy like that."
Rico Perez is anxious, too, as he tries to put thoughts out of his head until game time. But he has seen the determination in his son, has been convinced by the medical experts who cleared him.
"I feel good, because God has given him a second chance to walk, to play, to do something he wants to do," Rico said. "It will probably bring a tear to my eye."
Rico Perez, a former standout at Leuzinger High and a longtime coach, said he let his son, Altenberg and the doctors make the decision for his son to return to collisions.
The injury occurred in November, and a month later, he was on the track working out. By February, he was his league's JV 100-meter champion.
Merely running competitively by that stage might have been enough for someone with a broken neck. Serra, and the Perez family, began to understand the inner strength Perez possesses.
"I always think, `Why it was me out of everybody else? Why did it have to happen to me?' " Perez said. "After surgery, I just knew I was going to be able to come back and play with my team again.
"I've got to work harder, because anything can happen to me now. Anything could go wrong, so I just had to get stronger and mentally prepared for this year."
The return couldn't happen fast enough for Perez. His father, though, was content to be as cautious as possible - if a return was going to happen at all.
"We learn from this," Rico said. "He looks good. He's not nervous."
"He feels like he had a concussion or something. I can't stress enough to him that this was a real injury, that this wasn't a headache."
"He says, `Dad, I understand but this is something I want to do.' I don't live through my son. I already played ball. I'd like to see him go on to college if he can, and if not become a police officer or a fireman."
The least nervous person in the stadium will be No. 5 in the white uniform, a player again, not a tragic story.
"I was never really scared," said Ardis, who has watched a video of the play only once. "I love the game so much, I'm never really scared of the game. I'm just excited to get back in there and play with my team again, get the feeling again.
"I'm going to think `It's finally here. I finally got my chance to show everybody that I'm not afraid, that I'm back.' Everybody thinks I'll be scared and nervous and hurt myself again. I know it's not going to happen."
http://www.dailybreeze.com/preps/ci_19262614
Source: Phil Collin, Staff Writer, Daily Breeze