CCHS player injures neck, is expected to make full recovery

Two Tri-City area football players suffered injuries during football games a week ago, but their coaches said both are expected to be OK.
In Friday night’s win against Centerville, Central Catholic senior Charlie Solar injured his neck while making a tackle on a kickoff return for Centerville, Central Catholic coach Tommy Minton said.
Meanwhile, earlier in the week, Morgan City High School’s Isaiah Escort was injured in a junior varsity game against West St. Mary while making a tackle as well, Morgan City coach Scott Tregle said.
In Solar’s case, he was taken out of the game right away, Minton said.
Minton said he was on the sideline for a while, but the Eagles’ athletic trainer, Larry D’Antoni of Thibodaux Regional Sports Medicine, was concerned about the pain Solar was having, so Solar was brought to Teche Regional Medical Center for a CT scan.
The diagnosis was determined at the hospital through the scan and Solar was referred to an orthopedic surgeon at Children’s Hospital, Minton said.
He spent the night at Children’s Hospital Friday, was released Saturday and back at school Monday.
Fortunately, though, Minton said Solar does not require surgery. Instead, the Central Catholic coach said Solar will be in a neck brace for six to eight weeks.
Minton said Solar is expected to make a full recovery with no ill effects.
“We feel very fortunate that it wasn’t worse than what it was, but it very well could have been,” he said today.
Minton credited D’Antoni for his proactive approach in handling this situation.
“(He) took what could have been a way, way, way worse situation and was able to contain it, and it’s something that Charlie can deal with,” Minton said.
In Escort’s case, he was hit from the side while trying making a tackle in the second quarter of the Tigers’ junior varsity game with West St. Mary, and it “kinda jarred his neck,” Tregle said Monday.
Tregle said Escort experienced neck pain and was attended to by Morgan City High athletic trainer Annalise Himmel of Thibodaux Regional Sports Medicine and taken by ambulance to Teche Regional Medical Center.
He got checked out at Teche Regional Tuesday and then released that night, Tregle said.
Tregle described the injury as a mild whiplash but said it wasn’t serious.
Escort was back practicing Monday.
Tregle agreed it was a valuable aspect to have an athletic trainer.