Football

PORTLAND - High-school football is about school pride, autumn pep rallies and healthy, competitive fun. But when four players are seriously injured in one week, the game seems downright dangerous.

Justin Goe, 15, a freshman at Rex Putnam High School, was in critical condition Friday, in a medically induced coma after undergoing surgery for a compressed brain stem.

Doctors at Oregon Health Sciences University say he has improved significantly, but still "can't give a good prognosis," OHSU neurosurgeon Randall Chesnut said.

"He was extremely ill," Chesnut said. "The way he came in, he had an 80 percent mortality rate."

Ken Noah, North Clackamas School District deputy superintendent, said that during a junior-varsity game against Sunset of Beaverton Thursday afternoon, Goe had complained of a headache, walked to the sideline, become incoherent and lost consciousness.

Coaches and spectators did not notice Goe involved in any tackles, and Goe was wearing a helmet.

The same afternoon, Joshua Carlson, 14, a Milwaukie High player, complained of a headache and became incoherent at the end of a freshman game against Gladstone.

Carlson was also taken to OHSU, where he was in fair condition Friday, being treated for a bruised spinal cord.

"We are literally at a loss as to even understanding what transpired," Noah said.

Carlson does not require surgery, but will undergo an evaluation to detect muscle or nerve damage, said Ali Motamedi, a sports orthopedist with OHSU.

Joe Krumm, school district spokesman, said Carlson had been hit about three plays before the end of the game but continued to play.

In a third incident Thursday, Curtis Owans, 14, of Klamath Union High, lost the feeling in his legs after a facemask violation during the fourth quarter of a freshman game but was listed in good condition Friday.

Owans, who at the time of the injury had no feeling below his waist, was taken to Merle West Medical Center and beginning to regain feeling in the lower portion of his legs Friday morning, said Barry Gottula, athletic director at Klamath Union High School.

The injury occurred when an opposing team player allegedly grabbed Owans' facemask and bent his head backward on a play.

The three accidents occurred just a week after Beaverton High School quarterback Kris Tyacke, 17, suffered a serious spine injury during a football game last Friday, which paralyzed him from the neck down.

The injury happened when Tyacke was tackled by several Glencoe High School players.

Doctors said it wasn't the impact of the tackle, but the way Tyacke hit the ground that caused extensive damage to the fourth vertebrae down from the base of his skull.

Tyacke will require surgery to help him breathe on his own and speak, Chesnut said. He will likely be at OHSU another week or two before going to a rehabilitation center, he said.

Last year, Beaverton High senior Brendan Fitzpatrick, 18, collapsed and died of heart failure while at home after practice.

Noah, the North Clackamas school district deputy superintendent, said there are counselors available to talk with students at the district's three schools - Rex Putnam, Milwaukie and Clackamas high schools.

But he said the upcoming varsity games scheduled at all three schools will go on.