Downey High’s senior quarterback Steven Cervantes suffered major trauma to his right shoulder in the Sept. 25 football game at Allen Layne Stadium.

The Vikings played against the La Habra Highlanders, and both teams were ready for action. Late in the 3^rd quarter of the game on a single play, Cervantes broke into an open field and ran for his end zone looking for a touchdown.  He was chased down, tackled, and landed on his elbow, pushing his shoulder deeper within his socket.

“At the moment, it did not really hurt, but I knew something was wrong,” said Cervantes. “It felt as if something was poking out of my skin.”

He said he finished the rest of the game with an unknown feeling and wondered as to what went wrong or what happened to his shoulder.

On Sept. 30, he was taken to the team doctor’s office by one of his very own coaches, Bob Miller. Because the X-rays had shown up negative, the doctor scheduled an MRI on Oct. 1 to look deep to see if there was serious damage. The doctors revealed that he had an A.C. Separation and a bruised rotator cuff.

“It was tough to hear this,” said Cervantes. “The first thought I had was what if I could never play football again.”

Doctors revealed that he could probably return to football in about two weeks and reassured him he will not reinjure and be strong and healthy enough to return and he would have to endure intense therapy and medication.

“It was shocking to hear about his injury, but he is a strong young man,” said Miller. “He will bounce back from this.”

“I will still be there at every practice, be cheerful, get involved and continue to be that leader as if I was playing,” said Cervantes, who will continue to motivate the team and make sure they do not lose hope.

“I encourage Steven to get better and come back and play,” said teammate Perry Gomez. “I believe he is strong, and we as a team believe in him.”

The team and coaches believe in Cervantes and wish him a speedy recovery but would like him to get stronger and healthier as the weeks go by. He sat out the Downey versus Kennedy football game on Oct. 2 and will sit out the Downey versus Santa Fe game on Oct. 9. The team, coaches, and school support him and cannot wait to see him in action again.

Cervantes will be able to participate in next week game versus Gahr High School and is looking forward to coming back.