Wednesday, December 16, 1998 |
By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Sports Editor
On October 23, the Landmark Christian War Eagles were
playing the Temple Tigers in football. The War Eagles had a 21
point lead, which started slipping away due to turnovers and onside
kicks. It was the second onside kick, after the Tigers had cut the lead
to two points, that would change Joseph Cawood's life, and
possibly a national football rule, forever.
Temple lined up for an onside kick, with the kicker on the
near side of the field aiming to the far side. His teammates lined up
to where the ball would eventually land. The kicker advanced
and retreated several times, feinting to the left and the right. The
Landmark players bought the fakes and left a defensive lineman and
a back isolated when the ball was finally kicked. James Barker,
the lineman, dove over the ball and was injured on the play.
Joseph Cawood, the back, dove for the ball as well and was speared
by the kicker's helmet. Barker stayed down on the field for several
moments but Cawood got up and was obviously hurt.
"I was watching from the press box," Cawood's father,
Frank, said. "Joseph had his elbows raised and was grabbing his
sides. I could tell he was hurt, but I couldn't tell what kind of injury
it was." Fred Gilkeson, the team's trainer, checked Joseph out
and ruled out a fracture and a back injury. Frank Cawood
immediately thought it could be an internal injury and called an
ambulance. A CAT Scan was performed at Southern Regional and it
was clear that one of Joseph's kidneys had been shattered in three places.
Joseph was rushed into emergency surgery and an eight
inch incision was made to rule out any other source of internal
bleeding. The injured kidney was removed and Joseph's life was saved.
Surprisingly, he didn't require a blood transfusion. They just recycled
his blood through filtration.
Neither Coach Bill Thorn nor Frank Cawood, who have a lot
of experience with football, have ever seen an onside kick like
that. "There was a definite numerical advantage for Temple, in that
they probably had three players at the line compared to
Landmark's one," Frank Cawood explained. The numerical disadvantage
may be the defining factor in a possible rule change suggested by
Frank Cawood. Dr. Ralph Swearngin, Commissioner of Officials for
the Georgia High School Association, took Mr. Cawood's
suggestion and wrote out a proposal for a rule change based on the upset of
balance between the offense and defense, which is not allowed
on scrimmage downs.
"Currently, there are no rules governing onside kicks,'
Dr. Swearngin said. "This rule makes sense. It makes the kickoff
the same as a scrimmage play and would penalize false starts."
Lateral motion would still be allowed but the kicker would only be
allowed to advance and retreat if the ball fell off the tee or needed to
be readjusted. Though the proposed rule makes a lot of sense, it
still has a long way to go.
On January 5,6,7 the National Federation football rules
committee meets to discuss and vote on proposed rule changes. Each
state has a voting and an advisory member. The members are then
split into subcommittees which vote on the proposed changes. If
the change is approved by the subcommittee, it is presented to
the full committee. For the rule to be accepted, it must pass with
two-thirds of the vote, and even then the board of directors has to
approve all proposed changes before they are allowed to go
into effect.
"I won't even try to suggest how 106 people will vote on
any particular rule, but the committee tends to vote on the side of
safety," explained Dr. Swearngin. He also stated that over the years
several rules have been proposed to do away with or modify the
onside kick. "What's different about this rule change is that it keeps
the onside kick but equates it with a play from scrimmage. It
protects the game and the players." By approximately the second or
third week of January, there should be some news on whether or not
the rule change was approved.
As for Joseph Cawood, he has made a tremendous recovery.
He has begun working out and running again, though his
football days are probably behind him now. He is the Junior class
president and near the top of his class at Landmark. He plays in the
school band and sings with the chorus as well as being very active in
church. Joseph has gone on missions sponsored by both his church and
Landmark Christian School. " I think the way Joseph responded to
the injury is just a great testimony to his spirit," Frank Cawood said.
The Cawood's are also very grateful for the concern and
good will shown by the Landmark coaching staff, Joseph's
friends and the staff at Southern Regional Medical Center. "Dr. Lily is
the Urologist at Southern Regional and was Joseph's physician,"
explained Frank Cawood. " He was just excellent to all of us. He
was very tender and concerned. He has an excellent bedside
manor." Joseph had over a hundred visitors in the six days that he was
at the hospital, including Coach Bill Thorn, who offered to stay
with Joseph while he was there.
There is no blame or ill will in this situation. Serious injuries
occur in sports all the time. They often define the lives of those
who experience them as well as the sports they play. Joseph has
taken his injury in stride and has bounced back quicker than anyone
thought possible. The proposed rule change that has come from
his injury may in fact establish a precedent that will prevent the
same thing from happening to anybody else.
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