Utah football program loses 18 varsity players in 2 incidents in 24 hours
There is a silver lining to any high school football program that suffers a rough week later in during the 2013 season: No matter how bad it gets, it couldn't be worse than what West Valley City (Utah) Granger High went through in the span of 24 hours.
In two separate incidents, Granger lost 18 football players. Nine were lost for the season as a disciplinary measure connected with a series of burglaries in May. Nine students were transported to the hospital suffering from heat exhaustion. Together, Granger lost nearly an entire starting lineup worth of legitimate varsity contributors.
Of the two sets of student athletes, the unnamed group who were involved in an alleged string of burglaries are obviously a more serious dilemma. According to the Associated Press, Deseret News and Salt Lake City Fox affiliate KSTU, seven of the nine students were banned from competing in football or any other extracurricular activities. Only two of the student athletes were allowed to continue practicing with the Granger squad temporarily, though they could be banned entirely following an additional ruling expected from a Utah County judge.
The criminal charges against the teens are disturbing ones, claiming that the group of teammates drove around West Valley mugging younger teens, stealing their iPods, iPhones, designer shoes and even some jackets. The string of robberies occurred in May, and the teens were tracked down when onlookers noticed that the same Ford Explorer was present at multiple robberies.
While the nine different players all face different levels of charges, KSTU reported that at least some are facing aggravated robbery charges in connection with serious injuries suffered by their alleged victims. Needless to say, those student athletes won't be competing for Granger anytime soon.
Luckily, the nine players who were hospitalized for heat stroke after Wednesday's preseason practice should be back on the field much sooner. The Deseret News reported that the players began suffering from symptoms of heat exhaustion between 9:30 and 10 a.m., after they spent roughly 45 minutes running typical training drills.
The Granger coaching staff was surprised that the players struggled on Wednesday because the weather was not exceedingly hot nor was there a lack of water. The players were not wearing helmets or pads, either. Yet, according to the Deseret News, a majority of the nine athletes who were hospitalized told paramedics that they had not eaten breakfast before showing up at 7:30 a.m. to begin a weightlifting session.
That lack of nutrition may have contributed to the teens' health issues. The good news is that the nine student athletes were all released from the hospital on Wednesday evening, clearing them to return to practice in the coming days. Meanwhile, the Granger program was allowed to host practices as scheduled on Thursday, clearing the school of any wrongdoing leading to the teens' hospitalization.
It's a good thing that Granger could return to practice so quickly. The team is going to need plenty of time to integrate so many new players after losing 18 in one fell swoop.
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