Week 2 preview: Healthy David Curl leads West Lafayette football
WEST LAFAYETTE — David Curl stood up and walked back to line up at running back.
His stance looked awkward and West Lafayette had to burn a timeout, realizing the potential danger of running a play with Curl on the field.
"We had to call a timeout to get him off the field with a broken leg," West Lafayette coach Shane Fry said. "Normally someone has an injury like that, they are laying there screaming and the ref calls timeout. We had to call timeout because we knew he was hurt."
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Curl was in the midst of a perhaps legendary performance, carrying five times for 69 yards early against Central Catholic, already filling in for West Lafayette's injured starter last season.
He wanted to be on the field, wanted one season with his older brother Wyatt, who was a senior at the time, and wanted to win a state championship.
"I would've died for those boys on the field," Curl said. "Last year was difficult. We were so in it together. My brother was on the team. Those are all the guys you grow up with."
Instead, Curl carried up the middle against Central Catholic, got tackled and took a helmet to the ankle.
He heard a crack and the realization was he knew something was wrong.
When Curl lined up in formation, he could see how wobbly his leg was before coaches called timeout to get him off the field.
"The one thing I am proud of is I walked off the field, but that probably set me back a little more than I wanted it to," Curl said.
Curl had hopes of returning last season. Every week, he'd ask what the timetable was on a possible return.
It never happened.
What West Lafayette missed in talent with Curl sidelined, it more lacked having his motivation on the field.
"He is such a good influence on our guys. He is such a positive kid, a leader," Fry said. "I remember him in seventh grade in the huddle and they were getting beat by 35 once and he was patting everyone on the back. He is a very inspirational kid."
Curl finally returned, in last week's game at Harrison, starting at middle linebacker.
He made a team-leading 13 tackles.
But, the Red Devils lost, souring the moment he'd been waiting for for nearly a year.
"A guy asked me if I was going to be shaky or scared when I get back out there and I said absolutely not," Curl said. "I trained so hard all offseason and I am better than I was last year. I truly believe that.
"It was good to get out there and be able to hit someone again, but obviously you're not going to think it's great because when you see the scoreboard, you can tell why. It made me and the team more hungry to move forward and get stronger."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
McCutcheon (0-1) at West Lafayette (0-1)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Series history: West Lafayette has won six straight, including 41-15 last season.
About McCutcheon: The Mavericks lost their season opener to Guerin Catholic 18-10. ... McCutcheon went 3-7 last season. ... Coach Josh Strasser is 3-8 in his second season and 45-51 in his 10th season overall, previously coaching at his alma mater Delphi. ... Statistical leaders−Passing: Owen Smith (8-24, 52 yards), Broderick Arnold (1-1, 54 yards). ... Rushing: Smith (6 car., 52 yards, 1 TD), Shamar Ray (7 car., 46 yards). ... Receiving: Kris Kirtz (1 rec., 54 yards). ... Defense: RJ Morrison (6 tackles), Brayden Laffoon (5 tackles, FR). ... Kicking: Hayden Wagner (1-1 PAT, 1-1 FG, long of 21).
About West Lafayette: The Red Devils lost their season opener to Harrison 42-6. ... West Lafayette went 13-1 last season, winning a regional before losing to eventual 3A state champion Chatard at semistate. ... Coach Shane Fry is 107-20 in his 11th season. ... Statistical leaders−Passing: Carson Kitchel (22-40, 127 yards, 2 INT). ... Rushing: Kitchel (7 car., 44 yards), Dawson Martin (8 car., 32 yards, 1 TD). ... Receiving: Liam Burton (13 rec., 50 yards). ... Defense: Benny Speaker (13 tackles, 2 TFL, FR), David Curl (13 tackles, 1 TFL), JJ Weida (12 tackles, 2 TFL).
Coach Fry's take: "Experience is very valuable. For our guys to get to see a quality team like Harrison right off the bat, especially up front on both sides of the ball, that's like two or three games worth of experience they got Friday night. There's always a lot of improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 and we have things to improve on. Our guys know that. They saw the level we need to get to to be able to compete."
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Healthy David Curl leads West Lafayette football Week 2 preview
