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Sampere undergoes surgery to fix three ankle fractures

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Published September 05, 2007 08:42 pm

Sampere undergoes surgery to fix three ankle fractures

By Tom Halliburton

The Port Arthur News

— NEDERLAND -- Ryan Sampere underwent successful surgery Wednesday afternoon to repair three fractures in his right ankle. It's premature to speculate on his Nederland football future.

 Trauma surgeon Dr. Daniel Thompson needed approximately 45 minutes to insert two pins and a screw into Sampere's ankle at Beaumont Bone and Joint Institute. The 17-year-old son of Brian and Paige Sampere will return to the Beaumont-based clinic on Sept. 17 for a follow-up appointment.

 Who knows if Ryan ever plays another down as Nederland's quarterback? That's hard to surmise. Some have guessed four or five weeks. The book on broken bones usually amounts to at least six weeks. But the likelihood of Sampere's high school football return is at best a longshot.

 "It probably wouldn't be good to write how soon because it wouldn't be accurate," Brian Sampere said late Wednesday afternoon after the surgery.

 There's no way of knowing how soon any rehabilitation efforts can begin. But they certainly will not begin for the next 11 days while Sampere will try to rest and elevate his leg as much as possible.

 In his spare time -- perhaps like tonight -- Sampere will sit back and will watch The Port Arthur News Friday Night Experience replay of Nederland's memorable 29-28 victory over Brenham at Reliant Stadium. The opportunity to see that telecast, or any video from the game, has not reached Sampere's blue eyes until now.  

 This reporter's memory would be quite inept at recounting those moments, but our play-by-play notes can help in the description of why Sampere would earn Port Arthur News Player of the Week honors in his first varsity start as a high school quarterback.

 Ryan started the night a modest 1 for 5 in the throwing game. Then he found his rhythm, running for two touchdowns and throwing for two others. Some of his new receivers delivered extraordinary catches, too. A nice upfield cut proved crucial in Nederland's first 2007 touchdown -- an 11-yard Sampere keeper behind the left side with 4:39 left in the first quarter. Brenham answered and led 14-7 after one quarter.

 But as Sampere told his mom on the morning of the game, 'I'm not going over there to lose'. So Ryan kept on finding different ways to win... even if fellow senior Chris Gutierrez had to shove him over Brenham's goal on a one-yard scoring run before the half.

 Shame on Guty for dropping a two-point pass seconds later. Ryan may have to beat Chris over the head for that with one of his crutches. Yet the good-hearted Gutierrez redeemed himself early in the second half by forcing a fumble.

Sampere and Asa Cardenas clicked for a touchdown on the next play. It all seemed so wonderful for the Old Gold and Black. The Bulldogs had surged from their 45 to Brenham's 7 with about two minutes left in the third quarter. It was 26-14 with a first and goal at the Cubs 7.

 That's when life turned very unfair. Sampere had broken his left arm as a 10-year-old in a sandlot game, but this amounted to a much different setback. This turned out to be a shattered dream, too. At the end of this one-yard gain, Sampere's right leg would land awkwardly onto Reliant Stadium with the outside of his ankle facing upward.

Even though the handlers tried to minimize the early diagnosis, Ryan said he knew his ankle was broken immediately.

 "It was supposed to be a power play, similar to the one where we scored earlier," Ryan said. "It was designed to go toward our left tackle and I was going to follow my back (running back Cameron Bass)."

  Unfortunately for Sampere, the intended play never materialized due to a center snap that sailed wide to Ryan's right. The Nederland quarterback secured the snap with a one-handed catch but he ad-libbed after that. Nederland's new center (Stefan Huber) had a very good first game at his position, but Stefan has apologized Ryan "multiple times" since the injury for the wide snap.

  "I had a wide snap to the right and I had to jump to my right and just one-hand it with my momentum going to the right," Sampere said. "So I went ahead and ran to the right instead of to the left -- where there was no blocking. That's because I didn't have enough time to turn around and go back left because people were already closing up that hole."

 Brenham defender Trenton Thomas led the Cubs' pursuit, while Sampere noticed a little crease to his right as the Dogs' ball carrier angled toward Nederland's sideline.

 "I tried to bounce it outside and the guy got a hold of me," Sampere said. "Whenever we both fell, I felt my foot come out from under me and twist up and almost touch my leg. I knew it was broke right when I fell on it... There's three fractures in it. One on each side of the ankle and one in the back."

 Now for the good news. Fortunately for Ryan, every bone was in line and in place. Therefore, there was no need to reconstruct any of Sampere's ankle. Dr. Thompson performed the procedure to ensure the ankle's support and stability for potential future athletic endeavors.

 "Basically, what they told us was that if Ryan were not a young athlete, that they wouldn't even be doing the surgery," Brian Sampere said. "They would just let it heal like it is."

 Brenham players, even Port Neches-Groves fans, have expressed their best wishes and concerns for Nederland's No. 15.

 "It was a good clean hit," Sampere said. "They all came up to me after the game and they told me I had a great game."

 Ryan likely will return to school on Friday. Nederland's players could do a lot to bring a smile on his face Friday night when the Bulldogs will travel to Houston for a 7:30 kickoff at North Forest ISD stadium against Forest Brook.

 Was the new Bulldogs' hero pleased with his game before the injury? And does he have confidence in his replacement, sophomore lefty Kirby Bellow? Yes and yes.

 "I know I did what I had to do and what I was expected to do," Sampere said. "I set high goals for myself. I didn't expect anything less of myself."

 Ryan will expect nothing less than the Bulldogs' best on Friday night, too.

BULLDOG BITES

  Besides Sampere, the Dogs will be without one of their better defenders against Brenham. Sophomore nose tackle Marcus Louviere was superb in his first start but was very doubtful for Friday. Louviere had his knee examined on Wednesday after he reported pain toward the end of Tuesday's practice. Louviere's absence forces all sorts of changes to Delbert Spell's defensive lineup. Grant Lovelady will return to outside linebacker. Wareall Grogan will return to weakside end. Jeremy Stewart will return to strongside tackle. Sophomore Ryan Brady will draw his first start at an inside receiver spot with soph Kirby Bellow at quarterback... Forest Brook opens its season after scrimmages with Houston Yates and Houston Washington. Linebacker Jordan Landry is available as the backup QB, but only if necessary... The NHS coaches hope to permit Landry's focus to stay on defense. The same can be written about FB-LB Chris Gutierrez.... Leading tackler vs. Brenham was Gutierrez with 14 tackles and one assist, followed by Reagan Stanley (7 and 3) and Dravannti Johnson (7 and 2).... Forest Brook will be opening its season after scrimmages with Houston Yates and Houston Washington. The Nederland-Brenham game replay will air tonight on the Port Arthur News Friday Night Experience -- Cable 18 at 7 o’clock.

 

Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.

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injuns

injuns

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You are a class act. Get well soon. Remember only you can determine when your ready to come back. Don't let the pressure to come back early get to you.  My son came back early and missed the entire baseball season. I really think your a college prospect. My prayers are with you. Get well soon.

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