D.J. Morgan Tears ACL, Requires Surgery – Bummer For Taft/USC
Hopefully the kid will make a full recovery, because by all analysis he’s got a promising college career and possibly beyond ahead of him.
Eric Sonheimer (LA Times) writes:
The high school sports season for football-track standout D.J. Morgan of Woodland Hills Taft might have ended today when an MRI exam diagnosis revealed he has a torn ligament in his knee and a partial tear of the meniscus, according to football Coach Matt Kerstetter. Surgery will be needed.
Morgan was injured Thursday night during Taft’s City Section Division I first-round playoff victory over Garfield. He had an MRI exam Friday night, but it wasn’t until today that he received a definitive answer about the ACL injury. Kerstetter did not know if Morgan would be able to return for track season in the spring.
Morgan is the No. 1 hurdler in the world for his age group at 110 meters. This summer in Italy, he won the 110 hurdles at the World Youth Championships. This spring, he won the state championship in the same event. He also has rushed for nearly 4,800 yards in his four-year football career at Taft.
Morgan has committed to USC, though he has plans to visit Arizona State.
Morgan went down after a 15-yard run at the outset of the third quarter, and that injury will have ramifications for the rest of the sports season, with California possibly losing its most prolific returning track standout.
Please see Sonheimer’s full article for more details.
“It hurts. I can’t really bend or straighten my knee,” Morgan said.
On offense, expect Lucky Radley and Shaquille Shelton to have a bigger role. Radley has rushed for 554 yards and scored seven touchdowns in seven games, and Shelton has rushed for 203 yards, caught 17 passes for 304 yards and scored four touchdowns.
The loss of Morgan is not Taft’s only problem tonight. Top wideout Donnel Robinson (16 receptions, 383 yards, four touchdowns) is scheduled to sit out the first quarter for disciplinary reasons, and quarterback Bam Goodall is recovering from a spell of dizziness that kept him sidelined for most of the game last week.
Kerstetter said Goodall wasn’t feeling well because of low blood sugar. Four weeks ago, Goodall injured his back during a game against El Camino Real of Woodland Hills and spent the night in a hospital.
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