Football is a tough contact sport which leads to many injuries for the players. The De Soto High School football team is learning this the hard way with many different injuries late in the season.

Junior Bryce Mohl, starting varsity quarterback, is just one of a variety of players this season who has undergone a big injury.

Mohl fractured two bones in his foot and one bone in his ankle. He will not return for the rest of the season, but plans to be back to full action in Jan. for his other sports.

“[When I first knew I was hurt] I was really mad that I couldn’t play, and I didn’t really care that I was injured. I was just mad that I couldn’t play and I felt like I was letting my team down,” Mohl said.

Junior Mason Taulbee can agree with Mohl’s statement. Taulbee has a torn labrum in his shoulder and a high ankle sprain.

“When it happened, I was really mad because I knew I would have to spend time out and be on the sideline, but at this point it’s just kind of sad that I don’t get to be on the field,” Taulbee said.

Taulbee can play with a torn labrum, but will be out for a few weeks because of his ankle sprain. He hopes to return the first week of playoffs if the wildcats advance to the postseason.

Another varsity player who has obtained a major injury is sophomore Brandon Taylor. In De Soto’s homecoming game against Bishop Miege, Taylor was taken out when one of Bishop Miege linebackers came, and, according to head coach Brian King, “wrapped him up” to the point that his head bounced off the ground multiple times, giving him a concussion.

King thinks that there is no way for people to prepare for injuries because they are so spontaneous. He thinks that the only thing you can do to prevent them is weight train correctly.

“You can’t really prevent the injury that happened to Bryce. Brandon’s injury comes from the fact that he’s a sophomore who was thrown in against a team like Miege, there’s still nothing you can do to prevent something like it, though,” King said. “The best thing you can always do is get in the weight room to strengthen the muscles around your joints and make yourself bigger, faster, stronger. Then you’re less likely to take the big hits.”

Even with all of the injuries, the varsity football team is full of hope that they will reach and advance in the state playoffs.