BANQUETE, TX — It's every athletes worst fear - training all year in the off season, only to suffer an injury that sidelines you the rest of the year. That's what happened to Aiden Flores, and Ricardo Ramirez.
Ramirez is #69 on the Banquete Bulldogs football team, and plays left guard. He suffered his injury during a practice session and felt a pop after slipping on wet grass. It turned out he tore both his ACL and MCL.
"I knew something was wrong when I was trying to roll to get up. Something felt weird. Suddenly, I couldn't put any pressure on it," Ramirez said.
Flores is #7 on the team, and his injury happened during the second District game of the season last year against Odem. He is the Quarterback on the team, and the injury occurred when a player on the opposing team landed on his leg causing it to hyper-extend.
He described the injury as 'not painful', but 'one of the weirdest feelings ever'. The injury turned out to be a torn ACL and meniscus. Amazingly, Flores tried to wrap his leg and continue.
“The next Friday I had to have surgery," Flores said. "Right after I got out of surgery, I went to the game, but I had to leave early because it was like the worst pain ever. It was just awful.”
Unfortunately, both the young athletes were out the rest of the season, but according to them, their teammates were what kept them in positive spirits while they went through surgery and rehab.
“I was definitely sad, but I was happy to help the other guys where I could," Ramirez said.
“I was sad to be out the rest of the season, but I was happy to watch my friends finish theirs and support them from the sideline," Flores said.
Lance Riddell, the head football coach and athletic director for Banquete ISD, described both players as leaders in and out of the classroom. He said seeing them both hurt was devastating, but they both rose to the occasion and in return uplifted the entire team.
“Every athlete and kid that comes through here is like family, and I treat them like my own sons," Riddell said. "It was horrible when they got hurt. You work hard Io get on the field, and then it gets taken away. But their mindset was always to come back better than ever.”
When KRIS 6 News reporter Fernando Arevalo asked both players what they would say to someone who is dealing with a tough injury, they both said, "keep moving forward and trust God."
The two tag team Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. when the Banquete Bulldogs face off against the Taft Greyhounds at Banquete ISD stadium.
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