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Crystal Lake South's Gardeck recovering nicely

Crystal Lake South linebacker Alex "Bubba" Gardeck thought he had the wind knocked out of him.

Turns out he actually had the wind knocked into him.

Gardeck suffered an unusual football injury on Saturday when he tore a hole in his trachea at some point during the first half of CL South's 23-13 loss at Bloom Township.

Gardeck said at halftime he was having trouble catching his breath. However, he said he felt good enough to continue and was able to play the entire second half.

Medical personnel detected swelling around his neck after the game, according to CL South coach Chuck Ahsmann. The senior said he was beginning to feel some discomfort and his voice was somewhat affected, but he seemed OK outwardly.

Since Gardeck's mother was at work and his father was visiting Alex's older brother, Dennis, a redshirt freshman football player at West Virginia State, CL South principal Scott Shepard drove Alex to the Gardeck's home in Lake in the Hills as a precaution.

Later, Gardeck showered and was preparing to go out for a bite to eat with his mom when she decided to have him examined at a nearby emergency care facility. It was a wise decision.

An x-ray revealed damage to the trachea that initial examinations could not detect. As Gardeck breathed, air escaped internally through the tear and settled into his neck and chest cavity, which put pressure on his lungs and caused his breathing to be labored.

Since no nearby hospital had the facilities to treat such an injury, the family was told, Gardeck was taken to Marlowe Middle School in Lake in the Hills, which has an open field large enough to land a helicopter. He was quickly airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

After a battery of tests over a three-night stay, Gardeck was released on Tuesday and was resting comfortably at home. The trachea tear did not require surgery.

"Now that most of the air is out of that space, I feel way better," Gardeck said Tuesday. "Pain is gone and my voice is back to normal."

"I'm just glad he's OK," Ahsmann said. "He's such a great kid and a great student. Even if he never plays again, he'll be fine."

However, the good news for CL South's co-captain is that the injury likely will not end his football season.

"Definitely going to play again," Gardeck said. "It's just what I love to do. Most likely going to miss about 2 games. Just have to wait for a clear chest x-ray to be cleared to play. I'm extremely blessed that I did not need surgery because that would've put me out."

Gardeck closed by offering "a special thanks to all my family, friends and coaches and fans for their support."

'D' line just fine: Look no further than the defensive line for the reason why Burlington Central (1-2, 1-0) was able to handle North Boone 29-0 in the Big Northern East opener for both teams last Friday.

Central Rich Crabel credited the efforts of senior defensive ends Charlie Sanders and Devon Bennett, senior tackle Kyle Blankenburg and recent sophomore call-up Bret Lopez (6-0, 285) for shutting down the previously undefeated Vikings, who scored 58 points in their first 2 games.

The foursome combined to register 15 tackles and 6 sacks, led by Sanders, who finished with 2 solo tackles, 4 assists and "2 big-time sacks," according to his coach. That line play opened things up for inside linebacker Craig Kein, who made 6 solo tackles, 5 assists and a tackle for loss.

"When our defensive line is playing that well, it's that much easier for the kids behind them," Crabel said. "They really got after it and had a good game. Our linebackers put up pretty good stats every game, but this was the best we've played as a defensive front when you tally up 6 sacks and a lot of quarterback hurries."

Tucker out?: Westminster Christian quarterback Max Tucker left last Saturday's 34-8 loss to Ottawa Marquette with an injury and is considered questionable for this week's game at Kirkland Hiawatha, according to coach John Davis.

Tucker is the area's fourth-leading passer by yardage. He has thrown for 505 yards and 5 touchdowns on 53-of-77 passing. He has been intercepted 4 times.

"He's a little banged up," Davis said of the second-year signal caller. "He's gearing up to play and he wants to play like nobody's business, but we have a lot of football left to play. (To make the playoffs) we have to win the 3 games we're supposed to win and upset one of the three remaining powerhouses on our schedule. To do that, we'll need Max."

Sophomore wide receiver Scott Graziano played quarterback after Tucker left Saturday's game, and he has taken reps with the offense in practice this week in the event Tucker can't play.

  Westminster Christian quarterback Max Tucker, unable to find his receiver, runs for yardage in the first half against Ottawa Marquette last Saturday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
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