The option play began normal enough for Ell-Saline quarterback Tate Omli. Little did he know that it would have a major impact on his senior season. Early in Ell-Saline’s second game of the season against Hutchinson Trinity, Omli was hit in the leg by a helmet and broke his fibula. “On film, it looks like a pretty normal play, but I got hit from two sides,” Omli said. “I knew something happened, but I didn’t know that I had broken a bone because I had never done that before.” Unaware of the extent of the injury, Omli limped around and played until the third quarter. By that time, enough was enough. “In the third quarter, I received a punt, and all I could see was green,” Omli said. “I had my mind set on the end zone, and then I took three or four steps and fell to the ground.” Not long after, Omli learned he had a broken bone and would likely miss about six weeks of the season. In the same week, LaCrosse running back Marcus Moeder was forced to leave a game because of a foot injury and was told his status was week to week. No doubt, it has been a difficult pill to swallow for the two Class 2-1A stars who were subjects of feature stories in Kansas Pregame Magazine. “It’s not how I drew up my senior season,” Omli said. “We had goals as a team and individual goals that come after the team. I was more confident in my ability this year than I ever had been. I had been waiting all summer for this. So for this to happen, it’s pretty disappointing.” Disappointing indeed. Omli had high expectations for his senior year after throwing for 64 touchdowns and almost 4,000 yards the past two seasons. As a team, the Ell-Saline Cardinals finished 8-3 last season and entered with hopes for even more success this season. The Cardinals were just outside the top 5 of the Kpreps.com preseason rankings. However, Ell-Saline fell 55-16 to Hutchinson Trinity in the game Omli was injured and 56-6 to Whitewater Remington this past Friday. The losses don’t make it any easier for Omli to be on the sidelines with crutches and an Aircast. “It’s not easy at all, especially since I love playing so much,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to my senior season for a really long time. It’s tough watching.” What’s helped Omli cope has been his ability to transition his focus to mentoring and coaching up the younger players. “I’ve got a different role now,” he said. “I just have to embrace the things I can do to help this football team. I’m at every game, every practice, every JV game. I try to act mentally as if I’m playing.” Moeder has taken a similar approach to the injury. “Marcus is a great young man, and he’s handled it with class,” LaCrosse head coach Jon Webster said. “He’s at practice every day, and he’s helping the younger players. He’s working hard in rehab. He’s still there as a rock and as a leader. He’s a very positive part of our program.” Moeder’s injury has been equally frustrating as he originally hurt his foot while competing in the long jump in the spring and worked over the summer to get healthy. “It took pretty much all summer to get back to 100 percent,” Moeder said. But in the second quarter of the second game of the season against Christ Prep Academy, Moeder was tackled and his foot was rolled over on. He played the rest of the possession but was in so much pain that he told the coaches he was hurt after his team scored. “I was hoping it would get better, but it didn’t,“ Moeder said. Just like Omli, Moeder had plans for this season. He was coming off two consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons and averaged 8.2 yards per carry as a junior. “It’s hard knowing there’s nothing you can do,” Moeder said. “But it’s given the younger players a chance to step up and get some experience.” And the younger players have more than pitched in their fair share so far. The Leopards remain unbeaten with wins over Larned, Christ Prep Academy and Oberlin-Decatur Community by a combined score of 148-46. LaCrosse sits just outside of the top five in the Kpreps.com 2A rankings. “Basically, nothing has changed,” Moeder said. “There are still 32 other guys at practice everyday who are working just as hard as I was.” Quarterback Tayler Stull has helped fill the void with his production through the air and on the ground. Stull has completed 16-of-25 passes fors 234 yards and five touchdowns and has 23 rushes for 276 yards and four touchdowns. In addition, Kip Keeley stepped up his production in the Oberlin game with 14 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Austin Webs helped with five carries for 58 yards and four catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns against Oberlin. “Plenty of guys have stepped up,” Webster said. “Our young kids are taking the challenge. It will benefit the team in the long run because the younger players will get good experience against good competition.” Moeder won’t be ready to return for LaCrosse’s game Friday against Thomas More Prep, but he’s hoping he can be healthy for districts and a playoff run. LaCrosse begins district competition Oct. 8 against Inman. Omli’s injury is expected to take longer to heal, but he also is hoping to be around for the playoffs. “I have an X-ray on Friday and another in four weeks to see where I’m at,” Omli said. “I’m not going to come back unless I’m 100 percent. It would only be bad for the team and for me if I came back less than 100 percent. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed that we make the playoffs and that I’m ready to go.” Omli and Moeder also are hoping injuries don’t cause any problems beyond this football season. Omli is a state wrestling champion and Moeder excels at basketball and track and field. Plus, both have aspirations of playing football in college. Both players said they don’t believe the injuries will stop them from playing in college, but they also said being hurt could make it more difficult to get offers from Division I schools. “All the D-I schools on the board asked for my three-week films,” Omli said. “I can’t do that now. I come from a small school. I’m 5-10, not 6-1. It’s just another obstacle in my way.” However, obstacles have never been a problem for these players in the past. Instead, both are taking it all in stride. “It’s extremely frustrating because you worked so hard for this season,” Moeder said. “But in reality, things like this do happen, and I just have to make the best of it. Everything happens for a reason.”
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