Kansas City Star, The (MO)
June 13, 2007
Edition: 1
Section: HS
Page: WY10

MO-KAN FOOTBALL ALL-STAR GAME: All-stars don't worry
Many players are set to play in college, and the risk of injury poses a threat.
Author: TEREZ A. PAYLOR, The Kansas City Star

For the members of this year's Mo-Kan football all-star game, there's plenty on the line. Pride in themselves, pride in their state.

But for many of the players who already have college football scholarships, there's more at stake. They are practicing and playing in this game knowing that an injury could derail their freshman seasons or worse.

And it's a threat that is real. Just ask former Blue Valley running back Tywon Hubbard, who suffered a knee injury at a practice before last year's all-star game and had to sit out his freshman season at Butler County Community College.

But despite the risk of injury, the players on the Kansas side say they will not be holding back. There's no doubt the game, which will be played at 7 p.m. Thursday at Blue Valley High School, will be hotly contested.

Blue Valley defensive back Trey Hobson, who is headed to Missouri on a football scholarship, has about as much to lose as anybody.
However, he says the decision to play was easy.

"I never think about getting hurt," he said. "You can't play the game if you're worried about injuries. When you don't give it your all, that's when you get hurt."

Blue Valley coach Steve Rampy, who is the head coach for the Kansas side in Thursday's game, has taken measures to keep the players safe. Since practice started June 4, players have hit each other, but have not been allowed to take one another to the ground.

However, those who hope to walk on in college, such as Shawnee Mission East linebacker Ryan Wingers, could have even more to lose. Wingers plans to walk on at Nebraska as a safety, which will be hard enough as it is.

"For the guys that are trying to walk on, an injury could devastate our chance to earn a scholarship," he said.

Still, there was no way he was going to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"We want to see who's better, Missouri or Kansas," he said. "We take pride in our state, and we love to play football."

Copyright (c) 2007 The Kansas City Star