PREVIEW OF THE WOODBERRY FOREST GAME

The Bears have beaten the Tigers of Orange, VA five out of their past seven games; however, WFS has won two of the last three games. Saturday’s home team is 3-2, having started the season 1-2. The team’s record after 5 contests is better than the odds makers might have forecast for two reasons:

(1) their 1^st three opponents have a collective win-loss record of 14-1 [ and the one loss was Benedictine’s sole L against  5 W’s] and

(2) the Tigers lost their heavily recruited junior quarterback, Jacob Rainey,  to a freak injury in a preseason scrimmage. The young man had to have his leg amputated; such an event would be expected to dishearten any group of HS football players. [there is an article at the end of this post on the accident and an update on his recovery, which includes a reference as to where donations may be made.]

The 2011 Tigers return 5 offensive and 8 defensive starters from last year’s 8-1 team (only loss to McDonogh). Headlining the WFS defense is Safety CJ Prosise (6’1”, 202#; 4.5 in the 40; 4.4 shuttle; bench 205#) who committed to play for the University of Notre Dame last spring. According to VaPreps.com , CJ is the #15 prospect in the Commonwealth and likely to help the Irish on all returns of opponents’ kicks. The other safety, Carlson Milikin is 6’, 184# with a 4.48 time in the 40 and reported offers from the US Naval Academy, Ohio University and William & Mary. Rogers Clark, a 6’1” 210# OLB, is also listed as a college prospect.

The WFS roster (see below; HIGHLIGHTED NAMES are mentioned in articles as starters or significant contributors) is deep in numbers and heavy in the weight column (28 players with weights greater than 200# and 5 tipping the scales at 250# or above).

#	Name	Pos	Yr	Ht	Wt
1	Wallace Branch E	TE	Sr.	6-4	206
2	Ty Abdul-Karim	WR, DB	Jr.	5-9	149
3	C.J Prosise (C)	FS, WR	Sr.	6-2	206
4	Haynes Zayton	QB	Jr.	5-8	156
5	Carlson Milikin (C)	DB, WR	Sr.	6-0	187
6	Henry Holmes	TE	Sr.	6-3	195
7	Doug Randolph	OLB, WR	Jr.	6-3	214
8	Heys McMath	QB	Jr.	6-4	190
9	Jacob Rainey	QB, TE	Jr.	6-3	213
10	Christian Asher	SS, RB	So.	6-1	192
11	George Sutherland	DB	Sr.	5-9	171
12	Sean Spector	RB	Sr.	5-11	175
14	Spencer Taylor	WR	Sr.	5-10	150
15	Vance Spilman	QB	So.	6-0	182
16	Reid Swearingen	WR	Sr.	6-3	183
17	Allen Jones	WR	Jr.	5-9	153
18	Matt Sheehan	FS	Jr.	6-2	182
19	Ben Pugh	FS	Jr.	6-1	160
20	Baba Adejuyigbe	RB, P, K	Jr.	5-11	186
22	David Little	DB	Sr.	6-1	174
23	Hunter Faulconer	RB	Sr.	5-6	142
24	Sam Russell	WR	Sr.	5-6	146
25	Michael Armstrong	K	So.	5-9	141
26	Justin Hash	DB	Jr.	5-6	156
27	Gordon McAlister	SS	Jr.	5-10	144
28	Alec Kendall	K, P	Sr.	5-8	162
29	Dow Perkins	RB	Sr.	5-8	165
30	Tucker Jackson	WR	Sr.	5-10	166
31	Will Tucker	DB	Jr.	6-2	171
32	Harrison Cozart	FB	Jr.	6-0	194
33	Taylor Reuss	SS	Sr.	5-10	176
35	Gibson Montgomery	FB	Sr.	6-1	207
36	Trey Roberson	RB	Jr.	5-9	164
37	Wood Nesbitt	SS, WR	Jr.	6-2	171
38	Nikolas Gjika	FS	Jr.	6-1	181
39	Roman Pivovamik	OLB	Jr.	6-2	161
40	Edwin Borden	ILB	Sr.	6-2	192
42	Trice Moore	SS	Jr.	5-10	152
43	Volodymyr Silchenko	OLB	Sr.	6-0	180
44	Jack Sewell (C)	TB, ILB	Sr.	6-2	200
45	Sam Miller	FB	Jr.	5-8	174
46	Thomas Doughty	SS	Sr.	5-11	186
47	Greer Martini	ILB	So.	6-2	207
48	John C. Williams	DL	Jr.	6-0	207
49	Cameron Wooster	DL	Sr.	5-11	253
50	Walker Smithson	ILB	Sr.	5-11	202
51	Teddy Szyperski	DL	Sr.	6-2	209
52	Wilson Craig	DL	Sr.	5-11	175
53	Israel Arana	DL	Sr.	5-8	224
54	Grigs Peterson	DL	Sr.	5-10	194
55	Mark Petrone	DL	Sr.	6-3	218
56	Nate Ripper	OLB	Sr.	6-2	206
57	Walt Whitehead	OLB, P	Sr.	6-0	180
58	Rogers Clark (C)	ILB, DL	Sr.	6-1	222
59	Collier Connell	OLB	Sr.	6-1	170
60	Edward Bailey	OLB	Jr.	6-1	167
61	Spencer Bibb	OG	So.	6-0	236
62	Charles Blaydes	C, LS	Sr.	5-11	222
63	Hank Krebs	OT	Jr.	6-3	242
64	Will Figg	OG	Jr.	5-8	175
66	Nelson Williams	DL	Sr.	5-11	181
67	Sam Sari	OG	Sr.	6-0	230
68	Addison St.John	OG	Sr.	6-0	250
69	Thomas Eden	OLB	Sr.	6-3	173
70	Denton Stockseth	OG	Jr.	5-10	196
73	Andrew Shofner	OT	So.	6-4	271
75	Phillip Berry	OT	Jr.	6-5	284
76	Peter Bristow	DT	Jr.	5-11	176
77	Brandon Gilbert	OT	Sr.	6-1	232
79	John Moses	OT	Jr.	6-2	272
80	John Taylor	TE	Jr.	6-1	167
81	Reid Williamson	WR	Jr.	6-3	186
83	Jake Willis	TE	Jr.	6-3	207
85	McKenzie Folan	DL	Jr.	5-11	176
86	Benjamin Carson	TE, FB	So.	6-1	216
87	William Dossett	OLB	Jr.	6-4	190
88	Greg McIntosh	TE	Sr.	6-3	217
89	Drew Meeks	TE	Sr.	6-3	211

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – His teammates gave him the nickname “Tebow.”

A big, strong quarterback who played like a fullback who completed 40-yard passes, Woodberry Forest (Va.) junior Jacob Rainey was poised to enter the season as one of the state’s top QB prospects in the class of 2013. That all came to an end on one tragic and shocking play during a preseason scrimmage on Sept. 3.

What appeared to be a routine tackle resulted in a broken knee cap, a severed artery and other complications. Saturday, at Fairfax Inova hospital in Northern Virginia, doctors were forced to amputate the lower portion of the leg, news that stunned and saddened the local football community.

“A young man playing at Woodberry Forest suffered a tragic thing where he lost his leg,” University of Virginia coach Mike London said in his weekly press conference Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the whole Woodberry Forest football family and to this young man’s family in particular. Wins and losses are important, but sometimes the realities of what’s really important are the young men and the family members and the sons that we are responsible for.”

London, along with coaches at Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Duke, North Carolina and elsewhere, coveted Rainey, a 6-3, 215-pound dual threat QB who had been clocked at 4.61 in the 40-yard dash. Just a few plays before his injury, Rainey had dragged nine would-be tacklers down the field for first-down yardage.

Witnesses said the play that caused the injury appeared innocent enough, but the tackler’s legs slammed into the back of Rainey’s knee, crushing it against the turf.

Rainey remained in an intensive care unit last week while the Woodberry Forest traveled to play Benedictine High School in Richmond, where the Tigers won 16-13.

Woodberry was celebrating on the bus ride home when Rainey contacted a teammate to tell him the injury was worse than they originally thought. Tigers coach Clint Alexander gathered the team when they arrived back on campus and delivered the news that the star quarterback would lose the lower part of his leg.

That news, understandably, was tough to take said Woodberry senior safety Carlson Milikin.

“I was on the verge of throwing up because I know how hard he had worked in the summer and during two-a-days,” Milikin said. “This adversity will make him stronger, and he’s going to do big things in this world. All of my teammates and I try to emulate his character and attitude. If there’s one person that will come back from this injury, it’s him.” Rainey remained in good spirits after the surgeries, according to the Woodberry coaching staff, and posted a message on his Facebook page thanking supporters and well wishers.

“Thank you everyone so much for your thoughts and prayers,” the message read. “I truly do appreciate it.”

Last week at Benedictine, Rainey’s best friend Nate Ripper, a linebacker who postponed a recruiting trip to Georgetown over the weekend to remain with his grieving teammates, wore the quarterback’s No. 9 jersey in Rainey’s honor. A different Woodberry player will were No. 9 each game this season, beginning with the Tigers’ trip to Blair Academy in New Jersey on Saturday.

Woodberry Forest officials released a statement Monday afternoon.

“Jacob received prompt and appropriate medical attention, first at Fair Oaks Hospital, and later at Fairfax Inova, where doctors determined the injury had severed the main artery in his leg and that emergency vascular surgery was necessary,” the statement read. “Damage to the affected area was extensive, and doctors amputated the lower portion of Jacob’s leg on Saturday, September 10, in Fairfax. Jacob is still hospitalized.

“Film from the scrimmage indicates that the tackle was clean and the injury Jacob sustained was highly unusual.”

PICTURE OF JACOB AT LAST WEEK’S WOODBERRY GAME in Richmond, VA- great to see his resilience [he is seated with his back to the camera talking to his replacement at QB]:

Update on Jacob Rainey

We are pleased to report that Jacob Rainey is making steady progress in his recovery from the amputation of the lower part of his right leg. Jacob, a fifth-form quarterback on the Tigers varsity football team, suffered a severe knee injury during a scrimmage in Northern Virginia on September 3 that severed the main artery in his leg, damaging the surrounding tissue and making amputation necessary.

Jacob is currently at home in Charlottesville with his parents, Lee and Kathy, where he is resting and growing stronger after undergoing nine surgical procedures. Since successfully completing a short course of inpatient physical therapy at the University of Virginia, he has begun an aggressive, home-based PT program that will continue until he is fitted for a prosthetic device later this month. He must then learn to use his new artificial limb.

From all accounts, Jacob is in great spirits. He and his parents were in Richmond last week to watch the Tigers take on the Collegiate Cougars.  This was a wonderful surprise for his teammates as well as other members of the Woodberry community who were present. It is clear to all that Jacob is highly motivated and as eager to return to Woodberry as we are to welcome him back to the Forest.

Lee and Kathy Rainey are overwhelmed by and appreciative of the support they continue to receive, as indicated by their statement below:

“We have felt everyone’s thoughts and prayers, and they have lifted our family up. The brotherhood of the Woodberry community and the neighboring Prep League schools has been such a comfort and something we feel such gratitude for. We have known of Jacob’s deep connection to Woodberry Forest, but now we understand it, too. People have taken time to sit with our family in the hospital, at our home, and even on the football field. Their simplest gestures – shaking Jacob’s hand and hugging him, for example – have meant more than words ever could. Jacob does not feel alone in his journey; he knows that his Woodberry family is standing right behind him. “

In response to numerous requests, a fund has been established at Virginia National Bank to assist the Raineys with Jacob’s medical bills. This fund is separate and distinct from Woodberry Forest School and all money will go directly to the Rainey family. Donations to this fund are not tax deductible. Checks should be made payable to The Jacob Rainey Fund or Virginia National Bank (With Rainey in the note section of the check) and mailed to:

Virginia National Bank

102 East Main Street

Orange, Virginia  22960

The account also accepts electronic bill payments or electronic transfers using the following information:

ABA: 051408868

Account number: 1009596042