Armwood QB Richardson injures knee against Gorman, X-rays slated

Posted Aug 27, 2011 by Bill Ward

Updated Aug 28, 2011 at 02:54 AM

Despite knocking off one of the nation’s top-ranked prep football teams 2,000 miles away from home on national television, Armwood’s celebratory mood was tempered Saturday night when it arrived at Tampa International Airport with starting quarterback Darryl Richardson rolling off the plane in a wheelchair.

The Hawks’ junior standout injured his right knee in the first quarter against Las Vegas Bishop Gorman and managed to play the entirety of the game, where Armwood posted a 20-17 victory over the Gaels. But when Richardson awoke Saturday morning, he said the knee was noticeably swollen and walking was difficult.

Richardson believes the injury isn’t serious but as a precaution, his knee was put into an immobilizer for the long trip home. Armwood coach Sean Callahan said he and team trainer Denise Andresky aren’t taking any chances and have scheduled an appointment for Richardson’s knee to be X-rayed Monday morning.

“It’s either a ruptured bursa sac, or we think it might be a slight fracture (of the knee cap),” Callahan said. “Obviously, we’re hoping for the first one, not the second one, but we’ll know Monday.”

If Richardson is unable to play in the Hawks’ next game (Friday against host Brandon), wide receiver Alvin Bailey would be the likely starter. Bailey has already been taking snaps in practice at quarterback.

In the past two months, the Hawks, ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps, have had two senior starters go down with knee injuries. In July, both center Cameron Dees and running back Matt Jones suffered partial tears to the meniscus in their knees. Dees had his surgery performed earlier and was able to play in the Gorman game. But Jones had his arthroscopic procedure done later and likely will be out of action another two weeks, Callahan said.