When St. Laurence’s Brendan Carroll looked at his right hand, he didn’t like what he saw.
In a CCL/ESCC crossover game on Sept. 27, the senior linebacker mangled his right thumb making a tackle on the first drive against Leo and came off the field hoping for the best.
Instead …
“It got all black and it was popping out of place,” Carroll said. “I knew it was broken, but I was hoping it was dislocated.”
Nope. It was broken. And he needed surgery on Sept. 30 to fix it.
But he was back on the field for the next game against Fenwick and hasn’t missed a beat.
Wearing a cast and heavy wrap, Carroll picked up his first career interception in the third quarter Saturday and made a huge play hurrying the quarterback for an incompletion in the end zone.
That helped the host Vikings top Wheaton Academy 26-14 in a Class 4A second-round playoff game in Burbank.
Harley Rizzs ran 23 times for 145 yards and a touchdown and added a 12-yard reception for another TD for St. Laurence (8-3). Corey Les, taking his fair share of direct snaps and running the ball from the Wildcat formation, contributed 48 yards and two TDs.
Jimmy McDermott also came through with an interception in Wheaton Academy’s end zone during the first quarter that gave the Vikings momentum.
But it’s Carroll who continues to earn respect from teammates for his play after the broken thumb.
“He’s a tough guy — that’s a Viking football player,” Rizzs said of Carroll. “I’m really proud with how he has played. He’s been a dawg ever since he came back a few days after surgery. I thought he was crazy, but as a senior, you have to do whatever you can to play.
“He’s making it work. That’s how I would be if I broke my hand. As long as I have my legs to work, that’s all I need.”
St. Laurence, which finished second in the state last season in Class 4A, will need that again from Carroll in the quarterfinals on the road against DePaul Prep (8-3), which crushed Geneseo 38-13.
Looking back, St. Laurence coach Adam Nissen remembered the week of Carroll’s surgery pretty well, especially seeing his leader at linebacker suiting up and then playing against Fenwick.
“With a normal guy, yes, I would have been surprised, but Brendan Carroll is probably one of the toughest kids I’ve coached,” Nissen said. “He told me he was having surgery and followed that up with saying, ‘I’m not missing the game on Friday.’ He’s as tough as nails.
Carroll’s interception Saturday was timely but not a work of art as it featured a few juggles.
“I went up and tipped it up and I was just trying pull it in with my club,” Carroll said of his cast.
“For him to get that interception with one-and-a-half hands was awesome to see,” Nissen said.
With the Vikings trying to hang onto a 19-14 lead during the last five minutes of the game, senior punter Collin Bagley came up big as well, nicely placing the ball at the Wheaton Academy 3.
On third-and-nine, Carroll broke through and had a shot at senior quarterback Nathan Downey in the end zone. Carroll nailed Downey in the chest as he released the ball and the pass was incomplete to force a punt. The Vikings followed that up by scoring on the next possession.
Carroll also is following in the footsteps of his older brother Ryan, who played for the Vikings, and a game like this makes the family proud.
“I tried to look up to him and finish what he started,” Carroll said of Ryan.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
