Document text
Knights' standout Pope out for month CAVE JUNCTION - Illinois Valley star wingback and middle linebacker Jon Pope has a broken leg and will miss at least the next month of the football season. Pope, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior, apparently cracked a non-weight-bearing bone in his lower right leg in a game against Bandon Sept. 14. What was believed at the time to be a muscle strain proved to be more serious when X-rays were taken this week. Pope aggravated the injury last Friday in a 39-0 loss to North Valley when he went to make a cut and crumpled to the ground on his third carry. Illinois Valley coach Neil DeForrest said Pope might be able to play the last game or two of the regular season. "That kid has worked harder than anyone in the state," said DeForrest. "To get to where he was at, then to lose almost your whole senior year is a travesty." Pope ran for 120 yards on 16 carries in the Bandon game, which matched his per-game average. As the middle linebacker, "he was leading the team," said DeForrest, "going from sideline to sideline and making the majority of the tackles." Pope's brother, Josh, a sophomore, will shift from the outside to the middle when the Cougars go to a 5-3 defense. On offense, sophomore Gary Couch will replace Pope, but senior David Crocker, the other starting wingback, will be the featured ball carrier. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.