Chowchilla’s Gutierrez enjoys second chance after injury

Alex Gutierrez thought his season was over.

The Chowchilla High senior broke two bones in his left wrist trying to brace his fall after getting tackled in a game against Washington Union on Oct. 16.

The six to eight weeks it would take for the injury to heal meant his season was over.

“I was really upset,” Gutierrez said. “I didn’t know then if I’d get to play again. Football was all I had. I couldn’t handle it for a while. Doctors told me I had zero percent chance of playing again this year. I was still determined to play. I stayed in shape even not knowing if I would be coming back.”

Five weeks later, Gutierrez was back on the field in the playoffs against Madera South.

As it turns out, one of his bones wasn’t healing correctly and he’s going to have surgery after the season.

“Because he’s going to have to do surgery again, they decided to delay the surgery until after the season,” Chowchilla coach Alex Pittz said. “They basically braced his arm up and said, ‘Go for it.’ ”

Gutierrez is making the most of his second chance. While wearing a cast on his left arm, he’s rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns in the Redskins’ three playoff victories.

Pittz calls Gutierrez the emotional leader of this team, which will host Fairfax of Los Angeles on Saturday in the Southern California Regional Division IV-AA Bowl Championship Game.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

“My heart was broken when he got hurt,” Pittz said. “You don’t want to see anyone get hurt, but it’s part of the game. The thought that he wouldn’t be able to finish his senior season on the field was tough. I’m glad he got to come back, and now he has a chance to be a part of maybe the best season in school history.

“The season he was having, he would have been the MVP. Not to take anything away from Anthony Stewart (who was named North Sequoia League MVP), but that was just the season A.G. was having.”

Before the injury, Gutierrez had racked up 569 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in six games. He had also scored 12 total touchdowns and had 35 tackles on defense.

Gutierrez’s success came after working hard in the offseason.

“He had one of the best offseasons of anyone,” Pittz said. “He worked so hard in the weight room. He got faster. He made a commitment. He wanted to play college football and we laid out for him all the things he needed to do. We explained to him how he can’t just go through the motions.

“It was the extra things he did. He went above and beyond what was expected from him.”

Gutierrez and Stewart, who has racked up 1,602 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, combined to give the Redskins a lethal one-two punch in their shotgun double-wing offense.

When Gutierrez went down, not only were the Redskins missing a key player in their offense, but also the heart of the team.

“I play an important role with the all the pep talks and speeches I give the team,” Gutierrez said. “It’s a big role to get the players and coaches hyped.”

Pittz said Gutierrez has such a great personality, kids gravitate toward him.

When he returned for Chowchilla’s first playoff game against Madera South, he lifted the team with his energy.

“Absolutely, even that week of practice,” Pittz said. “He was cleared on a Tuesday and he was like a kid in the candy store. He was running all around and having a good time. That energized the other guys on the team. It set the tone at practice and made it more enjoyable. Him getting a second chance like that, I think he wants to make sure nobody takes anything for granted.”

Now Gutierrez and his teammates are trying to do something no other football team in Chowchilla has done, which is win a state championship.

The Redskins are two wins from doing it.

“It’s special for our team and our town,” Gutierrez said. “It’s the last year of the Redskins mascot. Next year is our 100th anniversary of our school. We want to do something special for our town.”

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Chowchilla’s Gutierrez enjoys second chance after injury."