Knights star Casillas still recovering from leg injury
Stone Ridge Christian running back Shane Casillas doesn’t have a date circled on his schedule or a target set for his return.
The Knights junior will let his body tell him when he’s ready to play.
Casillas is still working his way back from an injury he sustained on Dec. 5 in a NorCal Bowl play-in game against Mission of San Francisco.
“I remember running through the hole, I was about 7 yards down field,” Casillas said. “I was actually running behind my linemen when a defender came from the side. I felt the initial contact and all of a sudden I was on the ground. The way he dragged me down, our feet got tangled up and I felt the bone snap. I didn’t go down because I got tackled. I went down because the bone broke.
“I remember looking down and seeing my foot was facing the other way and I watched them put it back in place. I’m actually glad they put it back in place while I was on the field and had all that adrenaline in me. I think if we would have waited until we got to the hospital it would have been more painful.”
The injury left Casillas with a broke left fibia, a dislocated ankle and torn ligaments. Casillas was in a soft cast until the middle of January. He didn’t start walking until March and in the middle of June he began jogging.
Casillas continues to improve but he has to deal with soreness and swelling every day.
“I knew it was going to be a long road back,” he said. “Now I’m at the point where I can see the finish line. I’m feeling good and feeling better about it. Mentally, it’s hard not to baby it just because of the extent of the injury. That’s one of the challenges, being mentally OK to plant on it, knowing it’s going to hurt.”
New Stone Ridge Christian coach Keith Borges hasn’t seen Casillas before fall camp. He’s only seen him on video.
“He hasn’t worked out with us all summer,” Borges said. “He’s been careful with the ankle. It was a pretty serious injury. Sometimes it’s more than just a physical thing.”
When Casillas is healthy, he gives the Knights a big-play threat. He led SRC with 1,991 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns last season, averaging 15.1 yards per carry.
“He was our workhorse last year,” said fellow running back Jonathan Collazo. “Before he got hurt he had the most carries and most yards. Even with all the carries I got after he got hurt he still had more yards and touchdowns than me.
“I’m not saying we don’t need him. We definitely need him, but we’re solid now with both backfields on offense and defense. He would add so much more to the team when he’s 100 percent.”
Casillas is going to make sure he’s ready to return.
A lot of athletes become near-sighted when returning from injuries. They rush back because they can’t wait to get back on the field.
Casillas understands that feeling. It was painful for him to watch on the sidelines when Stone Ridge Christian lost 34-14 to East Nicolaus in the NorCal Regional Bowl Game last year.
However, Casillas wants to make sure he doesn’t reinjure the ankle when he returns.
“I don’t have a set date,” Casillas said. “I want to wait until I feel comfortable to be back in pads. At the end of the day, it’s high school football. I’m a junior. I still have my senior year and if down the road I have an opportunity to play at the college level, I don’t want to risk rushing the injury and have it hurt me in college.”
Shawn Jansen: 209-385-2462, @MSSsports
This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Knights star Casillas still recovering from leg injury."