| ‘I wanted to be part of it so bad’ —Mike Hammer |
 |
 |
 |
|
By Byron Higgin Mascot Publisher  Mike Hammer (right) entered the 2009 football season excited, filled with hope and a desire to win a state championship. He was chosen to lead as a team captain and each and every day he played his heart out. On the field he was at times, a man amongst boys. On offense he opened holes for his teammates from his guard position, often pulling away to lead the runners. His defensive prowess was well known. At defensive end he turned runners back into the play and sometimes he was shifted to a linebacker position, where he was a bruising, bone-jarring tackler. Then came the Lakeview playoff game. There wasn’t much to worry about. Hammer led his team to a 71-0 victory over this team earlier. It was much of the same this time around as the Vikings scored freely in the opening first half. Then, without notice, Mike Hammer’s world came crashing down. A Lakeview opponent ripped into his leg. He felt it go and at first didn’t fear the worst. He’d been wearing a knee brace. But, “I felt something,” in the knee, and he knew something wasn’t right. Later doctors would confirm his worst fears. He had a torn ACL. He saw the life he’d built, his senior year come crashing down before him. The thought of not playing football was bad enough — then it became apparent he’d need surgery and apparently his senior wrestling season was also over. Mike Hammer’s world was shaken to the core. Slowly he began to think through the whole process. He found out there was little damage he could do to the ACL, it was already torn. “I had a decision to make,” Hammer said. Could he wrap the leg well enough to go back on the field and play? Could he stand the pain? “I just wanted to be part of it so bad,” he said. After missing the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton game he made the decision to play again. And at Marshall, in the sectional finals again Dawson-Boyd, there was No. 55, in uniform, back in the saddle again. Was he playing for himself? For the team? For both? “If I hadn’t, I would have regretted it,” says Hammer. Does it help fire up his teammates to know he’s making the sacrifice. “I hope so. I think it does,” said Hammer. Since he returned the Vikings have driven to the state championship Prep Bowl this weekend and there’s Hammer, right in the center of the offense. Late in the semifinal game against Blooming Prairie he could be found on the bench, his leg stretched out, as he stared at the scoreboard, watching the final minutes tick away. A slight satisfying smirk appeared on his face as it became clear he and his Vikings were in the state finals. The game itself isn’t easy for Hammer. “The first three quarters are fine. But the fourth quarter it gets sore,” he said. Then he smiled a little and added, “I tweaked it today.” He admits blocking from the guard position is easier than anything else. But to ask him to pull away, well, stopping and starting is not so easy. “Blocking is easier because it’s mostly straight ahead stuff,” Hammer said. He admits, “It’s been a struggle. It’s not really like playing like I did before I was hurt.” In fact, “It’s hard.” But one thing keeps driving him to run, or maybe walk, back onto the field. “To be a part of this is a great feeling,” says Hammer. Saturday when his team fell behind 19-7 he knew extra effort was needed to preserve the dream of a state title. “We knew we had to do it, to push through it,” he said. With or without him, he knows the Vikings, “Have the weapons to win.” “We had to do it,” he said. “It’s awesome … such a good feeling,” he said, as he limped away, with visions of a state championship still in his head.
|