Family members of a North Boone football player who was carted off the field during a playoff game Friday at Richmond-Burton Community High School said the teen is doing better at the hospital.
Fire Marshal Scott Peterson of the Richmond Township Fire Protection District said emergency medical personnel were on standby with an ambulance at Richmond-Burton Community High School at 8311 Route 31 for a football game against North Boone High School when a player was hurt during a play at 8:39 p.m. Friday.
Peterson said the athletic training staff requested assistance from EMS personnel for the traumatic injury to the player.
The player who was tackled during the play remained down on the field, Peterson said.
The team’s training staff initially attended to the player, Peterson said, before requesting assistance from EMS personnel.
The 16-year-old male juvenile was conscious and alert when EMS personnel arrived on the field, Peterson said.
Peterson said the injured player complained of neck and back pain and a loss of sensation in his lower extremities.
A Mercy Health MD-1 and a medical helicopter were requested to assist and transport the player to the hospital, Peterson said. A Mercy Health MD-1 is a mobile response doctor who responds from the hospital to assist EMS personnel in the field.
Unfortunately, the MD-1 was unavailable at the time of the injury, Peterson said.
The LifeNet medical helicopter landed at the Richmond Township Fire Protection District firehouse and airlifted the player to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Peterson said.
Stephanie Johnson, a friend of the family, shared a post on the Lake & McHenry County Scanner Facebook page from Erin Crowly, a family member of the injured player.
The post said the player suffered a traumatic spinal injury and went through many tests and imaging.
Crowley’s post adds, “all his tests came back negative, meaning he did not suffer any fractures of his spine, no tears, no muscle issues and the loss of sensation he was feeling on the field last night has subsided.”
The player was in good spirits and ready to head home, Crowley’s post continues.
Richmond-Burton High School was leading North Boone by a score of 49-0 in the first round of the IHSA playoffs when the player was injured.
Because of the injury, North Boone High School coaches elected to end the game with Richmond-Burton leading in the third quarter.