Bashor plays with pain

Prairie Ridge’s Jordan Getzelman (left) and Steve Bashor wait for the Saturday’s state championship award ceremony to begin. Bashor ices his shoulder after breaking his collarbone during the game against Peoria Richwoods in Champaign. (H. Rick Bamman - hbamman@shawmedia.com)

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Prairie Ridge senior Steve Bashor not only has a great football name, but toughness to go with it.

Bashor played the final quarter of his final high school football game with left collarbone injuries that would have kept out a lot of players. He was not about to leave the IHSA Class 6A football state championship game against Peoria Richwoods.

Bashor was rewarded for his perseverance with a 27-yard touchdown run in the Wolves’ 35-14 victory. His touchdown capped the scoring in Prairie Ridge’s first football state championship in school history.

Bashor actually suffered two injuries, the first of which was a Grade 1 sprain of the acromioclavicular joint, which connects the collarbone and the shoulder.

Prairie Ridge trainer Mary Miller diagnosed the sprain about 3 minutes into the fourth quarter.

“His motion and strength were good, and he really wanted to push through the minor injury,” Miller said. “His clavicle was assessed at that same time, and it was normal.”

On the next series, Bashor fell on his left shoulder and suffered a broken collarbone, although he was determined to remain in the game. He scored on the next play.

“The adrenaline kicked in,” he said. “I knew something was wrong because I felt the bump. I wasn’t going to say anything because I wanted to stay in and play. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play in a state championship, you know?”

Bashor, who had 39 carries for 288 yards and two touchdowns this season, said his left arm was “glued to my stomach” for the last few plays.

“I knew something was wrong with it,” Bashor said. “I just didn’t say anything because I didn’t want [Miller] to take me out. It was worth it, though. You work so hard for that one game and I got that one touchdown. It was amazing, it was a dream.”

During the trophy presentation ceremony, Miller said the adrenaline wore off and Bashor felt a significant increase in pain. He was further assessed in the locker room and it was determined he had fractured his collarbone. He was fitted for a sling and his parents were notified.

Bashor, who will wear the sling for six weeks, finished the game with six carries for 46 yards and a touchdown, made even more special by his situation.

“Even on the touchdown, I didn’t move my left arm at all,” Bashor said. “It was all worth it. It is a good story. I’ll get to tell that forever.”

Extra practice: Some neighbors get together and play catch or shoot hoops. Some, like Prairie Ridge quarterback Nick Nissen and running back Jordan Getzelman, practice the triple option pitch.

Nissen and Getzelman often got together in the yard and worked on the option.

“We’ve been working all offseason on great pitches and great reads,” Getzelman said. “Nick does a really good job, he’s worked so hard to feel that kind of moment. He’s a great quarterback.”

Nissen ran the option adeptly all season and was outstanding in the state championship game, rushing 18 times for 85 yards. He was at his best in the third quarter. On one play, he kept the ball until the last possible instant and pitched to Getzelman just before taking a hit from a defender. Getzelman had smooth sailing for a 35-yard touchdown and a 28-14 Wolves’ lead.

On the final play of the third quarter, Nissen faked the pitch to Getzelman, drawing the defensive back toward Getzelman, then ran for 25 yards to the Knights’ 18. Connor Greenwald’s 28-yard field goal attempt was wide right on that drive.

Well-grounded: Richmond-Burton football coach Pat Elder and his father, former Alexis coach John Elder, shared a laugh on Saturday afternoon at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.

When John Elder’s Cardinals played in the Class 2A state championship in 1974, they did not complete a pass. Pat’s Rockets also did not complete a pass in Friday’s Class 4A state title game against Rochester, a 42-39 R-B loss.

R-B’s rushing attack gained a Class 4A-record 516 yards; the Rockets held the ball for 34:58 of the game’s 48 minutes. That kept Rochester quarterback Wes Lunt and his quick-strike offense on the sideline, which kept R-B in the game.

Emotional weekend: While R-B’s players and fans were thrilled at their state title game experience, they also were thinking of former Rockets’ player Josh Rymarz, a 2009 graduate.

Rymarz, a sophomore at Illinois, died in his sleep on Aug. 31 in Champaign. Tests showed there were no drugs or alcohol involved, but no cause of death has been determined.

His brother, Jake, was a senior on the football team, and another brother, Alben, was on R-B’s freshman team.

Fullback Jack Dechow set the Class 4A championship game record with 246 rushing yards.

“It was an amazing game,” Dechow said. “I gave it all to Josh Rymarz. He got us through this.”

• Joe Stevenson is a senior sports writer for the Northwest Herald. He can be reached by email at joestevenson@shawmedia.com. You also can follow him on twitter@nwh_JoePrepZone.