By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com

WINCHESTER, Va. -- Von Homer has two tackles for the Shenandoah Hornets this season. Four years ago, if you told the junior strong safety he would have two tackles in 2004 for anyone, you would have been laughed from the room. 

The hospital room, that is.

The New Castle, Delaware, native graduated from high school in 2000 and decided on attending Western Maryland. Homer was fast, a spry 5-11, hoping to mature into a leading role in the Green Terror's defensive backfield. Just as his collegiate career was starting, it appeared to end.

Homer

On a humid August afternoon during an intrasquad, preseason scrimmage in Westminster, Von Homer's world changed. Homer was returning a punt and his right cleat lodged into the turf as he planted his right leg while being tackled.

Pain.

"The training staff was trying to hold my head down," whispered Homer, as if reliving the injury in his mind, "they didn't want me to see it." 

"Initially, you think, 'ok, I hurt this pretty bad,' I was trying to look at it, and I did."

Homer blacked out five minutes after the devastating injury: a total knee dislocation, tearing every ligament in his right knee, rupturing a major artery and vein. 

"My leg was twisted for so long, and the skin did not break, effectively cutting off the blood flow to my lower leg."

If you treated Homer's leg as a living entity unto itself, the leg was effectively dead. The dislocation ended the normal flow of blood, segmenting his lower leg from the rest of his normally functioning body; a condition known as "compartment syndrome." 

After losing consciousness on the field, Homer regained his senses two days later in the hospital. 

"I asked my mom if they cut my leg off. I was almost positive that it was going to be amputated."

The doctors came to Homer's mother and told her that the leg needed to be removed, citing the permanent, irreversible damage caused by the extended length of time without blood, and therefore oxygen, to the leg.

"The doctors came and told my mom they would have to amputate. She told them not to do it. If it was inevitable that the leg would have to be removed, she told them to leave it as a test case and see if it improved." 

It seemed as though the physicians attending to Homer's were fully planning to amputate the leg and giving the concerned family an update to his condition, rather than an option. As if anyone would select the amputation.

"She told them not to take the leg off, no matter what. It wasn't going to kill me if they did, but she just insisted that they leave it."

Losing a major chunk of his calf to the injury, Homer endured seven surgeries from five doctors, skin grafts, and a long road of rehabilitation in front of him. Playing football again did not cross his mind in those initial days after the injury.

"I was low. Depressed like no other. It's the lowest point a person can get to." 

Homer was hospitalized for more than two weeks. Here was a sprite college freshman playing a game who is suddenly crippled with a debilitating injury, unable to walk. 

The soft-spoken Homer would remain immobile for what felt like an eternity to the athletic youngster. 

"I hit rock bottom. Sleepless nights. Being wheeled around my community in a wheelchair. Spending your life entirely dependant on the help of others." 

Slowly, very slowly, Homer begin to regain movement. Surprisingly, Homer walked three months after the incident, albeit with a walker.

Thousands of hours of rehabilitation would follow. Physically, Homer was recovering. Mentally, it took a lot longer.

"I have a perspective on life that many don't have," Homer stated earlier this season after his Hornets lost to Bridgewater. "In retrospect, I didn't have it that bad, but after five doctors and three physical therapists, it took everything to get my mind back in order."

Homer had plenty of time to think about his future. He had planned to go Shenandoah for post-graduate studies to become an athletic trainer. Once he recovered to sufficient health, Homer transferred from McDaniel to Shenandoah in the fall of 2003.

Now a senior academically, Homer has football eligibility as a junior and sees limited playing time for the Hornets. 

"The doctors told me it would be a miracle to walk, let alone play football. I walked in three months. Eventually I figured out I could play football."

"I was planning on coming to Shenandoah eventually, so I decided I might as well make the move now. They have a relatively new program. So I contacted the coaches and they said they would give me the chance to play."

And so Homer plays. From the bleachers of SU's Shentel Stadium, you would never know the road Von Homer has traveled to hit the gridiron.

"Heck, there aren't many of my teammates that even know the story. They just know I had a leg injury, not that I almost lost it." 

Shortly after Homer's injury, Fresno State's Neil Parry severely broke his fibula and tibia during a game. Parry's injury required amputation. 

"I am so lucky and cherish every moment. I read about his story and can't even imagine it now. Knowing I should have had my leg amputated, it's just so incredible to be here intact."

Homer now shares his story with youth camps and sports teams, highlighting the importance of recognizing life and bouncing back from the doldrums. He now dreams new dreams, not of walking or playing football, but of becoming a professional sports athletic trainer. 

"The effort that was spent on my return to football was at times overwhelming. It took counseling, patience, seven surgeries, five doctors, two schools, a ton of prayer and hard work just to get back some of what I lost to this injury."

Having accomplished so much already, it is difficult to fathom Homer not reaching the loftiest of his ambitions. 

"I knew what I had, and what I almost lost. I think it all happens for a reason, initially I didn't think that at all."

"I feel like I can do anything now."

Centennial normalcy returns
Johns Hopkins' and Muhlenberg's wins against Franklin and Marshall and Dickinson, respectively, were not pretty. But they were victories and much needed ones at that. The Mules and Red Devils started the fourth quarter in a 3-3 tie before several Dickinson mistakes allowed the Mules to rumble to three, fourth-stanza touchdowns. Muhlenberg's defense continues to dominate opponents. Dickinson converted on only two of 18 third down opportunities while gaining only 144 yards of offense. 

The Blue Jays led the Diplomats by a 20-14 score at the intermission and the teams should have called it an afternoon as that is how it would end. JHU got back on track after Dickinson upset the blue crew at home last week. Zach DiIonno was intercepted only once and JHU's offense held onto the football, unlike last week's turnover debacle. 

McDaniel remains the only undefeated team in CC play as they puncture the Top 25 for the first time this season, debuting in the 24th position.

Coaching through adversity
Ten minutes into Saturday's game between Delaware Valley and King's, coach G.A. Mangus heard commotion from the bleachers behind him and thought there was a fight in the stands. There was no fight.

"I heard someone say, 'Get the paramedics.' Then I saw my mom crying," Mangus told the Philadelphia Daily News. "I didn't see my dad's head. So I ran up there." 

George Alfred Mangus, Sr. suffered a heart attack. The aunt of a Delaware Valley defensive lineman Travis Albanesius performed CPR, saving Mangus' life. The medical staff took Mangus to the hospital and his son went back to the field to coach a shaken Aggies squad. 

"There was no man on God's great earth who could do what that man (Mangus) did today," junior quarterback Adam Knoblauch told the Doylestown Intelligencer. 

"This one was for Coach," said wide receiver David Carmon, also to the Intelligencer. Carmon caught the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-and-10 with less than a minute remaining. "I can't believe that he even stayed at the game; he was calling plays while his father was having a heart attack in the stands ... I've never seen anyone keep his composure like that in my life."

Del Val managed to salvage a 20-19 victory, improving to 5-0.

Mangus, Sr. is in stable condition at Wilkes-Barre's Geisinger Hospital. 

Shocking halftime score of the week
Emory and Henry 21
Hampden-Sydney 14

No fear as H-SC scored the next 38 points in the game to coast to an easy 52-21 win. I bet the flies on the wall in Marty Favret's locker room learned some new words.

The big O
Albright's Nick Cushman leads all receivers nationwide in most receiving yards per game. Cushman has amassed 809 receiving yards, averaging 161.8 yards per game. No other receiver in the land has over 700 yards. The Lions are the only mid-Atlantic squad to crack the Top 10 in total offense, checking in eighth at 501.4 yards per game. Hampden-Sydney ranks 10th in that category with 498.8 yards per game.

Widener's Pioneers are 15th in the land in terms of passing offense, enough to upend Albright in an upset last week. Quarterback Mike Lomas's 33 completions against Susquehanna rank as the seventh-most completions in Division III this year.

The big D
Muhlenberg now leads Division III in fewest yards allowed after another stellar defensive performance this week at Dickinson. The Mules allow, on average, 162.2 yards per game. Their fellow Centennial mates, McDaniel, find themselves tenth on the list. For the Green Terror, Brett Rough (an appropriate name for a defensive lineman) leads D-III in most sacks in a single game when he recorded four and a half against Ursinus. Albright's Dave Barger is right behind after he took down Mike Lomas four times this past week.

Dickinson's defensive backs have had fun this season with the Red Devils second in the country in most interceptions, totaling 15. Only Illinois College has more.

Washington and Lee's run defense has stifled opponents this year. The Generals are second behind only No. 1 Mount Union in rushing defense, allowing 38.4 rushing yards per game.

Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
1. Delaware Valley
2. McDaniel
3. Bridgewater
4. Shenandoah
5. Moravian

The Aggies just find a way to win. Adam Knoblauch led Del Val back down the field in the final minute and connected when he needed to, propelling the Aggies to 5-0.

McDaniel's defense has been dominant and their offense found the spark they needed after two tough opening weeks. 

BC resurges to the Top 25 while resting on a bye week. After reflecting on their season this week, I find the third position appropriate for them.

Hornets football buzzes along in the bye week as well, preparing for their remaining USAC schedule. Win out and they punch their ticket.

The Greyhounds also find a way to win and had enough to remain undefeated in a win over Wilkes this week. Welcome.

Games of the Week
Lycoming at Delaware Valley, Doylestown, Pa., 1:00 p.m.: The Warriors are a not-so-proud member of the "Two MAC-Conference Losses Club" and look to exact revenge on the Aggies who shocked Lycoming at home last year.

Hampden-Sydney at Washington & Lee, Lexington, Va., 1:00 p.m.: As mentioned above, W&L has tremendous defensive numbers and after some shoddy play, and playcalling, from H-SC over the past two weeks, a major ODAC upset is possible.