Bone-crunching injuries are plaguing this year’s flag-football season. Several head-on collisions have induced concussions and broken bones over the course of two games.

All of the collisions occurred within eight days of each other. The injuries suffered included two concussions, a fractured jaw and a broken nose. All injuries were a result of several separate head-on collisions.

The first concussion occurred in the second week of the season when a pass was lobbed to the short side of the field. Both the receiver and defender had a play on the ball.

When they both lunged at the ball, their heads collided, leaving the receiver with a mild concussion.

“We were both making a play on the ball, we collided hard and we were both on the ground,” defender Henry Wessel said.

Freshman Nathan Amata saw the hit. Amata is an intramural referee officiating his first flag football season.

“They hit head-on and the receiver stayed down motionless for awhile,” Amata said.

All intramural workers are trained for severe injuries, such as concussions.

“You stop play of the game and tend to the injured player,” Amata said. “We are trained for CPR and are prepared for the worst-case scenarios.”

Once the injured player was taken off the field and was being tended to on the sidelines, play resumed. The second head-on collision happened minutes later on the same drive.

The pass was thrown over the middle where again, both players had a chance. However, this time both players remained on their feet and the play resulted in a touchdown.

Later, X-Rays showed that the defender had broken his nose close to the eye region.

The second concussion happened a week after the first. Two teammates collided trying to pull the flag of the scrambling quarterback. The player fractured his jaw and had a minor concussion.

“I don’t remember what happened,” Chris Vogt said. “I was running and the next thing I knew I was on the ground.”

Injuries are common in football; however, flag football is supposed to help prevent major injuries like these from occurring.

“I think it has just been a freakish week, I mean other years have not had this many major injuries,” Wessel said.

“I think it is just a matter of using peripherals and knowing where you are on the field,” Vogt said. “I learned my lesson, I am going to remember to keep my head on a swivel on the field from now on.”

The intramural staff is stressing just that before every game now.

“We tell everyone before games now to make sure to use your peripherals and be aware of other people on the field,” Amata said. “It can be competitive but we just don’t want people to get hurt.”

No injuries have occurred since. Rec. Services will be looking into ways to try and avoid head-on collisions.

It seems that as long as players are aware of their surroundings, head-on collisions can be avoided in the intramural flag-football leagues.