Senior captain and safety Dominic Phillips heard the words no high school athlete wants to hear, “your season is over.” On just the fifth defensive play of Holy Family’s football season opener, Dominic went down with a lisfranc fracture- the displacement of one or more metatarsal bones from the tarsus. Such an injury can take up to one year for full recovery. Reflecting on the news, Phillips said, “I worked hard from the day I handed in my pads after junior year, worked harder than I ever could have imagined, and became captain of the team and sport I love most… for my season to be over after what seemed like five minutes is hard to accept.” 

The news of Dominic’s injury spread quickly. Fire’s head football coach Tim Tripplet gave a positive outlook on the situation saying, “It is always tough with a season ending injury- especially with a leader and captain of Dominic’s caliber. Our culture is strong, and we always talk about adjusting to any situation and growing from it. He is hard to replace, but we hope to grow and get better as a team.”  

The team is devastated by the loss of such a key player. Fellow teammate and captain Brendan O’Connor shed some light on the effect Dominic had on the team when he said, “I would be lying if I said that his injury doesn’t have an impact on the team. It’s hard to come across a player with his skill, work ethic, and leadership, so when you lose that it hurts. As crazy as it sounds, I think Dom is actually the one that is keeping the guys in the locker room together and focused. He is the humblest and most genuine guy I have ever met, and even though he is not on the field, there is no doubt he will have a huge impact on this team. We are all thinking about Dominic and wishing him the best throughout his recovery.”  

Dominic will not be seen on the football field this season, however, bet on hearing him from the sideline. “I will be there cheering on the guys every game and will be the loudest, most supportive guy on the team.” Even though the Fire are now without their leading tackler from the 2017 season, there is no doubt in Dominic’s mind that this team can still do what they set out to do. “This is still the same team it was, and we are one of the strongest in the state!” Dominic said.  

You can see the Fire continue their season against Litchfield, this Friday at 7. Be there to cheer the Fire on to a potential 2-0 record, you know Dominic will.