Bonita’s Jiovanni Mier is back at school

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Jiovanni Mier, a junior defensive back and receiver for Bonita, got the scariest of scares a football player can get on Friday night, when, in the fourth quarter of a 49-28 loss to Anaheim Canyon, he made a tackle in front of his teammates and coaches on the Bearcats’ sideline but didn’t get up.

He could move his limbs but complained of neck pains. He was carried off the field by paramedics, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported.

Turns out, a scare is all Mier got.

Bonita Coach and Athletic Director Eric Podley told me in an e-mail that Mier is already back at school.

In a follow-up article in the SGVT, after Mier was originally ruled out for the season, Podley said he is seeking a second opinion of Mier’s injury and the player could possibly return this year.

Right now in San Diego, Mission Hills linebacker Scott Eveland is still in a coma from what doctors are calling ‘massive brain damage.’

The San Diego Union-Tribune, in an article two days ago about Eveland, reported that at the high school level or younger, 38 football players have died or suffered serious head or spine injuries in the last 10 years, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury.

All this talk of Mier being back in classes and possibly returning to the field this season is encouraging news, especially when you consider what could have happened.

Mier wasn’t the only Bearcat player injured Friday. They’ve lost junior fullback Brian Hubbard and senior defensive lineman Nick Crocker. Podley told the SGVT that Crocker is going to miss the remainder of the season while Hubbard’s status is unclear. Hubbard missed the 2006 season because of an ankle injury, and he has reinjured the ankle, according to the SGVT. Crocker’s injury is not known as his parents have not authorized the school to release the information.

- Jaime Cardenas