Former Crespi Star Smith Lost With Broken Arm

A season that started with a bang for Cody Smith ended with the sickening sound of bones breaking in his left arm.

Smith, the quarterback at Mt. San Antonio College and a former standout at Crespi High, suffered the season-ending injury Saturday in the second quarter of a 35-34 Mission Conference loss to Palomar, the country’s top-ranked team.

Going into the game, Smith had completed 96 of 146 passes for 1,414 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-12 victory over Saddleback on Oct. 9 and for 328 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-31 victory over Rancho Santiago the week before. Smith completed five of 12 for 75 yards and one touchdown against Palomar before the injury.

“It’s a major blow for us and a major blow for Cody,” Mt. San Antonio Coach Bill Fisk said. “He is the best quarterback I’ve seen in community college in years.”

Smith said he incurred the injury while trying to brace himself as he was being pulled to the ground by a defender. His arm has been set in a cast, but he will have X-rays taken early next week to see if the bones have been set straight. If they have slipped, Smith said doctors will put pins in it.

“As soon as I landed, I knew I broke it,” said Smith, a transfer from Pacific. “It wasn’t so much the pain, but that I knew my season was over.”

Orthopedic injuries are not uncommon among the Brothers Smith. Greg, a defensive back at Cal Lutheran, suffered a knee injury his junior season in 1982. He underwent reconstructive surgery and returned the following year. Danny is a calf roper in professional rodeos whose body has taken a few lumps.

“He used to ride bulls,” Cody Smith said. “He used to pop his shoulder out and my dad would pop it back in. We are not foreigners to injuries.”