Playing With Pain Part of the Game for Dons’ Standley

The knee still aches, but it won’t keep Sean Standley off the field.

The Verdugo Hills High senior isn’t the swiftest of running backs, but at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, his straight-ahead, pounding style has been effective for the Dons.

Standley was third among area City Section rushers in the regular season with 1,430 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Carrying a team with a roster of fewer than 30 players all season, Standley helped Verdugo Hills become the third-seeded team in the City Section 3-A playoffs. The Dons face sixth-seeded Van Nuys tonight at Kennedy High at 7 p.m.

Early in Verdugo Hills’ 12-7 victory over Roosevelt in the first round last week, Standley sprained a ligament in his left knee and sat out the rest of the half. The injury was doubly painful for the Dons because Standley, who rarely plays defense, was supposed to replace academically ineligible Juan Romero at middle linebacker.

“They wanted me to rest a while and make sure it wasn’t too severe,” Standley said.

Standley was limited to 54 yards in 22 carries but scored a 16-yard run in the third quarter.

There is pain in the knee, but Standley guarantees he’ll play tonight. He practiced Monday.

This isn’t the first time Standley has had to fight back from injury. A bothersome hip hampered his junior season and a sprained ankle suffered early in preseason practice this season threatened to keep him out of the lineup.

Standley gained 99 yards and scored a touchdown in a victory over Grant but he didn’t regain form until the fifth week against Eagle Rock, when he gained 251 yards and scored three times.