Accident Can’t Keep Him Out of the Game

It would be easy to feel sorry for Edgar Quinonez, a senior at Santa Ana Valley High. A little more than five months ago, the Falcons’ lineman lost his father in a car accident.

In the same accident, Quinonez suffered a spinal injury that ended his football career and nearly paralyzed him from the neck down. But physical limitations and emotional hardships haven’t stopped Quinonez from helping the Falcons prepare for their upcoming season, which begins Saturday against Santiago at Garden Grove High.

“It’s not supposed to be this way,” Santa Ana Valley Coach Eddie Steward said. “Why does this happen to a guy who is a great kid and does everything he’s supposed to do? They say there’s a reason for everything, but I can’t figure this one out.”

Then Steward smiled, watching Coach Quinonez put some junior varsity linemen through their paces during blocking drills.

That’s his role with the Falcons this season.

A first-team All-Century League lineman last season, Quinonez was expected to lead Santa Ana Valley’s front line before the crash last spring during a family vacation near Yakima, Wash. He was hospitalized for three months in Seattle, where he underwent two surgeries.

Now, Quinonez is jumping back into life.

Because of the injuries, he’s lost some weight off his 6-foot frame. But he’s back on his feet, even if he is moving a bit gingerly. And he’s on his way to a full recovery, save the numerous screws and plates in his body.

He’s taking extra classes to make up for the half-semester he missed so he can graduate with his senior class. He’s trying to help his family cope with the painful loss.

And he’s helping from the sidelines as an assistant coach.

“I know right now he’d give anything to get the pads back on and be out here with us,” said senior Matthew Hatfield, a close friend and fellow Santa Ana Valley lineman. “When the doctors told him he couldn’t play football anymore, I cried with him.”

Although Quinonez’s father, Antonio, died of a ruptured spleen suffered in the wreck, other family members walked away unscathed.

Six passengers--including Edgar--were sitting in the front and back seats of a double-cab pickup truck. Edgar’s parents were in the camper, which was dislodged from the truck in the accident.

He said he didn’t know his father had died in the crash until about 1 1/2 months after the accident.

“They didn’t want to tell me,” Quinonez said. “They wanted my spirits up for the first surgery I had in April.

“Then I heard about my dad, and they also told me I couldn’t play football anymore.”

Quinonez said he was also diagnosed with pancreatitis, “so I couldn’t drink water or have food for two weeks.”

When he did get to eat, Quinonez tired of hospital food quickly.

“I just wanted to go home and eat Mexican food, Mexican food and more Mexican food,” Quinonez said. “In Seattle, they didn’t have tortillas or anything like that.”

When Quinonez came home, he immediately went to his father’s grave.

“I wanted to pay my respects,” Quinonez said. “The accident helped put things in perspective. But my ideals are still the same.”

Quinonez said he wants to graduate from high school and move on to college. He has thought about working as an athletic trainer or even becoming a coach.

Quinonez doesn’t show many visible signs of his ordeal. There are tiny indentations on his forehead remaining from the halo that stabilized his neck, and a scar on his abdomen from the surgery.

Quinonez has 12 screws and several plates attached to his neck and spine area. He cannot turn his head quickly, but he still dodges humbly from the spotlight.

“It’s like the Quinonez name has become big at this school or something,” Quinonez said. “People at school talk to me and say, ‘Oh you’re the guy . . .’ And everyone asks me if I remember what happened in the accident.”

Quinonez answers by saying he remembers sitting in the truck, then he put on his headphones and heard his sister and cousin singing songs. His next memory, days later, was that singing turning into a plea to recover.

“It was like a dream,” he said. “And I just heard my sister yelling, ‘You can do it Edgar, you’re a big strong football player.’ ”

Now Quinonez will try to tackle life without football and life without his father.

“I don’t do a lot when I go visit my dad’s grave,” Quinonez said. “I’ll just sit there, maybe talk to him. I know I can’t do this on my own. I want to help my family, so I just ask him to help me become the best man that I can be.”