Friends and Foes

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By Sean Moeller | Thursday, October 5, 2006 12:00 AM CDT | () comments

Photo by John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES Moline players such as Andrew Schrup, left, likely will be thinking about paralyzed Rock Island junior Travis Hearn, center, when Moline plays Drew Davis, right, and the rival Rocks on Friday.

TWICE a day, Rock Island football coach Vic Boblett visits running back/defensive back Travis Hearn at Trinity Medical Center’s West Campus, southeast of the Rock Island Public School Stadium parking lot.

He’s there for an hour after his first class period of the day, and he returns just before dinnertime, after practice, sometimes with players Hearn has asked to see.

The paralyzed junior, who suffered a spinal cord injury while covering a punt against Rock Island Alleman two weeks ago, won’t be at the field Friday when the Rocks welcome Moline to their turf, but he is sure to hear about every minute detail when Boblett comes to him with the recap. He’ll probably already know how it went by the time Boblett shows up.

This is the game and rivalry — 104 years strong; the longest ongoing rivalry in the state of Illinois — that these two communities enjoy rehashing and reliving long after the final whistle blows. Hearn might be able to feel his room shake when something goes well for his Rocks. The electricity will find its way into his room one way or the other.

“Kids and communities have been getting fired up for this game for a real long time,” Boblett said.

Both Rock Island (3-3) and Moline (4-2) are fighting for a place in the playoffs. Nothing is going to diminish the importance of winning for either team, but there is more evidence of support and compassion between the two Western Big 6 rivals than bitter, school-spirited hatred.

“The outpouring of support from sources everywhere has been incredible. It truly has been overwhelming. That’s really the only word to describe it,” Boblett said. “This was a tragic, terrible accident, and it’s brought out the best in people.”

Schools on both sides of the river are pitching in to raise money for the

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Travis Hearn Fund.

Boblett and the school have been contacted by at least one NFL team looking to make a contribution to the cause as well as colleges and high schools through the upper half of the state — all the way into the Chicago suburbs.

The Maroons raised nearly $8,000 at last Friday’s home game against Galesburg, which will be presented at the game. Also against the Silver Streaks, the Maroons affixed red and yellow stickers to their helmets with Hearn’s No. 41 on them. They’re planning on wearing them the rest of the year.

Those seem like the gestures of friends, not heated foes.

“We’re trying to do everything we can to help that player,” Moline coach Joel Ryser said. “It doesn’t have a bearing for us in the game, but it does have a bearing on Rock Island because they have to play without him, and they’re trying to go out and win every game for Travis Hearn. And rightly so.

“Last year (graduated defensive lineman) Tom Reedy severely dislocated his hip in one of our games and that weighed pretty heavily on our hearts. It wasn’t as serious as this, but our kids kind of understand this a little bit, and that’s why we spent so much time at our game trying to raise money.”

Ryser, an art teacher at Moline, painted a Moline logo on a football and took it over to Hearn at the hospital, telling him that the team’s “thoughts and prayers are with you.”

The thoughts are going to be on winning the football game when the lights are on and the clock starts running, but many of the thoughts in what should be a packed stadium will be with a young man down the street fighting to regain his normal life.

“Being a head coach for 31 years, you deal with your share of car accidents and things like that — situations where you have to be there for those kids,’’ Boblett said. “We have had to deal with tragedy before. There are important things, and there are really important things.

“When you’re that age, you feel like you’re invincible. For the first time in your life, invincibility gets struck down and you have to deal with your own mortality. They haven’t had to deal with that in the past and it’s difficult.”

Boblett insists his players still find importance in the game, and he expects it to be grueling, hard-hitting and down-to-the-wire.

“It’s going to be all the typical cliches,” he said.

He left one out. It’s going to be emotional — for the 104th time.

Sean Moeller can be contacted at (563) 383-2288 or at smoeller@qctimes.com.