thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

Lucas Wall tried to bargain with his father.

The Maryville College junior just wanted to keep playing football like he had for the last 12 years, which included four years at William Blount. But after talking to the family doctor, there was no way Rick Wall would lose this father-son fight. The back pain Lucas Wall had fought for three years had finally knocked him out of football.

"When you're my age, you feel like you can play forever, you know?" said Wall, who was coming off a breakout year during which he threw for 1,018 yards and ran for another 512 yards in replacing Justin Price at quarterback.

In the midst of the Scots 7-3 season, Wall had to start sitting out practices. This summer the pain got even worse as he worked loading trucks at his father's storage company.

"Three or four times this summer, he was bed-ridden," Rick Wall said. "And he was down for a day or two."

Lucas Wall said the irregular shape of his spine was what caused him so much pain. Combine the crooked shape with the years of wear and tear from football and the recurring pain has become more severe.

"Some mornings, I wake up and I feel brand new," Wall said. "Some mornings, I'll wake up and it'll hurt all the way up my back and even into my neck. Those are the mornings that I feel like I made the right decision."

Even with the pain, Wall had played well in spring practice said Maryville coach Tony Ierulli, who was surprised when he learned his starter was finished.

"You feel like he's going to be your quarterback for the next two years then something like this happens," Ierulli said. "There's always a surprise or two somewhere along the line in the summer months. That was one of the biggest surprises."

After spring practice, Wall finally decided to have his back checked out. He spent several weeks in May getting X-rays and having physicals. His doctor advised him to stop playing. While Wall wanted to return to the team, his father convinced him it wasn't worth the risk When the quarterback told his coach, there were tears on his cheek, Ierulli said.

"It was one of the hardest things that I've done in my life," Wall said.

Rick Wall had been warned that if his son took enough hits, he could suffer more severe damage and a permanent disability. As a running quarterback, that made returning for his junior year even more risky.

"He loves to play and I love to go (watch)," Rick Wall said. "But not to the extent where you got to live with it the rest of your life if you made the wrong decision."

Wall's future as a student at Maryville College is also in limbo. He said he's been accepted into Middle Tennessee State's pre-physical therapy program. He also has offered to help new quarterback Tim Connor learn the ropes of his old position. Staying at Maryville without being part of the team would be the hardest thing he could do, Wall said.

"If I just come in and help him, do what I could, that would be a lot easier for me," Wall said. "That way, I don't have to see them out there practicing and doing stuff that I used to be able to do."