Save the head-banging for teenagers

Due to a production error, the version of Troy Gustavson’s column that appeared in the Oct. 30 Suffolk Times was an early draft not intended for publication. The final corrected version appears below.

As far as youth football goes, it was not a routine “hit.” The ball carrier didn’t see the tackler until the last instant, and then they collided at full speed, face mask to face mask.
The ball carrier got the worst of it. As he fell, the back of his helmet hit the ground hard.  His “bell had been rung,” as they say in the sport, and he was escorted to the bench, where he remained, under close observation by his coaches, for the remainder of the game.
The following day, his doctor confirmed the preliminary diagnosis