WOODLAWN - Woodlawn got some good news over its bye week as Bears Coach Doug Means announced that All-State athlete Ethan Saeler has been cleared by his doctor to return to the football field, but with some limitations.
The Bears are scheduled to play the Friendship Aspire Jaguars to open South Conference play this Friday night at the Carl Jones Sports Complex. The junior high teams kick off at 5 p.m. followed by the varsity teams at 7 p.m.
Saeler led Woodlawn to a 10-1 record and a trip to the eight-man state finals last year as a junior quarterback. He had to have Tommy John surgery over the summer, and Means said he was unsure if Saeler would be able to return this football season.
Means said Saeler’s doctor released to him to play, but order him not to throw the football. Means said he intends to leave senior Parker Arnold in as the quarterback and use Saeler as a running back and receiver on office. Defensively, he said Saeler could be used at end and/or free safety. “That tells you what kind of athlete he is,” Means said.
Having missed most of the summer camps as well as the first four weeks of the season, Means said he intends to bring Saeler along slowly to assess what kind of shape he’s in plus see exactly what he can do physically, especially playing with a brace.
Means praised Saeler’s leadership during the summer and preseason workouts, noting that despite the prognosis not looking good for him to return to football, he continued to attend the camps and practices. “When the other guys on the team see he’s there, it can’t help but lift their confidence,” he said.
Woodlawn can use all the help it can get after getting off to a 1-2 start. The Bears suffered a 60-8 loss at Izard County on Sept. 18 after getting off to a disastrous start that included two turnovers and 79 yards in penalties by the 11-minute mark of the second quarter.
Through three games, the Bears have committed 11 turnovers while taking it away from their opponents three ti…