SPRINGDALE — Eric Pearce would like to tell you all of the details about Springdale Har-Ber’s 17-0 loss to Bentonville at the end the regular season.
Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Especially coming from a Har-Ber player.
If you’re wondering why the Wildcats’ senior wants to recall Har-Ber’s lone loss this season, it’s because he can’t. As in, he literally can’t remember.
Pearce, the anchor to the Wildcats’ defensive line this season at nose guard, suffered a concussion early in the game against Bentonville two weeks ago. He remembers the pregame coin toss and the first three plays of the game.
After that, everything “is a big blur.”
He’s watched the game film from that night, and it’s almost an out-of-body experience. Obviously, Pearce — who has helped lead the 7A-West Conference’s top defense all season — didn’t play as well as he normally does, but that’s not what bothers him.
It’s watching the film and watching himself line up a four-point stance, something he hardly ever does. It’s watching himself and having absolutely no memory of that moment in time.
“It was pretty creepy, watching film and seeing what I was doing,” Pearce said. “I hate it. I never want to experience that again. The amnesia; it was freaky.”
A concussion is defined as “an impact to the head that causes a change in mental status. Changes in mental status include memory problems, dizziness, headaches, confusion, and blurred vision and even loss of consciousness.”
According to a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina, 5.1 percent of high school and college players surveyed suffered at least one concussion in a season. Of those, 14.7 percent had a second in the same season.
The subject has become a national discussion in recent months, and it’s resulted in National Football League officials answering questions in front of Congress.
For Pearce and the Wildcats, the subject hit all-too-close to home against Bentonville — with both Pearce and safety Houston Pruitt suffering concussions. The scariest part for Har-Ber defensive coordinator Travis Moreland is that Pearce kept playing, even though he knew something wasn’t quite right.
“I wanted to keep playing and none of the coaches knew,” Pearce said. “Even our trainer didn’t know. Coach Moreland was mad at me because I didn’t tell him.
“Of course, I didn’t know where I was.”
Pearce was correct about the fact Moreland was mad. The coach later felt guilty for playing Pearce against Bentonville, even though he didn’t know about the injury.
“He knew that he had one, but I didn’t know and neither did anybody else,” Moreland said. “I couldn’t tell through the game exactly how he felt, so as an idiot I kept throwing him out there when I shouldn’t have.
“But I didn’t know and he didn’t tell me.”
After Pearce started feeling better, he and Moreland had a “heart-to-heart” talk. The gist of the talk was that concussions are a serious injury, and that Pearce and all players need to tell their coaches when “something just doesn’t feel right” during a game.
“There’s a bigger picture than football,” Moreland said. That’s life. I never want to put a kid in that position. I’m always going to care more about a kid’s life than I am about football.
“I’ve got three kids of my own.”
That’s a lesson to remember.
KURT VOIGT IS THE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR FOR NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS.
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