Hawks defenders a bit bruised, battered

Torrey Davis and Jamiel "Petey" Smith both play through pain.

By JOEY KNIGHT
Published September 19, 2006

TAMPA - Armwood defensive end Torrey Davis has been playing with a slight shoulder separation, coach Sean Callahan confirmed Monday, but the nationally heralded recruit may not have been the most injured player on the Hawks defense Friday.

Callahan added that sophomore linebacker Jamiel "Petey" Smith, the team's leading tackler in its 13-6 win Friday over Jefferson, played with a seriously strained hip flexor sustained in practice the day before.

"We didn't know if he was going to be able to go," said Callahan, who drove Smith to team trainer Josh Sperry's office in Brandon during Thursday's practice. "It was right up until game time."

Callahan said Sperry administered several rounds of treatment to Smith right up until kickoff. Smith finished with three sacks and recorded two other tackles for loss.

"I let my trainer know (Monday) that if it weren't for him (treating Smith), we might not have won that game," Callahan said.

Davis, meantime, is suffering from a grade 1 shoulder separation sustained at some point during the past three games, Callahan said. Davis told the Times on Saturday he originally hurt his shoulder during the Sept. 1 game at Durant and aggravated it Friday night.

"It doesn't hurt all the time, it just hurts when he hits it a certain way," Callahan said. "He said he hurt it during the Durant game and didn't tell anybody about it. Well, he practiced the whole next week."

Fortunately for the Hawks, both players have two weeks to recover. Armwood (4-0), idle this Friday, doesn't play again until a Sept. 29 game at Winter Haven.

[Last modified September 18, 2006, 23:32:19]