THEY HAVEN'T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN INJURIES DON'T STOP HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALLERS FROM SUITING UP.

Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer

Each time Tyler Shannon made a cut last week, a sharp pain went through his sprained ankle.

He sat out most of the previous game with the injury but wasn't going to miss this one, not with Verdugo Hills of Tujunga trying to make it through the City Section football quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

He hoped that, once the game started, adrenaline would kick in and he'd forget all about the ankle.

Three minutes into the first quarter against University, the ankle was the furthest thing from his mind.

The pain from his newly separated shoulder was much worse.

Caught up in the heat of the game and thinking the injury was just a stinger, Shannon got up and went back on the field. He blocked with one arm from his receiver position and led with his right shoulder when making tackles. He even made a catch.

``He never really complained about it,'' coach Darrin FitzGerald said. ``He mentioned it was bothering him a bit, but said the shoulder pain was kind of making his ankle feel better.''

It wasn't until after Verdugo Hills' 14-0 victory that Shannon went to the trainer and said his shoulder was still hurting. The trainer took a look and said it appeared to be slightly separated, a diagnosis later confirmed by the team doctor.

Yet Shannon plans to be back on the field today when Verdugo Hills plays Garfield in the City Invitational semifinals, one of many area players battling through pain and injury in the hope of helping their team reach a section championship game.

Shannon was cleared to play but cautioned to limit his hitting because the shoulder ligaments that are strained could tear if further damaged.

``I don't want to stop playing right now so I'm taking risks,'' said Shannon, a senior. ``This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for us to go to the Coliseum and I just want to be a part of it.''

The City Championship games are played at the Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans.

Shannon's teammate, Peter Seller, is another senior fighting off pain in an effort to get the Dons their first 14-0 season.

Seller, Verdugo Hills' best player, wore two braces on a sprained ankle he called the worst he has ever had. He had atough time with the ankle against University, rushing 10times for 28 yards and catching six passes for 36 yards. However, he scored the team's two touchdowns and made two key defensive plays down the stretch.

``I think it's worth a little pain if we can keep on going,'' Seller said. ``I know it's the Invitational bracket, but any title would be monumental for this school. It's never happened here.''

Shannon and Seller aren't alone. After 12 games, almost every football player is at least sore and bruised.

Canyon quarterback Ben Longshore has fought through abadly sprained ankle all season. Canyon linebacker Nick Jurado was crushed earlier in the year when told he likely had a torn anterior cruciate ligament, only to find out that the knee -- which had ballooned to twice its normal size -- was just badly bruised. He didn't miss a game.

Birmingham running back Lavell Gunn has been playing through a sprained ankle.

Village Christian of Sun Valley lineman Josh Ziegler came back from a broken foot to play in the playoffs, though his team was knocked out last week.

Playing through pain has heroic connotations in high school football.

It's a player overcoming obstacles and putting the wellbeing of the team over his own comfort.

``Many players play through pain ever so quietly without even telling teammates or coaches,'' Canyon coach Harry Welch said. ``It's important for them to do what they want to do and they feel that commitment is important to them.''

Canyon lineman Nick Madia is frantically trying to return from a broken fibia before his senior season ends. The injury occurred in Week 9 against Saugus. He had his cast removed two days before Thanksgiving and got the soft cast off this week.

His doctor says he can play, but he is in pain just walking around normally. He hopes the Cowboys can make it through today's game against Westlake without him so he might be able to return for the Southern Section Northern division title game.

Players who go on to have spectacular games despite an injury often become legends at the school, stories the coaches pass down to each team.

Birmingham of Lake Balboa had two such performances in its championship season of 2002. Linebacker Eric Ochoa tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, one of the worst injuries in sports. A senior, Ochoa put off surgery until after the season, strapped on a $2,000 brace and had twointerceptions in the Patriots' semifinal victory over Gardena.

The next week as heavy underdogs in the final against Taft of Woodland Hills, current UCLA safety Dennis Keyes had 133 yards rushing, an interception and a fumble recovery despite playing with flu-like symptoms.

``When it's single-elimination, if a guy can go he's got to suck it up, tape it up and go,'' Birmingham coach Ed Croson said.

Sometimes, choosing to sit out despite the desire to play can be a more courageous decision.

Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks standout lineman Sam DeMartinis tore a tendon in his ring finger against Loyola in Week 8.

Football players don't want people to think something as seemingly small as a finger can keep them out.

DeMartinis saw four doctors, and the consensus was that a small window existed in which surgery could be performed to reattach the tendon, and that the surgery would end his season. If he missed that time frame, a tendon from another part his body would have to be transplanted and he might never regain full movement in the finger.

Though it devastated him not to be able to help the then-undefeated Knights in the playoffs, DeMartinis made the decision that having movement in his finger and being ready for his future playing football at Cal was more important.

``Obviously, I was disappointed,'' DeMartinis said. ``I was hoping one doctor would say we could do the surgery and I could be back in two weeks. I was in tears. But my family and I thought about what would be best for my future.''

DeMartinis was stuck on the sidelines as Notre Dame lost to Long Beach Poly in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Pac-5 division last week.

That a player needs only one doctor to sign off on his medical clearance can be a wearisome situation. Coaches often don't know how many doctors a kid went to in order to get a signature.

``I've had kids whom I've told not to play that went doctor shopping and found a physician that said they could play,'' said Andrew Blecher of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute, and the team doctor for Notre Dame High. ``Sometimes it turns out well and sometimes it doesn't. I sit down with the kid and the parents and make sure they know the long-term risks, but that is sometimes hard to convey to a teenage kid.''

In 1992, there was a controversy at Canyon High when defensive end Mark White was allowed to play in the team's two playoff games despite having a seven-inch metal plate in his right arm to repair a broken bone. The orthopedist who treated White denied his request to play, but his grandfather, a chiropractor, signed the clearance.

White did not suffer any illeffects from playing.

Ultimately, the coach is the last line of defense in deciding if a player should play. All coaches are different. Some question a player's manhood if he won't play through pain. Others are overly cautious about injuries. Some leave it up to the doctors and parents to make the decision.

``In college, I tore cartilage in my left knee and the coaches were pressuring me to play,'' Village Christian coach Marty Martins said.

``My dad called and said, `Son, the bottom line is they're paying your way through school and all, but it's your body.' I try to relay that to the kids. There's nothing worse than sacrificing a kid's ability to function as a human being, and I think that sometimes gets lost in coaching circles.''

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Verdugo Hills' Tyler Shannon and Peter Sellers are playing through injuries as the Dons continue their playoff drive.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer