MURFREESBORO – Blackman junior Sam Luker will miss at least six weeks after being diagnosed with a slight fracture in one of his vertebrae in his back.
“He could be back by the end of the regular season,” Blackman coach Philip Shadowens said. “It was a back injury, and really something very unusual for football.”
Luker, a linebacker, was injured late in the first half in the Blaze’s 28-21 win over Oakland on Aug. 24. He was taken to Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital. He will not need surgery.
“It’s just a matter of rehabbing it,” Shadowens said. “He should be back full speed in six weeks and be able to start exercising. Until then, he’ll have no football. We’re going to take it slow with him.”
Luker’s parents, Steve and Carla Luker expressed their appreciation toward everyone that have sent text messages, emails and prayers for Sam Luker and the family following the injury.
Steve Luker is the principal at David Youree Elementary School in Smyrna.
Franz honored: Smyrna senior forward Sierra Franz was named the MaxPreps’ Girls Soccer Player of the Week for Tennessee this past week. Franz, a UT-Martin commitment, has 15 goals in the Lady Bulldogs’ first four games. She tallied four goals each against Station Camp, Spring Hill and Mt. Juliet. She had three against La Vergne.
Franz also has one assist. Smyrna is 3-0-1 this season.
Ratings: The nationally-televised Oakland-Blackman game played a week ago on ESPN2 received a 1.7 rating locally according to Mark Binda, program and research director at News Channel 5. Binda said the game aired in 21,911 homes locally.
Nationally, the game had 303,151 viewers according to information provided by ESPN.
Another offer: La Vergne sophomore Maleik Gray picked up another SEC offer this past week. South Carolina became the latest to offer the running back/safety. Gray also has offers from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and defending national champion Florida State.
State poll: The first Associated Press statewide prep football poll is scheduled to be released this week. The poll is slated to come out on Tuesday.
Tom Kreager is the prep editor of The Daily News Journal. Contact him at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.