THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409280173
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
IT IS SAID that the body is a temple.
But for Jonathan Keese, after knee surgery, an ankle sprain and a separated shoulder, the body might be more like the temple of doom.
``(Monday) I was trying to clean up my room . . . and it occurred to me that someone might be trying to tell me something,'' he said.
Keese, a junior at Atlantic Shores Christian Academy, is a jack-of-all-trades player on the Seahawks' football team. But unlike most people who spread themselves too thin, Keese excels at most everything he does.
As a running back, he's rushed for more than 150 yards. As a spot starter at quarterback against Nansemond-Suffolk, he passed for over 200 yards in a 35-6 win.
Keese is at his most deadly running pass routes, recording over 300 yards as a wide receiver. He has thrown for a touchdown, run for a touchdown as both a quarterback and a running back, and caught a touchdown pass.
Oh, by the way - Keese also sees playing time as a cornerback, safety or linebacker when Atlantic Shores is on defense.
``He'll do anything you ask him to, and we've certainly asked a lot of him this year,'' said Seahawks coach Mickey Toll.
Unfortunately, Keese's body has not always cooperated.
The knees were the first thing to go. Keese grew up playing a lot of basketball, and jumping up and down on the hard cement courts did nothing to protect his joints. Compounding the problem was that Keese is flat-footed - every time he played, he put more and more strain on his legs.
Eventually, Keese ended up with a condition called ``jumper's knees,'' which essentially means that there was ligament damage. Surgery was performed and the knees were rehabilitated, but during preseason practice Keese began to feel the old, nagging pain return.
The doctor's verdict? Play football, and risk serious - maybe even permanent - damage.
``As soon as he said that, I was thinking `I want a different doctor','' Keese said. ``I was hoping the doctor would have said something a lot different.''
But Keese, who admits to being ``hardheaded,'' wouldn't let the issue rest. The possibility of permanent damage to his knees was frightening, but the bottom line was that he didn't want to quit.
``He could have not even tried to come back and people would have understood,'' said Toll. ``But Jonathan wants to be better than average in everything he does.''
Good news came from Keese's physical therapist, who suggested that he might be able to play if he worked to strengthen his knees. Keese's mother, Linda, wasn't thrilled by the idea, and neither was his girlfriend. But Mack Keese told his son to give it a try if he wanted to, and that was all the encouragement Jonathan needed.
He endured the exercises pinpointed to strengthen his knees. He took cortisone shots to help connective tissue grow in his joints.
All seemed to be going well, as Keese accounted for more than 130 yards of total offense per game against Atlantic Shores' first five opponents. But then his body betrayed him for a second time.
In the second quarter of last Friday's game against Catholic, Keese was running a pass route across the middle of the field when he was blindsided by a defender.
The result? A separated shoulder.
Pain, however, is something Keese has learned to live with on a daily basis. He kept playing.
But early in the third quarter, Keese was attempting to throw the ball on the halfback option pass when someone stepped on the side of his right foot, resulting in a severely sprained ankle that forced him out of the game.
``Melodie (Doughty, Keese's girlfriend) told me when the season started that if I got one more injury, maybe I just wasn't meant to play football,'' Keese said, then jokingly added, ``Sometimes I wonder if she was right.''
Although he's supposed to keep his arm in a sling for seven to eight days (he's doubtful for the Seahawks' game Friday at Halifax Academy) and applies an ice pack every hour, there's not a doubt in Keese's mind that he'll return from these injuries, too. While sports are not the primary focus of his life - he says academics are - Keese realizes that football could help him achieve his goal of going to college and becoming a veterinarian.
``Either that,'' he said, ``or it will destroy me.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Atlantic Shores junior Jonathan Keese runs into the end zone after
catching a long pass.
Photo
Jonathan Keese
Jack-of-all-trades player
by CNB