Shaffer to miss rest of season with knee injury
9/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2002
Junior fullback Dan Shaffer will miss the remainder of the season with a torn lateral collateral ligament in his right knee and sophomore halfback Anthony Butler is out indefinitely with a separated right shoulder, according to Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry.
An MRI on Tuesday revealed severe damage to Shaffer's knee that was injured in Air Force 52-3 victory over Northwestern last week. Surgery to repair the knee is scheduled on Friday.
"This is a huge loss for our football team," DeBerry said. "Dan proved in one half of football the quality of player he is and how committed he is to this football team. Not only will he be missed on the field, but also his leadership will be missed. My heart bleeds for him. I don't know if we've ever had a player work as hard to have a great season as Dan did."
Butler will not play this week and his status will not known until an MRI is performed later this week. The team hopes to have him back for its third game at California, Sept. 21. Senior Tom Heier will take his starting position. Fellow senior Don Clark will serve as a backup at the position.
A starter for Shaffer's position will not be determined until later this week. Junior Steve Massie and a trio of sophomores, Cedric Adams, Adam Cole and Tim Gehrsitz will all compete for playing time. All four played the first varsity game of their careers last week against Northwestern. The fullback position has been a defining key to Air Force's multiple option attack. Since 1990, the team is 32-7 when the fullbacks combine for 100 yards or more in a game.
"Together we will have to have some players step up and fill the void," DeBerry said. In the case of the fullback position, it will be some younger players."
