By Ronnie Gallagher
rgallagher@salisburypost.com
Catawba coach Chip Hester was breathing a lot easier on Sunday regarding the right ankle injury to quarterback Cam Sexton.
“I will say I feel better about it than I did last night,” Hester said.
That’s because reports say it’s a minor sprain, not a break, and he should play again, perhaps soon.
It was just the third play of Catawba’s eventual 21-20 win at Fayetteville State on Saturday when Sexton went back and looked toward receiver Travis Landrum.
Hester was peering downfield, not in the backfield.
“Being an old wide receiver guy, I was looking at coverages and the route,” he said.
Hester spoke into the headset that the play was open. When he looked back around?
“I saw Cam holding his ankle like he was hurt,” Hester said.
The pass to Landrum was complete for a nine-yard gain, but all eyes were now on the referee’s flag and Sexton, the transfer from North Carolina.
The flag was against Bronco defender Joshua Wilkins, who rolled into Sexton’s planted foot.
After looking at film, Hester said the late-hit call was appropriate.
“But the guy who went low was cut himself,” Hester explained. “I don’t think it was anything intentional. Our gameplan is to sack the quarterback.”
Hester confirmed that Sexton went to Chapel Hill to have the ankle checked out by UNC’s orthopedic surgeon Tim Taft, who operated on Sexton’s ankle as a freshman.
Did the Catawba coach think the worst when Sexton went down?
“You know, it’s always hard to tell,” he said. “I’ve seen things over the years that seemed really bad and weren’t. I’ve learned to just wait until we get X-rays and MRIs.”
Hester said Sexton returned to the Catawba campus Sunday wearing a walking boot on his ankle. He has started treatment but how long he will be out is unknown.
“He’s getting rehab,” Hester said. “We’ll take it day to day.”
Patrick Dennis, who was the fifth-rated passer in the South Atlantic Conference last season, took over for Sexton against Fayetteville State and finished 12-of-25 for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
“Cam’s an outstanding athlete and an exceptional player,” Hester said. “But we’ve got all the confidence in the world in Patrick Dennis. That confidence was reaffirmed last night.”