Players Pray for Injured QB

By Lynn Rebuck • 10 years ago • Sports, Faith

Teams Unite in Postgame Prayer for Gibble (VIDEO below)

Warwick quarterback Colin Gibble knew when he stepped onto the turf last night that Penn Manor defenders would try to take him down. What he didn’t know is that on the very same night, they would also lift him up in prayer.

Gibble, who left the game during the first half with an injury, was noticeably absent on Grosh Field for the awards ceremony following the game. Instead of receiving the offensive game ball for his play, he was off receiving medical treatment for what coaches hope is only an ankle sprain.

Penn Manor players waited patiently for Warwick to finish their postgame ritual, then invited the Warriors to join them on the field in prayer for Gibble and others sidelined during the game. Some of the Warwick team had started to head to the locker room, but they returned to midfield to join the Penn Manor players, who were already kneeling.

Players from the two teams that had just battled so fiercely knelt side by side with heads bowed as coaches surrounded them. Rivals that had stiff armed each other rested their hands on nearby shoulders. Team members from each squad took turns praying for Gibble and others injured in the game.

One member of the Warwick coaching staff was so moved by the uniqueness of the experience that he noted it as he prayed over the group.

“I’ve never been a part of anything like this,” he said.

Warwick’s John Wilson and Nate Miller knelt with heads bowed in the back row, while Penn Manor junior Jamal McCaskell, a running back, reached his arm back to connect with the two Warrior sophomores.

Warrior David Brubaker lifted his voice in prayer as nearby an injured Penn Manor player, bent from the waist in prayer with head bowed, balanced himself on crutches.

Afterwards, Penn Manor quarterback Tanner Erisman, who helps to facilitate his team’s on-field prayer after each game, explained why his team prays.

“It’s a great way to bring things back down to earth after the game,” Erisman said. “You know, tempers are flaring during the game, but after the game you can connect with the other team and know that you’re really all brothers in Christ, and brothers in this world.”