BROCTON, N.Y. (AP) — It was a question with no rightanswer that tugged heavy at the hearts of
Damon Janes’ teammates whenthe 16-year-old died after a hit in a high school football game: Shouldthe season
go on?Should the players rally and play every game fortheir star running back, whose motto was "Giving
up is simply not anoption"? Or should the teenagers forget about football and take time tomourn their
friend?The Westfield-Brocton Wolverines’ varsityplayers took a paper-ballot vote and decided that the pain
was toogreat, that their season would end after just two games."I wantedto play, I love the game,"
said teammate Stevie Wisecarver III, a16-year-old quarterback who has played football since third grade.
"Butit just wouldn’t feel right without him. The team just didn’t feelright."Added 17-year-old
senior cornerback Joey Villafrank: "Itfeels like there’s more to life. Before, football used to be life
forme; it was the only sport I played. But now I realize that there’s morethan just playing the
game."It’s a grief that’s spread throughthe close-knit villages of Brocton and Westfield, tucked amid
grapefarms about an hour’s drive south of Buffalo, where the once-rival highschools were forced to combine
their teams three seasons ago because ofbudget cuts.Townspeople have held vigils, lighted candles
andreleased balloons. They’ve stayed up nights making ribbons and cookiesas fundraisers for the Janes
family. The Green Arch Restaurant iscontributing apple pies. Hair salons are dyeing streaks of blue
andgreen, reflecting Westfield’s school colors of blue and white andBrocton’s of green. Memorial T-shirts
with Damon’s motto are beingprinted. And a spaghetti dinner benefit at the Nickel Plate Depotplanned for
Sunday is expected to draw hundreds."It’s just atragic thing that happened," 71-year-old Harold
Montague said as hefinished his coffee at the Green Arch, recalling a procession forDamon’s funeral that
stretched for more than a mile and a half. "A lot’sbeen done that I’ve never seen before."Damon
took what hospitalofficials would later describe as a "helmet-to-helmet" hit during thethird
quarter of Westfield-Brocton’s Sept. 13 game against Portville, a32-6 loss. He was able to get on his feet
but lost consciousness on thesidelines. He died three days later at Women & Children’s Hospitalin
Buffalo. An exact cause of death has not been released.In hisobituary, his family wrote that Damon liked
fishing, hunting and justabout every kind of sport — soccer, basketball, ice skating, motocrossand
snowboarding. "He put 110 percent into everything he did," it said."His motto was, ‘Giving up
is simply not an option.’"For someparents, the dangers were obvious even before Damon’s death. As
theirsadness began to mix with anger, they complained that poor officiating,with no penalty calls on late
hits, made it only a matter of time beforeball carriers like Damon got hurt."That whole game was
plaguedwith late hits and people using their helmets to spear other people,"said Sam Villafrank, Joey’s
father. "It was like anything goes."School officials did not return calls seeking comment on the
accusation.Concernabout increasingly hard hits among the 1 million boys who play highschool football has
brought renewed attention to concussion managementand a national initiative to teach the "Heads
Up" tackling technique. Anaverage of 12 high school and college players die annually, accordingto a
recent study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.Damon’swas at least the fifth high school football
death this season, but hiswas the only team to cancel the season because of it.Asiridescent ribbons sparkle
from light poles in Brocton, the players saythey are moving on without football after making a decision
that’s drawnboth support and criticism — from those who believe Damon would havewanted the season to go
on."Honestly, none of us can really saywhat Damon would have wanted," Villafrank said. "The
only person whocould have said that was Damon. And unfortunately, he’s not hereanymore."Copyright 2013
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