Bellevue's LaPata bounces back from knee injury

BELLEVUE — Jax LaPata pointed to the spot on Bellevue's football field where he was injured in the fourth quarter in Week 10 last season. "Right over there at the 28-yard line," LaPata said last week during a photo day break. "I was running and didn't see the kid coming. I planted and he hit me across the head and on the video you can my knee buckle and I fell over on it. "I knew something was wrong." LaPata tore the MCL and ACL in his left knee in a bitter 13-12 loss to Clyde. "And some other stuff like a little fracture in there, too," he said. "It was quite a bit." The injured occurred on October 21, 2022. LaPata had surgery November 15 at the Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine Center in Garfield Heights. LaPata missed baseball season in the spring and diligently went about rehabilitating his injury. "I went to Avon twice a week for four months to start off," he said. "My therapist said I was ahead of the game for rehab. I feel like I'm a lot better now than I was before." Nine months later, LaPata is ready for his senior season. The physical 5-foot-11, 185-pound middle linebacker and running back is one of the most impactful players in the Sandusky Bay Conference. He stepped in at quarterback last year when Deegan Horn got hurt and put up big numbers. LaPata carried 221 times for 1,089 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also completed 88 of 139 passes (63 percent) for 1,176 yards and six TDs. On defense, LaPata was third in tackles among Redmen defenders with 64 stops. He was cleared for full contact on July 30, one day before football officially practice began. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti was happy to see LaPata back in pads, but kept an eye on his star senior, not fully knowing what to expect. It didn't take long to get an answer. "We come into the summer not really sure," Nasonti said. "We go into testing and he ends up being our conditioning champion; that's how hard he worked. "There haven't been any question marks for him in his cutting. He played hard in that first scrimmage and made some nice plays. We feel good with where he's at. They did a nice job with the surgery and he's been diligent with his rehab. "Jax did everything they asked him to do with rehab and everything we asked him to do within the plan that they had set up for him." LaPata said August practices have been "fun." "We have a competitive energy every day at practice," he said. "I feel really good. I don't really think about my knee at all. I take care of it afterward. I use a TENS unit (electric shock therapy) on it and I stretch a lot. I think stretching's been the biggest thing for recovery." Bellevue finished 7-5 overall last year and 2-3 in the SBC Lake Division. The Redmen were moved down to the Bay Division for at least the next two seasons when the league shuffled its deck after Oak Harbor left. But Bellevue still will play four Lake teams, and its opener is Friday night at rival Clyde. The Battle of Route 20 will mean nothing in the conference standings, but it will mean everything to the players and coaches. "When you're playing a good football program your margin of error will be small," Nasonti said. "When you play a Week 1 game you're not quite sure what your identity and you're not quite sure about the team you're playing. "It works both ways. I'm sure if you talked to Coach (Ryan) Carter he'd tell you the same thing. You're going into Week 1 playing a good football program. But our season will not be defined by our Week 1 game whether we win it or lose it." Carter's Clyde team finished 8-4 last year and, like Bellevue, won a playoff game. Keeping the Bellevue-Clyde rivalry alive is a plus for area fans, but playing in the heat instead of the cold will present a different feel. "It's different in the fact that we played them Week 10 last year and a short turnaround to play them Week 1 again," Carter said. "That's a short period of time to see that same rival and same team and have that same intensity."