By Kenton Brooks
It's hard not to miss the smile on Morgan Nicodin's face.
He's healthy again and it comes at a good time for Hilldale as it meets Wagoner in what has become a District 4A-4 “playoff” game at 7:30 tonight at Hornet Stadium.
"I'm glad to be back out there," he said.
The Hornets need his speed on the field in a must-win situation to have a chance at the playoffs. If Poteau (7-2, 4-2) beats Muldrow (4-5, 1-5) as expected, Hilldale would own the head-to-head tiebreaker with Wagoner for fourth place with the win.
Even with a Poteau loss, which creates a three-way tie, the Bulldogs would be eliminated by virtue of losses to both Poteau and Hilldale.
Nicodin’s just glad to have the opportunity to be involved.
He had to sit out six weeks this season — and it could've been longer — with a broken bone in his left foot. He hurt it while trying to plant the foot as he carried the ball on the second play of the second game of the season at Collinsville.
"I felt it pop," the 5-foot-8, 150-pound senior wide receiver-cornerback said. "I ran a couple of yards and it started hurting. The doctor on the sideline tried to wrap it up because he thought it was dislocated. It kept hurting and I knew it was something bad."
X-rays later showed the break. Nicodin faced the possibility of being out as much as eight weeks, which would've been the rest of this season.
”They told me if we made the playoffs, I would be able to play," he said.
But Nicodin wanted to return sooner.
He had surgery, including the insertion of a screw in the broken bone to speed up the healing. He went through the rehabilitation, which included light jogging. The pain in his foot was only surpassed by his sadness.
"It was tearing me up inside that I couldn't play," Nicodin said.
So he pushed it — a little.
After the rehabilitation, Nicodin returned to the doctor who did the surgery and got good news.
"The foot healed faster than they expected," he said. "He asked me if I had been running on it and I had.
“He told me I could play. I almost started crying because I was so excited. My mother started tearing up."
Nicodin played sparingly in his first game back against Sallisaw two weeks ago and a little more last week in a key game for the Hornets against Tulsa Webster. In that 51-29 win over the Warriors, he ran for 28 yards including two touchdowns, caught a 12-yard pass and later made a tackle.
Now, Nicodin is ready to hit the field tonight against the Bulldogs in a game the Hornets have to win if they want to advance to the playoffs next week.
The only person that's happier about Nicodin returning is coach Don Hendrix.
"He gives us one more guy going against a team which will put guys out there who can run,” he said. “We'll need his speed out there to cover their great receivers because they can jump and catch the ball. It's good to have him back."
Wagoner coach Dale Condict knows his Bulldogs also need to win to keep playing in the postseason. He also realizes Nicodin is a player his team has to be wary of.
“He has a lot of speed and is a good athlete,” Condict said. “It ought to be a good game with everything that’s on the line. The intensity should be pretty high.”
Nicodin, a member of the Hornets' 400-meter relay team during track season, has already formed his plan when he's on offense and defense against the Bulldogs.
"They're a fast team with a good quarterback," he said. "He (quarterback Prince McJunkins) is pretty quick. He makes you miss. I have be sure nothing gets outside of me.
"If he throws the ball, I have to knock it down. When I'm running with the ball, I need to try to outrun their defense. It's a big game."
