Battling adversity

Sheridan senior working through injuries

By Eric Moore

LITTLE ROCK — Two years ago as a sophomore at Cabot High School, Vince Aguilar set the state of Arkansas on fire with his performance out of the backfield.

Then disaster struck. A knee injury in the offseason prior to his junior year forced Aguilar to sit out the season and watch the games from the sideline.

Fast for ward a year, and Aguilar is back in his hometown of Sheridan expected to lead a high-powered ground attack for the Yellowjackets. But again Aguilar was bitten by the injury bug, suffering a concussion during the first game of the season against Arkadelphia.

Bad news has been the status quo for Aguilar’s playing time the past two years, and upon his return to the field this year after the concussion, a high-ankle sprain forced him to sit out another couple of games, including the conference opener against Lake Hamilton.

“I’m very frustrated,” Aguilar said. “It’s hard when people are counting on you.”

The injuries are doubly frustrating for Aguilar, because w it hout him in t he game, Sheridan suffered two consecutive blowouts.

The self-described vocal leader who “hates losing,” Aguilar studies the game and corrects any mistakes he finds. It’s only natural that he is so enamored with football, because his father, J.R., has been “preaching about football” since Aguilar was a year old.

By the time he was 4, he knew all the positions, and by his sixth birthday he could identify penalties without the aid of a referee.

With the wealth of football knowledge in his head, Aguilar hopes he can stay healthy long enough to take his skills from the backfield of Sheridan to the backfield of a collegiate team.

“I hope to play football incollege,” Aguilar said. “And I dream of [playing in] the NFL.”

Aguilar believes his versatility on the field - providing he can stay healthy - will be the key to him making the jump up to the collegiate level. Offensively he plays running back, where his speed is an asset, and on defense, he can play a multitude of positions utilizing both his size and speed.

Although he would have gotten a lot more touches in Cabot’s run-first, run-second and run-some more offense, he is happy that he is back where he grew up.

“The plays are more complex here,” Aguilar said. “I think more here.”

Not to mention it was Sheridan where the love for the sport first began. Since being taught appreciation football at such a young age, the thought of doing anything else baffles Aguilar. Even when it comes to recreation. He plays football for his school, and he is all business, but in his spare time, he plays football with his friends, football v ideo games or watches the NFLNetwork.

He keeps tabs on all the best running backs in the nation such as LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson, who Aguilar says have helped shape him as a runner.

With Aguilar being influenced by such high-caliber talent, it is no wonder that the pressure of being the feature back at Sheridan did not faze him in the least.

“Pressure makes me strive to be better, to play better,” Aguilar said. “I thought we had a solid team already, and I was told I was going to be a big part of the offense. I’m just out there trying to do the best for my team.”

Even with all eyes on him, Aguilar gives the rest of his team all of the credit for any success they have. He would rather be known as a hard worker on a great team than an exceptional player on a mediocre team.

“This team has some of the best talent in the state,” Aguilar said. “Coach White is a great coach; he deserves more credit for what he’s done. We’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

Tri-Lakes, Pages 132 on 10/05/2008