Near-death experience not enough to hold back Espino

SAN JUAN — For one moment, Gilbert Espino thought he’d never play football ever again.

But just for a moment.

A boating accident the summer preceding his junior year, nearly ended the PSJA running back’s dream of playing high school football for the Bears.

But a relentless will to play wouldn’t allow the 6-foot, 215-pound Jim Brown-like ball carrier to sit out.

Espino came back earlier than expected for his junior campaign and turned in a stellar effort in his first game back.

Espino burned the Edinburg Bobcats for 112 yards and two scores on 18 carries in Week Six of the 2008 season.

Espino went on to gain more than 600 yards in seven games, including the playoffs.

This season, Espino’s rushed for 1,207 yards and 15 TDs in nine games.

Despite a down year for the Bears, Espino’s emerged as one of the top ball carriers in District 31-5A and the entire Valley for that matter.

But it nearly wasn’t to be.

Espino’s playing career and life nearly ended on a fateful afternoon in July 2008. It was a day that changed Espino’s life forever.

Man overboard
It started like any other Sunday in the summer.

It was hot and going to the beach was an obvious option.

For Espino and some of his cousins, it was a chance to take out the boat and inner tube for some summer fun.

But there wouldn’t be anything normal about July 20, 2008.

“There were about eight of us…cousins and some of my uncles,” Espino recalled. “We were just out there having fun. We were pulling a tube with our boat and having a good time. I got off the boat to help some of my cousins. That’s when I felt something grab my leg.”

That something was a propeller from the boat’s motor. And it didn’t grab Espino’s leg. It sliced it.

As Espino jumped into the water, the propeller cut Espino in his inner right thigh.

“As soon as I felt that, I looked around and the water was full of blood,” Espino said.

His family called for help and approximately 45 minutes after the accident, Espino made it to Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen.

Doctors told Espino that the propeller missed his main artery by less than inch. Had the blade cut through that artery, Espino said he might have bled to death on the water.

It’s a thought that still crosses his mind some times.

“You just have to live life to its fullest everyday,” Espino said. “It freaked me out a little.”

But not at first.

After Espino got cut, the first thing that came to his mind was football.

“I thought I wasn’t going to play anymore,” he said. “I thought that was the end of my playing days. Even afterward, my family and friends would tell to forget about it. I wouldn’t play anymore.”

Espino ended up receiving 64 stitches to patch up the wound.

Oh ye of big faith
Doctors told Espino he’d miss at least six months.

Espino was looking at January before he could compete. The season would be long over by then and he’d have to wait until his senior season if he wanted to play.

“The first two weeks were hard,” Espino said. “My parents had to help me do everything. After a couple more weeks, I started walking on my own.”

About two weeks after his accident, the Bears started two-a-days. Espino was at practice, but instead of dressing out in full pads, the then-junior stood on the sidelines on crutches.

“I wanted to be a part of it so bad,” he said. “But I couldn’t do much.”

Bears head coach Mel Rios and running backs coach Steve Flores expected much from Espino that season.

He was listed as a starter for the 2008 season but after the accident, Flores said the team quickly looked for a replacement.

“When we learned of the injury, we wrote him off the lineup,” Flores said. “But he surprised us. He worked hard to stay in shape and he tried to get better. What’s really surprising is that another inch and we’re not having this conversation at all.”

Indeed Espino worked hard and three months after the accident, he was back on the field for the Bears.

“I’ll always remember that my first game back was against the Edinburg Bobcats,” Espino said. “And I think I did well.”

Still running
The 2008 season ended with a Class 5A area loss to Sharyland. Espino fared well individually, considering he missed half the season.

But 2009 was another year. And expectations were high at PSJA once again.

As a team, the Bears haven’t come close to expectations. PSJA is 3-6 so far and missed on the postseason party with one game left in the regular season.

As for Espino, the scars remain on his leg as a reminder of his day on the beach in the summer of ‘08.

His stats remain as a reminder of the desire one young man has to play football. A year after he nearly lost his life, Espino had a season to remember. Out of nine games, Espino’s rushed for over 100 yards in seven games. He had a career-high 241 yards in a game against Harlingen South a few weeks back.

He’s rushed for over 1,500 yards and scored 15 TDs.

For Espino the memory is still there of the accident. So playing in 2009 was something he cherished — despite his team’s record.

“I was excited when the season started,” he said. “I never got to play against teams like Los Fresnos or McAllen last year. We’ve let some games slip away this season but we’re going to finish strong.”

And if the Bears are anything like their starting running back, expect a fight from the Bears every night.

“That will to come back says a lot about who Gilbert Espino is,” Rios said. “He’s a big kid and he’s a big presence on the field. Other kids look up to him and they’ve been looking up to him since he was in seventh and eighth grade.

“When he missed those games, everyone felt like something was missing. And it was he. He now serves as an example to other kids who don’t know the difference between pain and an injury. Gilbert had an injury and he came back. That tells me something about that kid.”

Eladio Jaimez is a sportswriter for Valley Freedom Newspapers.