DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Sage Hill’s Ayres again shoulders the load

For three seasons, Don Ayres was bullet-proof on the football field, delivering punishment while collecting yards, touchdowns and accolades with an undeniable determination.

Not content to rest on those laurels, however, he put himself through a rigorous offseason training program, more than doubling the work required of other Lightning players by their coaches.

But in the first game of what was to be the crowning season of a memorable four-year varsity career, Ayres’ left shoulder popped out of its socket while he made what he thought would be a routine tackle on an off-tackle running play.

“I could tell something was wrong, because my arm was frozen,” said the 6-foot, 185-pound senior linebacker and tailback.

The shoulder dislocation also tore the meniscus, a combination that made at least one doctor declare him through for the season.

“When that doctor said I was out for the season, I thought to myself, ‘OK, thanks for your input, but there’s no way that is going to happen,’ ” Ayres said.

A second opinion offered some hope and Ayres seized upon it like an oncoming ballcarrier.

What followed was three weeks of rehabilitation and the acquisition of an intricate brace that helps cinch down his shoulder under his pads.

Ayres missed two games — a pain more excruciating, he said, than any emanating from his shoulder — then was eased back into the fray by Coach Tom Monarch.

“Knowing the warrior Don is, I talked with him before we let him come back,” Monarch said. “We told him we needed to think of his long-term future and he was going to have to trust us.”

In his first game back, Monarch limited him to 16 carries and utilized him at safety, rather than linebacker.

His second game back, Monarch refused to play him on defense and, when he eventually returned to linebacker, it was at the right outside spot, not his familiar middle linebacker role.

In four games since, Ayres has amassed 546 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on just 67 carries. He has also caught seven passes for 119 yards and two TDs during that stretch.

In the Lightning’s 48-14 Academy League win over Capistrano Valley Christian Saturday, he ran for 177 yards and four TDs on 21 carries. The Daily Pilot Player of the Week also caught two passes for 11 yards.

Ayers scored on runs of 50, 45, 29 and seven yards. It was the first four-TD game of a career that includes 2,837 rushing yards, 389 receiving yards and 45 touchdowns. And that’s just his offense.On defense, Ayres has twice earned All-Newport-Mesa honors, and has become renowned as one of the biggest hitters in his division.

Ayres said he is just thrilled to be participating.

“I’m just now getting to where I feel like I’m playing how I always wanted to play,” Ayres said.

Monarch said he would love to have anyone else playing at Ayres’ level, good shoulder or not.

“He’s one of my favorites in my coaching career,” Monarch said. “He works as hard as anyone I’ve ever had and he plays his guts out. In the last two years, his bench press has gone from 220 pounds to 300 and his time in the 40-yard dash has gone from 4.9 seconds to 4.6.”

Monarch said his biggest improvement, however, may be his knowledge of the game.

“He can break down video like a coach,” Monarch said. “I could really foresee him coaching one day. He just has that coaching mentality.”

Ayres said coaching may be in his future, though playing college football may not.

“I’m still deciding whether or not I want to play in college,” he said. “It will probably depend on whether I go to a small school, where football is an option, or whether I wind up at a bigger school, where I will probably just watch from the stands.”

Ayres couldn’t bear watching this season from the stands, however, and his presence has helped the Lightning clinch a CIF Northeast Division playoff berth. Sage, ranked No. 5 in the Northeast Division, will meet No. 1-ranked St. Margaret’s (9-0, 3-0) Friday night at 6 at home in a showdown for the league title.