Talented High School Football Player faces career-risking injury

By Alejandro Montes ’28

At the doctor’s office in August, Jake McCreery ’28 received the information that he might need surgery for his knee. As a football player, Jake could be tremendously affected by this operation.

McCreery was born near Portland, Oregon, in 2010. In 2015, Jake and his family moved to Phoenix, where his dad had gotten a job. McCreery attended St. Thomas the Apostle School. Often seeing graduating kids from his school go to Brophy and having a sister and mom who both went to Xavier, it was natural for McCreery to apply.

In his freshman year, Jake started on the football team, where he performed exceptionally. However, the sport he loved led to problems with his knee. McCreery explained that it was “mostly genetics [that] led to [his] knee dislocation.” Paired with football practice and games, as well as his great height and shallow grooves, Jake has since dislocated his knee two additional times.

McCreery explained how the first two times he dislocated his knee, he didn’t think much of it. He thought of them as only setbacks, rather than a life-altering injury. However, the third and most recent time, Jake felt a sense of fear.

After the news from the doctor, McCreery knew his knee injury could become serious. Since then, Jake has had to stop playing and won’t for another 4–6 months.

When asked about how his knee would affect his athletics, McCreery said, “The surgery is the one thing that’s holding me back in football.”

While knee injuries in football are common, Jake’s is more severe, as knee dislocation is much less common than tears or sprains, let alone three of them.

Jake explains that he’s learned to be more cautious with what he’s doing, as he knows that just one more knee injury could prevent him from playing football.