After one text message Greg Meisner just learned that his son, Shane, had scored the winning run in a section-title-clinching baseball victory for Hempfield Area.

A few minutes later, another text message, sent from his older son who was still at the game, informed the elder Meisner that his son was on the ground holding his knee.

After talking to the trainer who was at the game, Greg Meisner, the athletic director at Hempfield, returned to the field where he had left earlier to attend an awards banquet. His son had a torn anterior cruciate ligament and his seasons were over.

The injury did not just end the baseball season in which his team was advancing to the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs, but also the upcoming football season where Shane was set to return as the starting quarterback. Another season may have ended for Shane, too, one even more costly.

His freshman year of college was now in jeopardy. Before the ACL injury schools such as Pitt, Syracuse and Kentucky were calling and interested in having Meisner play for them as a defensive back, linebacker or defensive end. After being hit from behind by a group of fans who had rushed the field in celebration after the 16-15 Hempfield win against Greater Latrobe on May 7, his plans changed dramatically.

All of a sudden, prep schools and junior colleges came into the picture and one Pitt coach offered the option that maybe Meisner could take a "grayshirt" before enrolling the following year.

"Right when it happened, my first thought was from a football standpoint that this jeopardizes the season," Shane Meisner said. "I was supposed to go to all these camps and that's the first thing I thought about."

Meisner still hopes to attend the University of Kentucky camp where his brother. Greg is currently playing.

As shocked and disappointed about how the injury happened, Greg Meisner knew this was just a small hurdle that could be overcome. After all, he went through the same surgery 26 years ago when he was playing for the Los Angeles Rams. He had the surgery only two years into his NFL career but returned to finish an 11-year playing career.

Shane Meisner knows what it takes to rehab from injuries, too. During the football season he sustained a broken collarbone twice and was able to return. While rehabbing those injuries, he built his leg strength and got up to 235 pounds at the time of his recent injury.

"Last year he played at 195 and now he was at 235. When he got hurt, he was the same size I was as a junior at Pitt," Greg Meisner said.

"He is just faster than I was and more agile. His arms are 2 inches longer than mine and he is more fluid, he has a lot of upside to him. He probably would have been the best kept secret in the WPIAL next year."

Besides worrying about his son's future, Greg Meisner must also find a replacement at quarterback for Hempfield where he serves as the school's head football coach in addition to being the AD.

A trio of sophomores will vie for the starting position this coming season. Dante Nania and Garret Trent, who both saw varsity time last year, and Dolan Facchine will compete for the job.

They can expect Shane to still be there at every practice and game helping in any way he can.

"He is a natural leader and one of the things he has done already is get all the guys together and act like a leader was supposed to be in terms of keeping the guys in line," Meisner said.

"He will be a student of the game and he will learn the game that way and see what it's like to be a coach."