Stepping off the field due to injury is tough to watch, and the St. Thomas football team has seen it happen to two top-string quarterbacks this season.

Coach Glenn Caruso said the team continues to move forward despite the injuries.

“One of the things I’m big on is when someone goes down, whether it’s a quarterback or whether it’s a linebacker, whether it’s their head coach, the program is not going to stop. It’s going to move forward,” Caruso said.

Coming back for a fifth year, quarterback Ben Duncan looked to end his final season on a positive note. After suffering a knee injury early in October, Duncan still remains part of the team from the sidelines to fill the void of not playing.

“If I still have the opportunity to be around it, to be down on the field with the guys, I’ll never give that up,” Duncan said.

Duncan said seeing teammate Matt O’Connell experience a season-ending ankle injury was difficult to watch.

“I felt it just because I know what it feels like, and I’ve had my share of injuries, too. My heart went out to him,” Duncan said.

But for O’Connell, he sees his own injury as a life lesson.

“In the whole realm of things it just makes you realize how much you should appreciate the things you have in life,” O’Connell said. “Through all the trials or the triumphs, you have to just know what really matters.”

Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.