The Milford Sports BLOG

MILFORD—Brian Gonzalez simply didn’t look like himself.

He wasn’t moving the way the Jonathan Law football coaching staff had seen him move over the course of his breakout sophomore season. He was slower. His cuts didn’t have the same precision.

Even Gonzalez knew something was going on.

“I played my sophomore season with some back issues, heavy issues,” the Jonathan Law senior wideout confessed after Saturday’s practice, where the Lawmen were preparing for Tuesday’s state Class SS playoff game against Ledyard. “We didn’t know what the issue was and then going into my junior season, my coaches noticed. ‘You’re moving really slow’, this and that, and I wasn’t feeling good at all. Was just in pain all the time, running. I went to go get it checked out. Doctor said I had a herniated disc.”

Doctors assumed Gonzalez injured his back while weightlifting.

Surgery soon followed and just like that Gonzalez, a key cog in Law’s offensive game plan, was gone for the season.

His coaches realized that Gonzalez’s entire football career might be over, as well.

“You hear of that kind of thing, you hear ‘back injuries’ and you don’t usually hear that about a 15-year-old kid,” Law coach Ryan Pearson said. “I was thinking, ‘I don’t know if a doctor’s ever going to clear this kid again. We may never see the kid get to play football again.’”

And if Gonzalez did make it back to the playing field?

“What kind of kid is even going to return?” Pearson queried.

The answer was a game-changing player who was better than he was before.

“We saw it in the off season, seven on seven and all that stuff,” Pearson said. “You saw him moving and it’s like he’s gotten faster somehow. He’s looking the best he’s ever looked. A lot of kids take that step going into their senior year, but with his circumstances it was so impressive.”

So have his numbers.

Unofficially, through the first nine games this season, Gonzalez has been the No. 1 target for Law junior quarterback Matthew Witteman.

Going into the Foran game on Thanksgiving morning, Gonzalez had been targeted a team-high 36 times for 739 yards—or 20.5 yards per catch. He’s scored four touchdowns.

“I’m just truly blessed to be in the position I’m in again,” Gonzalez said.

Even Witteman wasn’t 100 percent sure what kind of player would be back on the field for the Lawmen, but as a teammate and close friend to Gonzalez he knew full well the kind of athlete that would try to make such a comeback.

“It was a pretty big injury, so I honestly did not think he was going to come back,” Witteman said. “We spent a lot of time in the offseason together, came to the field a lot, just kept working. He’s a really hard worker and I knew he was hungry to get back on the field. I really built a really good connection with him and all that is paying off now.”

For Gonzalez, the football journey to Tuesday’s first round of the CIAC Class SS playoffs began in the Milford-Stratford Flag Football league.

He started playing in fourth grade and only switched to tackle football once he arrived at Law as a freshman.

Still his athleticism and his talent led to him to playing a small role on that Law team that went 10-2 behind quarterback and UConn-bound player John Neider, the 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year.

Now, as a senior, fully recovered from the back surgery that could have ended his career, Gonzalez can be found in a variety of different positions for the Lawmen.

He might be lined up in the slot as a receiver. You might find him at tight end. There might even be a down or two the Law staff puts him in the sniffer role, a fullback-like role because Gonzalez is a good blocker, as well.

“He’s a tremendous blocker, he’s a great route runner,” Pearson said. “It’s great to have.”

More than anything, though, Gonzalez has returned to the field more mature, a leader even though he is not a captain for the team.

“The way he’s come back, just the kid is honestly, he’s essentially a captain without being a captain,” Pearson said. “He really is the leader of that receiver crew.”

Getting back on the field for one last season meant everything to Gonzalez.

Now, he’s here and he’s getting at least one extra game with this postseason appearance and hopefully more.

At 8-2, the season has been a memorable one.

“Starting off the season, we weren’t sure what our record would be,” Gonzalez said. “I heard 2-8, 6-4. Thankfully, we went out and proved our point. The journey back had its highs and lows, but I just wanted to get back out here and prove myself.”

With Gonzalez’s back injuries, officially been him, he’s proven one thing this season.

Brian Gonzalez is back.

(On The Sidelines is an occasional column written by Milford Sports Blog publisher John Nash)