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And there are moments that take players to great heights, and single seconds tripping them to the greatest depths.
We marvel at those monumental instances. We divert our eyes and work to get the low points out of mind.
Ten days ago, there were two instances that happened about 75 miles apart and provided two emotional extremes.
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On the positive side was Ian Lane, a Williamsport offensive lineman who doubles as a linebacker. He was on the top of the world.
He was living the good life after rumbling, bumbling and stumbling as he returned two interceptions for touchdowns during the Wildcats’ victory over Smithsburg.
Then the bone-chilling worst came when Boonsboro’s Chance Haga laid motionless on the Greenway Avenue Stadium turf field after being floored by an illegal, blindside block on the final play of the Warriors’ rousing 17-3 win over Allegany.
One caused great celebration. The latter tempered and took the luster off of an important victory.
Each was a large story in the moment, but for very different reasons.
For Lane, it was a surreal collection of emotions.
“I think about (scoring touchdowns),” he said. I never thought it could actually happen. The first one, it was a clear field. The second one, I’m giving it all to my team. I’ve never seen them block like that before. … That was just a great team effort.”
And in it all, Lane was man enough to show his emotions.
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“(On the first one), I was down to the 10 or the 5, when no one hit me,” he said. “I realized I got my first pick-six. I screamed like a little girl. I’m not going to lie.”
He might have been the least likely Wildcat to accomplish the feat. Lane is athletic enough to play both positions, but admittedly isn’t one to make anyone forget about Usain Bolt.
“(On the second interception), I thought they were going to catch me from behind,” Lane said. “You can see from the video … I’m not that fast at all.
“(Ashton) Redman on Smithsburg, he’s a helluva player and a fast guy. I could hear him coming up behind me. I really thought he was going to get me on that one.”
Lane went on to thank his teammates, who blocked like a mighty convey escorting him to the end zone, basically untouched.
“When I got into the end zone, I was just really happy,” Lane said. “I looked back and saw all my teammates. The second one, that was all of them. I soaked in the moment with them when I got into the end zone. That one was team effort and everything.”
Then it was time to celebrate again.
“I was screaming like a little girl again,” he said.
In Cumberland, there was very little screaming and a lot of praying.
Haga was hit from behind while trying to run an Allegany ballcarrier out of bounds in the final seconds of the win over the Campers.
He was hit in such a way that he landed on the back of his neck and shoulder, resulting in a contusion on his spinal cord with a T1 vertebrae fracture, a slight concussion and a separated shoulder.
I was just gonna run the kid out of bounds,” Haga said “I guess the other kid was trying to get a block, and then he just hit me from behind.
“It was kinda like the way he hit me. It shocked me. I landed the wrong way on the ground.”
Right then, the air left Greenway Avenue Stadium. A guy who was key to the Warriors’ quick start this season was literally stopped in his tracks.
“I rolled on my back and everything was like, kind of like, numb,” Haga said. "I kept going in and out of consciousness.”
Haga was transported to UPMC Western Maryland hospital in Cumberland, then airlifted by helicopter to West Virginia University in case of any spinal injury. In the interim, the shock of the situation wore off.
“I was a little scared at first,” Haga said about regaining consciousness. “Then, after the helicopter ride, when I got to WVU, I started to feel a lot better. The tingling in my legs went away. … I could start walking again. My shoulder is a little messed up, but other than that, it wasn’t too bad.”
Fortunately, the shock caused by the immediate impact wore off. Haga returned home the next day to continue his recovery.
Now he’s making plans to get back on the field to play and close out his senior year.
The contrast doesn’t stop there.
We watch our young people go out and play. There’s hopes of making a signature play or two, like Lane.
It’s a chance to get noticed and maybe catch the eye of a college coash.
Yet we never consider the possibility of injury, like the one Haga suffered.
Every time a teenager plays anything, he or she is one misstep away from a serious incident.
Some change dreams, ending any athletic future while possibly altering the way someone lives the rest of his or her life.
It’s truly a case of shoot for the best, but prepare for the worst.
That’s the starkest of contrasts.
Shoot for the stars, but hang on tightly to what you have. The future isn’t a given and can change in a blink.
Contrast has a strange way of setting the middle ground.
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