Ja’Marr Chase likely done at Rummel due to knee injury

The brilliant career of wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase at Archbishop Rummel is likely done.

Chase suffered what appears to be a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in the Raiders’ 55-28 opening round playoff victory over C.E. Byrd last Friday in Shreveport, though nothing has been stated by the family as of yet. At this point, surgery is not planned, according to Rummel athletic director Phil Greco.

Still, it appears Chase has played his last down for the Raiders, according to Raiders head coach Jay Roth.

“He had an MRI yesterday and there is nothing official yet but we are not planning on having him available,” Roth said. “He has a great career ahead of him and we want to make sure that is in place. Ja’Marr wants to play. He is a great competitor. He was fabulous last week. He left the stadium dead silent with his play. I have never heard that before.”

Chase had nine catches for 126 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 92 yards and returned kicks for 56 yards in a tremendous performance against Byrd.

Chase finishes his brilliant senior season with 61 catches for 1,011 yards and 15 touchdowns with just one drop. He rushed 16 times for 102 yards and returned a kick for a touchdown. If his Rummel career is indeed done, Chase finished with 115 receptions for 2,152 yards and 30 touchdowns.

“He set records in a single season for catches, yards and touchdowns,” Roth said. “We knew he would be that way when he was as a sophomore. He was a good teammate and unselfish, a good, hard working player. He is one of the best to ever come through Rummel.”

It has been an injury-plagued season for Rummel.

The Raiders will be without starting offensive lineman Anthony Harrison again, along with running back Dwan Trufant, wide receiver Koy Moore and tight end Jackson Dennies when the Raiders return to Shreveport to face top-seed Evangel Friday night. They did get offensive lineman Casey Manning and Ronald Ross back to bolster their offensive front. Both had missed significant time with injuries.

“This ranks right up there with the worst years we’ve ever had with injuries to key players,” Roth said. “It happens from time to time. You simply have to deal with it. There are no excuses. Depth is an issue. I was proud of the way we played last week. It gives us a bit of momentum.”

Roth understand what is it like to deal with Evangel. The Eagles handled the Raiders in the 5A semifinals in 2001 (41-10) and in 2002 (39-0), the latter at Rodney Duron Stadium. Evangel beat the Raiders 7-5 in the regional round of the playoffs in 2003.

“Evangel is the defending champion,” Roth said. “They have only lost to a national powerhouse. Everywhere you look, they have big-time players. They are worthy of their rankings and are the best team in the state, based on what they accomplished last year and who they are this year. We will show up and play with what we have.”

Roth has not forgotten the last time Rummel made the trip to Evangel.

“We went there in 2002 and it was not a good result,” Roth said. “It was a similar situation. We had beaten Byrd in Shreveport the week before and won 21-20 in overtime and had to return to Shreveport to face the best team in the state and they handed it to us. They are that type of program. We know what we are up against.”