NEWFANE, N.Y. — This football season, Newfane Senior High Varsity players are thinking about more than the numbers on a scoreboard. They're also thinking about their health.
"I wanna protect my head as much as possible, I don't wanna be all messed up in the head because of football. I like football but I don't wanna be like that," said Richie Doxey, team captain.
For Doxey, the reality of traumatic brain injuries in the sport hits close to home. Just last year, his brother, Colin collapsed after taking a hit during a game.
"When I first saw it, he just fell straight on the turf, and I just ran straight out there," said Richie.
"As soon as I got hit and I went down and I was unconscious for seemed to me about a minute, that's what my mom said. As soon as I woke up, I was scared," Colin said as he recalled the scary moments.
After that collision, Colin was the first on the team to start wearing Guardian caps. A soft-shell helmet cover engineered to reduce the impact of player collisions in football.
And now this season, the entire team is getting the opportunity to protect their heads, while playing the game they love.
"These are guardian caps, they go on our helmets with some straps and basically protect our heads a little more."
When Mr. and Mrs. Thompson came in and said we're gonna take care of the cost and make sure every varsity football player in Newfane has one, I was over the moon excited, said head coach Chuck Nagel.
Doug and Becky Thompson, insurance agency owners and husband and wife duo, teamed up this season to donate guardian caps to four varsity football programs - free of cost.
"We know the NFL requires it for practice and so having it on younger kids, I thought was more important. I also have a family who is disabled from concussion so there's some driving force there as well," said Doug.
The use of guardian caps has been growing in popularity in recent years. In a new move this season, the NFL authorized padded caps for in-game use.
"I know our young guys here look up to the college and the NFL guys so I think that's a big push, watching the pros wear them. But for these guys to put them on here to wear them in practice and possibly in games, to help keep their brains and their heads safe, I think it's a very mature decision for these young guys to be making and I'm super proud," said Coach Nagel.
But many question just how effective these caps are when it comes to preventing traumatic head injuries.
"They really do reduce the amount of impact force, now unfortunately, a lot of concussions don't just deal with the impact force or the amount of impact being applied directly to the spot," said Matuszak.
Dr. Jason Matuszak is the Chief of Sports Medicine at Excelsior Orthopedics.
He says what is perhaps more harmful than an initial concussion, is allowing the athlete back on the field too early. But he says the field has taken giant leaps to help prevent long-term damage when it comes to brain injuries.
"That's why now all athletes that sustain a concussion have to go through a phased return to play program that is supervised by a licensed healthcare professional," said Dr. Matuszak.