"I knew if I went after it there would be a collision, but I never thought I'd get my face hit," he said. "So we all went after it, collided and somehow a foot hit my face. That's what we think anyway. No one really knows because we don't have it on film."

By the time Aledo coach Derek Vierling reached Underwood on the field, the swelling under the player's left cheek was the size of a golf ball.  By the time Underwood was taken to the sideline, "it was the size of a softball," Vierling said.  Surgery was performed the next morning.

"They put together all the shattered bones and then put a metal plate on top of them," Underwood said.

Just like that, Aledo was without its best player before ever playing an actual game. Underwood was essential in the Bearcats' run to the regional quarterfinals last season.  It was unclear when Underwood would return, and he definitely was missed. Aledo scored eight goals in the 11 games that he was out and went 4-3-4 over that period.

"We had a bunch of forwards, but no center midfielders," Underwood said. "That's why we weren't able to create opportunities like we are now."

In the five games since Underwood's return, Aledo is 4-1-0 with 14 goals, and six assists by Underwood.

"It's just his presence," Vierling said. "Everybody breathed a sigh of relief when he was able to come back."

That one loss came on February 22 to Saginaw Boswell, which snapped Aledo's five-year district unbeaten streak with a 3-2 win. Boswell (4-0-1 in District 12-4A) leads Aledo (4-1-0) by one point in the district standings. The two meet March 11 at Boswell.