Tuesday, December 07, 2021

GoFundMe helping #9 Brock Klosterman, Linfield Football Linebacker


GoFundMe helping #9 Brock Klosterman, Linfield Football Linebacker

The gofundme posting which follows concerns Linfield football player/linebacker #9 Brock Klosterman of Tigard.

See Brock Klosterman’s Linfield football biography at this URL:

https://golinfieldwildcats.com/sports/football/roster/brock-klosterman/15865

URL source of the GoFundMe posting:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/brocks-medical-therapy-travel-expense-fund

If you would like to support the fundraiser, go to the GoFundMe URL. If you have questions, please contact organizer Mindi Person via the contact box at the GoFundMe page. Click on the rectangular box to the right of her name.

Brock's Medical, Therapy & Travel Expense Fund

Hi, my name is Mindi Person and I am the mom of a Linfield University Football player and would like to share a fundraiser to help cover medical needs, travel expenses and future therapy/recovery expenses for Brock Klosterman.

 

On Saturday, during the D3 quarterfinal game in Texas, Brock, who is a Linebacker, was injured on a play late in the game. At first, to those of us in the stands, it appeared he might have a concussion and he remained on the sidelines while in obvious discomfort. After the game, the team doctor told his parents, dad Fritz and stepmom Erin, that they should decide if he could travel home on the flight with the team or go to the ER - in his words he could go either way. As parents often know better, and Brock seemed to be deteriorating, they quickly drove him to the nearest ER in Temple, TX.

 

Upon admitting Brock to the ER, they determined he had multiple internal injuries including contusions to his heart, lungs and kidneys as well as a hemorrhaging adrenal gland. His stats were low, he was not getting enough oxygen with his lungs filling with fluid and his heart rate and blood pressure were extremely low as well. Within a short time, Brock was intubated and headed to the ICU.

 

In the three days he has been in the ICU, there have been highs and lows. His blood pressure and heart rate have been worrisome, but are finally beginning to improve. However, he has now developed an infection in his lungs and the fluid that had been draining returned. Brock is a fighter and the cardio doctors are pleased with the improvement in his heart and his fever from the infection appears to have broken today. Hopefully, they will move him out of ICU to a regular bed in the hospital in the next day or so.

 

As any of us can imagine, this has been so stressful for his family and they have incurred so many extra costs already in a hotel room, rental car and then having to rebook flights home when Brock is ready to travel and to bring Brock home as he was supposed to return with the team. It is unknown how expensive medical bills will be, while he does have insurance, we all know how much the things insurance doesn't cover can add up- especially after days in the ICU and considering he will need some therapy when he returns home as well.

 

I recognize this time of the year is often hard on the household budgets, and if donating to this fund is any strain at all for you - please just send up prayers or thoughts for positive healing for Brock and love to his family. This could have been any one of our kids all the years they have played football and we just want to show that we take care of our own!!

 

Roll Cats Forever!!!

Mindi

 

  • Today by Mindi Person, Organizer

We can't possibly thank all of you enough for your generosity!! Not only have you shown you care with your donations, but with your messages which Brock, Fritz and Erin are reading and with your hearts and prayers!!

 

We have already had a handful of people in the Temple area reach out, including the sports department at UMHB, to offer up help and offers of meals, coffee, blankets, laundry and places to sleep! You all are wonderful and again, saying "Thank You" doesn't seem nearly enough!!!

  • Today by Mindi Person, Organizer

Today has been mostly positive news and meant that Brock has moved from the ICU to a general hospital bed. This means he has been able to get better rest, albeit in a sitting position to help keep his heart rate and blood pressure up.

 

Brock's kidney function has now returned to normal and all his other numbers are still improving. There are still a number of milestones he needs to pass in order to be released from the hospital including being off the steroids that he is taking for the adrenal gland, more positive heart function and being off the oxygen tank entirely. His blood pressure is still really low, but the dr says that is also due to his youth. His overall breathing is still lower than needed as well, but that has to due with the bruising on his lungs in addition to the infection.

 

Today he also had another heart echocardiogram and it shows progress but one area of his heart is healing slower than the rest, an indication of his viral infection/myocarditis.

 

He has a heart MRI scheduled for tomorrow morning, this afternoon they are modifying his medications. If he continues to improve, optimistically, they could release him from the hospital with a mobile heart monitor for a few weeks as a precaution.

 

To pass time, Erin and Fritz are treating him to movies of the 90's, as he is a captive audience for now!! Your messages have meant the world to them all and the donations will help make the financial burden much less a worry! Thank you from all of us!!

 


Monday, December 06, 2021

UMHB ends Dec. 4th Linfield Football's quest for 2921 NCAA title in Belton, Texas

 


UMHB ends Linfield Football's quest for  2021 NCAA title in Belton, Texas

Dec. 4, 2021 from Linfield Sports Info 

BELTON, Texas – Linfield quarterback Wyatt Smith passed for 442 yards and three touchdowns but the No. 7 Wildcats were outscored 49-24 by second-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday in a highly anticipated quarterfinal matchup of NCAA Division III unbeatens at Crusader Stadium.

 Champion of the Northwest Conference, Linfield (11-1), saw its quest for a national championship derailed by the Cru in the playoffs for the third time since 2016.

 UMHB (13-0) advances to the Division III semifinals on Saturday, Dec. 11, against Wisconsin-Whitewater. The game site will be announced Sunday by the NCAA.

 Smith, a Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist, had an exceptional afternoon passing, completing 42 of 51 throws without an interception. But he was sacked five times by the UMHB defense, including two each by Khevon Shepard and Sante Parker.

 Wildcats receiver Joel Valadez caught 13 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns and Connor Morton had seven receptions out of the backfield. Linfield's running game was held to 30 net yards on 24 attempts.

 UMHB quarterback Kyle King also posted a career day behind center, passing for 345 yards and six touchdowns. Brandon Jordan pulled in three of those scores while Benton Martin caught two TDs and K.J. Miller had the other.

 Linfield drew first blood, capping its opening possession with a 21-yard field goal by Andrew Starkel. The Wildcats had marched 14 plays to the UMHB 4-yard line, but three straight running plays netted just a single yard, forcing the Wildcats to settle for the chip-shot field goal.

The Cru answered five minutes later, connecting on a 58-yard halfback option pass from Miller to Jordan.

 The Wildcats again marched deep inside Cru territory, but the UMHB defense tightened and Starkel's 31-yard field goal try on fourth down was no good, leaving the score at 7-3.

 Midway through the second quarter, Jordan pulled in his second TD catch from King from 11 yards out, capping a 13-play, 80-yard drive and pushing the Crusader lead to 14-3.

 Linfield advanced as far as the UMHB 25, but a Devon Murray's fumble after a catch was recovered by Jefferson Fritz. Five plays later, following King's 57-yard bomb to Martin, the Cru led comfortably, 21-3.

 Smith kept the Wildcats within striking distance, finding Connor McNabb on a 70-yard catch-and-run. Starkel's extra point made it 21-10 in favor of the hosts.

 Jordan and King hooked up once more before intermission, this time from 20 yards away, to take a commanding 18-point advantage.

 Linfield forced UMHB to put on its opening drive of the second half, and Smith and the Wildcats marched 65 yards to the end zone in six plays. Valadez corralled Smith's pass at the 30 and raced to the goal line, pulling the 'Cats to within 28-17.

 King passed for two more scores in a three-minute span midway through the third quarter, first a 15-yarder to Miller followed by a 41-yard rainbow to Jordan, extending the Cru's lead to 42-17.

Smith drew the Wildcats to within 42-24, hitting Valadez for a 10-yard score with 12:37 remaining.

The Cru added the icing on the cake as King hit tight end Gary Ruckman for a 4-yard score with 3:05 left.

With three scoring passes on Saturday, Smith became Linfield's all-time leader in touchdown passes (111), moving in front of former Wildcats All-American Brett Elliott's long-standing record of 110. Smith also eclipsed the career mark for touchdowns responsible (120), moving ahead of Sam Riddle's standing record of 118.

 In his final game as a Wildcat, senior safety Tyler Bergeron made eight tackles, including five unassisted. Ben Baxter added seven stops and Travis Swanson was credited with six.

'CAT SCRATCH -- Temperature at kickoff was 71 degrees . . . Linfield outgained UMHB 442-403 but went 5 for 16 on third down. . . the Wildcats forced no defensive turnovers and allowed the Cru to rush for 135 yards. . . Smith's 42 pass completions was also a career-best and stand as the second-highest single-game completions total in program history.