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WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
Skin-slithering
bacteria attacks
SPORTS
By Grace Fletcher
Staff Writer
First you notice a small bump that
may easily be mistaken for a pimple
or a spider bite. It then morphs into
a puss pool, oozing from your pores
as it rapidly increases in red color
and size. Your irritated skin takes on
an incredible soreness, overwhelm
ing your body's sensors. You are
infected with Methicillin-Resistance
Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).
Most commonly found on athletes,
MRSA develops under the skin as
a type of staph infection, which is a
rapidly spreading bacterium that can
cause damage and, in some instances,
death. A small cut or wound on the
skin's surface is all it takes for the
infection to transfer.
Usually staph infections can be
treated with penicillin, but this par
ticular strain has developed a resis
tance to a majority of antibiotics and
penicillins.
Senior Andrew McClarmon, pitch
er and captain of Guilford's baseball
team, was informed by his coach,
Nick Black, of what precautions to
take when dealing with MRSA.
"Coach asks us to avoid the shar
ing of towels, clothing and uniforms,
and to wash (our) hands immediately,
since it spreads so easily," McQaimon
said. "Since there has already been a
case of MRSA on campus, we must
take extra precautious."
If the correct bodily cleansing
procedures are not taken, a staph
infection can become serious. Junior
Courtney Prince has witnessed the
severity of this infection first hand.
"One of my friends had gone
to sleep with an itchy puss-bump
on his hand. Thinking it was a bug
bite, he went to bed and by morning
his whole arm had turned purple
and began to feel tingly and numb,"
Prince said. "He was taken to the
hospital and was treated for MRSA.
He ended up having to have one of
his fingers amputated."
Guilford athletic trainer Kirsten
Schrader discussed how easy it is to
transfer this severe bacterium.
"Unknowingly, people may be car
riers of staph and may pass the infec
tion," Schrader said. "The simple act
of the carrier sneezing on their hand
and then shaking someone else's
hand that has an open cut or scrap on
it, could transfer the bacteria."
Schrader also spoke of the safety
measures that should be taken to
avoid contact with MRSA.
"Do not walk barefoot in any pub
lic locker room because blisters on the
feet may come in contact with bac
terium," Schrader said. "Also, con
stantly wash your hands and do not
share clothing or towels, and be sure
to wash all clothes in hot or bleached
water to assure disinfection."
If one has contracted MRSA, the
infection should be kept clean and
covered properly, on top of the pre
scribed 4-10 days of antibiotics.
After a week of training and
practicing in the grueling rain, the
football players of last Saturday's
football game awoke to a beautiful
day. Around 5:30 p.m., they put
on their uniforms and ran onto
Appenzeller field.
This game was different from
Guilford's typical Saturday night
football game, however, in that
the players wore flags. The play
ers were women and it was the
Powderpuff game.
The game was originally sched
uled for Friday evening, but was
moved to Saturday due to the
weather. The decision paid off,
with beautiful game-day condi
tions.
"The practices were interest
ing because it was hard to juggle
practices around schedules, and
we had a bimch of rain and stuff,"
said Martin Brown, a sophomore
and head coach of the underclass-
women team.
The game started out as an
offensive fest between the upper-
classwomen and the imderclass-
women. The upperclasswomen
scored first, only to be the matched
by their underclass rivals. The
dueling went back and forth with
upperclasswomen scoring then the
underclasswomen matching them.
At halftime the score was 21-21,
leading many fans to believe it
would be a battle of offense. But
major.
"I hope it was a fair game,"
said Dock Ragland, senior and
referee of the game.
The fourth quarter saw both
teams going deep on long passes,
with little developing until one
Fans came in scattered groups to view the
game. Although the stands weren't filled, the
game was a success, with lots of scoring and
some big plays.
as the game progressed, it became
a defensive fight.
Into the second half, both sides
had many valiant offensive efforts,
but all ending in turnovers and no
points. Penalties slowed the game
down and didn't help the offenses'
chances. There was some arguing
of calls by the coaches but nothing
pass was caught in the end zone.
It was no touchdown, however. It
ended up in the hands of first-year
Amanda Haungs, playing safety,
who turned the tide with her inter
ception.
"That pick at the end zone, that
was the game-changing perfor
mance because it gave us the ball
back and allowed us to score,"
Brown said.
The underclasswomen scored
on the next possession, putting the
score at 28-21 in their favor. The
upperclasswomen had one more
chance to even the score.
Their final possession was a
race against time and a close one,
with penalties and a stopped clock
for most of it. Finally, the upper
classwomen threw up a prayer
near the goal line, only to be picked
off again to put the game to rest. In
what started out as an offensive
onslaught and ended up a defen
sive fight, the imderclasswomen
pulled off the 28-21 upset.
"I feel as though we played
very well and we were able to use
our strength to beat them," said
Hannah Merrell, a first-year who
scored an early touchdown for the
underclasswomen.
Fans came in scattered groups
to the view game. Although the
stands weren't filled, the game
was a success, with lots of scoring
and some big plays
"It was a great game, a great
game by both sides," Brown said.