This was supposed to be the season when Colton Maita finally realized his dream of becoming Neuqua Valley’s starting quarterback.

Two years ago, Maita was the starting quarterback for the sophomore team, so he thought he had a good shot at getting the varsity job as a junior. That plan was derailed when he suffered a serious injury while playing baseball in spring 2024.

“I fractured my back, sat out for two to three months, came back in the summer, and then within two weeks of being back, fractured it again, this time on both the right and left side,” Maita said. “It was pretty bad. It hurt to move.”

Maita’s first stress fracture was the result of overuse. The second came when he was lifting weights.

The injury caused Maita to miss the entire 2024 football season. He watched from the s

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