This story is right out of Hollywood.

Outstanding athlete suffers severe injury. Coach figures there is no way the athlete will be able to play at any point of the season even though the athlete keeps saying "I'll be back."

Athlete backs up the words, returning to action near the end of the season and then helps team to a championship.

Somebody go get Gene Hackman to play the role of the coach and, what the heck, Chartiers Valley High School junior Wayne Capers to play the athlete, considering this is his true story.

Capers, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, scored 16 points in Chartiers Valley's 63-50 victory against Hampton in the WPIAL Class AAA championship game this past Friday at the Palumbo Center. Not bad for someone who didn't start practicing until Feb. 24 and was playing in just his third game of the season.

Chartiers Valley (25-1) plays Erie Central Tech (14-11) in a PIAA first-round game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Canon-McMillan High School

"I can't describe how I feel about the job he did tonight because it was so miraculous," Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell said after the final. "The doctors said he may never play again and may have trouble walking and he comes out and helps us win a WPIAL championship ... incredible."

Capers, who is the son of former Steelers wide receiver Wayne Capers, was Chartiers Valley's starting quarterback in the fall. But in the fifth game his right foot was injured.

In layman's terms, his one toe went to the right another went to the left. Both were fractured and the ligaments between were torn. He had surgery, had a couple pins inserted in the broken bones, was on crutches for a while and wore a protective boot for five months.

What he didn't do during the long recovery process was give up hope. He was at basketball practice every day and although he couldn't run, he did shoot around and worked on his ballhandling.

"He missed two practices because he had to go to rehab," McConnell said. "Most of the time he worked his rehab around practices. He never said 'Why me?' all he said was, 'Coach, don't worry. I will be back.'"

McConnell didn't think that would happen.

"To be honest with you, no I didn't," McConnell said. "My trainer talked to the doctor and said [the chances of Capers returning this season] were slim to none and none is in the lead. We really didn't expect him [back] and the coaching staff sat down and said we'd love to have him back, but let's expect we are not going to have him back and not worry about it."

Capers, meanwhile, kept going to rehabilitation ... kept believing.

He was cleared to start practicing Feb. 24, the day after the Colts defeated Indiana in a first-round WPIAL playoff game. McConnell told Capers to text him as soon as he found out he was cleared. McConnell has the text message Capers sent saved on his phone.

"He didn't text me he was cleared. What he sent me was, 'Coach, let's go win a championship,'" McConnell said.

There was still work to be done, however. Two weeks ago Capers was limping when he ran. Not a good sign.

"After a week of working with [team trainer] Shalyn [Burton], I was running without limping," Capers said.

He played sparingly in Chartiers Valley's two playoffs games leading to the final, but was pressed into a major role against Hampton because starter Matt Noszka was sidelined with a knee injury he incurred in a semifinal.

The first shot Capers attempted in the championship game was a 3-pointer from the left wing and he buried it.

"I thought I airballed it," he said with a smile.

For the game he connected on six of seven field-goal attempts. His only miss was a 3-point attempt in the second quarter and although he wasn't his usual quicksilver self, he was quick enough to play some solid defense.

"I did a little bit more than I thought I would," he said. "I was just trying to rebound and box out and help get the ball to T.J. [McConnell, who scored 34 points] ... do the things that needed to be done."

He did all that while being on a clock because of his lack of conditioning. He would be on the court for four minutes, sit for one then go out for three minutes and sit for two. In the fourth quarter, he was on the court almost the entire time.

"He had one of the worst injuries I've ever seen," T.J. McConnell said. "He bounces back and played great in the game. I can't give him enough credit ... he's one of the toughest guys around."

"Football is my main sport ... I love football more than anything," Capers said. "But helping my teammates win a [WPIAL] title is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life."

Tim McConnell had one other text message saved in his phone. It was one Capers sent to the team's trainer before the final.

"I'm going to mentally prepare today like I'm a starter, I won't let the team down. But can you let me know otherwise," it read.

"Won't let the team down ... and he didn't," Tim McConnell said.

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