It must have been hard  for FB/LB Beau Pauly to play 13 consecutive football games this past season for Becker, only to find himself standing on crutches as the final seconds ticked down on a state championship season.

 

It showed on his face after the game when his fellow teammates mobbed each other as the Bulldogs whipped DeLaSalle 24-6 in the Class AAAA Prep Bowl in November.

 

Pauly, a junior this year, had suffered a right ACL tear in the third quarter of the game and had surgery right away in December to repair the damage. His hope is to come back better and stronger in 2015 and be one of the top linebacker prospects in the state.

 

Before his injury, he had scored one of Becker’s four TDs, recovered a fumble, pulled in an interception and was instrumental in shutting down DeLaSalle’s potent offense that just a week prior had whooped the #1-seeded Hutchinson Tigers by a score of 35-14.

 

Pauly, at 6’2” and 205-lbs., can run a 40 yard dash in 4.73 seconds and bench press 285-lbs. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry as a fullback and scored seven times. On defense, he had 75 tackles on the year and 5.5 sacks. 

 

In Becker’s state tournament run, Pauly scored six of his seven touchdowns in the three games against Rocori, Stewartville and DeLaSalle.

 

Despite the late season injury, Pauly still feels as though he can compete with some of the best talent in the state. 

 

But because of Becker’s small school size, sometimes some of the best talent from the area gets lost in the mix of players from bigger schools — who have graduating classes the size of Becker’s entire enrollment.

 

Pauly seems to understand his situation when it comes to that, but he isn’t letting it bother him too much. 

 

“Personally I do think I do have a slight disadvantage,” Pauly said. “But the program I am playing for, I feel like does give me that equal opportunity. I mean it’s such a great tradition that Becker has to offer, and the coaching staff here is great.” 

 

Despite that obstacle, Pauly says he’s not too worried about it. He just needs to focus on getting his leg healthy for what he hopes is another championship run for the Bulldogs.

 

“Recovery is going very well,” he said. “I’m coming to the three-month mark, so in about a week I will begin my straight forward running.” 

 

Following doctor’s orders, Pauly has been staying off his leg for the most part and concentrating his workouts on building his upper body. 

 

As of this week, Pauly is being estimated to be fully recovered no later than June, with the hope his rehab goes well and he returns to full health sooner. This offseason he wants to attend college camps, but has not started planning which he will attend because of his injury. But he is planning to get in contact with schools around the time he is fully recovered. 

 

It’s been said that many times an athlete recovering from an ACL injury comes back even stronger on the leg and perform as well, if not better, than they did before the injury.

 

Just ask anyone who has followed #28 from the Minnesota Vikings.

 

“I feel like if I just keep playing the way I keep playing I feel like potential will come to me,” Pauly said. “I feel like I’m performing to the best I can, but a large senior season is something I can only hope for.”

 

Beau is the son of Scott and Karin Pauly of Becker.