[10/6/03] ST. JOSEPH, La. The last thing Mark Winston remembers, before he woke up in a hospital bed, is talking to a teammate.

There are other memories lurking inside his head, underneath the sutures that will soon turn into a long scar along his temple. Pieces of Davidson’s game against LaSalle filter through. So do thoughts of friends, family, and teammates.

What he can’t remember is what anyone who was at that game two weeks ago will never forget.

Davidson was off to a 2-0 start when LaSalle rolled in for a Thursday night game on Sept. 18. The Warriors were coming off their first playoff appearance in 19 seasons and playing some of the best football the school had seen in years. And Winston was a big part of that success.

The sophomore running back had rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown in a 32-6 win over Lake Providence the week before, and was the team’s featured back. Davidson coach Dennis Johnson was even considering moving Winston to quarterback to take advantage of his speed.

Against LaSalle, he ran for a first-half touchdown and the Warriors trailed 20-18 at halftime. By the middle of the fourth quarter, LaSalle had crept ahead 39-20 and Winston was complaining of a nagging headache.

“It didn’t look like anything was wrong with him, but when he got to the sideline he said his head was hurting,” Davidson linebacker Marcus Walker said.

As the time ticked away on the game clock, Winston began vomiting on the sideline. With about five minutes remaining in the game he came to the sideline, started convulsing, and collapsed. After a few moments, the game was called off.

“When it happened, you didn’t really realize what was going on,” said Chris Jacobs, who coaches just up the street from Davidson at Tensas Academy and was at the Davidson-LaSalle game. “It was scary. I was concerned for him.