When a bone in your body snaps, there are a number of ways to react.
Some go through such shock that they aren’t themselves. Some writhe in agony. When Conner Floyd broke both his tibia and fibula Saturday night in his right leg, he was really, really annoyed.

“All I could really think about was, ‘Wow, I just went out having the worst game of my life,’” Floyd said. “I wasn’t worried about the future or the leg. I was just worried we’d lose the game and there was nothing I could do about it.”

The Cavaliers obviously did not lose, and it wasn’t until Floyd got the news that he could finally focus on the pain in his leg, which hit him once he was in the ambulance.

“My dad kept looking at me funny while I was on the ground in the stadium because I was in shock and wasn’t really reacting to the leg,” Floyd said. “But I started feeling it on the way to hospital. There was some yelling and cursing during that ride.”

Asked to recount the events that led to that moment, though, and Floyd has trouble piecing everything together.

“I remember blocking on Cameron’s touchdown,” he said. “Then I remember looking up and seeing the guys celebrating and feeling like I had a dead leg. I stood up, looked down and saw it was pointing out funny. I knew I was in trouble.”

His coach was dealing with the hectic nature of his first game as a head coach, and was immediately pulled out of it by the injury.

“It happened so fast,” Lake Travis head coach Hank Carter said. “I was in the middle of making a defensive adjustment when I saw Conner catch the bubble screen and go running down the sideline, and I thought he scored. We were planning on going for two anyway, so when the next play happened right away, I thought they were going for the conversion. I looked up at the scoreboard, and couldn’t figure out why they hadn’t put the conversion up and that’s when I looked over and saw our kids standing around Conner with their hands on their helmets and I knew right away it wasn’t good.”

Carter paused, looked down and took a deep breath.

“It’s just really tough,” he said. “At that point, I wasn’t even thinking about the game. I just felt so bad for him. He’s worked so hard, he had a great summer and he’s such a big part of this team. He’s a family member and we love him. And at the time, you don’t know how serious it is, but you knew it was nasty. You knew it wasn’t good.”

The moment was tough for everyone involved, but after the moment there seemed to be a lot of good news. First, Lake Travis won.

“I can’t tell you how proud of the guys I was,” Floyd said. “Everyone stepped up and Griffin was incredible. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there to see it.”

Second, the leg break was about as clean as it could be. A rod and pins were inserted, no ligament damage was done and Floyd was only fitted with a temporary boot. He’ll be cleared to ride a stationary bike next Monday, and could be back as early as the final district game against Cedar Park. It could be longer than that, but given the initial concern over the injury, it’s a prognosis Floyd is happy with.

“I’m really surprised,” he said. “My leg looks pretty normal. I’m amazed at how fast they fixed it.”

Injuries are a part of football and never fun. In the aftermath, the most important thing is that Floyd is safe, healthy and expected to make a complete recovery. That the injury was so shocking highlights the good fortune of the last three Lake Travis championship teams.

For the most part, the Cavaliers have avoided devastating injuries throughout much of their 47-game winning streak.

“In a lot of ways, some of it is fortune, but on the other hand, we work extremely hard to take care of the kids and prevent injuries,” Carter said. “Now, that doesn’t stop bones from being broken, but we feel like we do prevent a lot of ligament or muscle damage. What happened to Conner is a freak thing, and we haven’t had that in the past. We’ve been fortunate, but you never know what can happen. I believe there’s a plan for us and I think we’ll find a way.”

They’ll start by shifting receivers around and giving Alex Matthews more responsibilities in a starting role. Carter has mentioned more than once the staff’s confidence in Matthews’ abilities, and Floyd agreed.

“I have a ton of confidence in Alex and in everyone out there,” Floyd said. “I know everyone will do fine without me. Our coaches are really smart and I know everyone can work around it. I know the guys are capable of stepping up and making plays.”

So while it’s true that Lake Travis teams haven’t dealt with an season-threatening injury this significant since Luke Lagera was injured before the 2006 season, this year’s team is lucky to have a lot of depth at receiver and if all goes well, will see their playmaker back in action just as things get interesting for the Cavaliers.

And Tulsa is standing by its scholarship offer for Floyd. So while it’s not the story everyone envisioned for the 2010 season, it might still have the right ending.