Charlie Balagna's senior year was going as planned. Farmington had reached the five-win mark to qualify the Farmers for the playoffs by Week 7. Balagna was the sparkplug behind the Farmers' successful season, rushing for 763 yards on 81 attempts and leading the team with 81 tackles and three interceptions.

But sometimes bad breaks happen in football.

As Balagna attempted to make a cut halfway through Friday's game, a Macomb player rolled under his right leg as another Bomber hit Balagna at shoulder height. Balagna's right leg took the brunt of the blow, as his fibula cleanly broke above his ankle.

In typical team leader fashion, Balagna tried to get back in the game after being helped to the sideline. But after putting weight on the broken leg, the 5-foot-8, 175-pound standout knew his senior season was over.

"That's when the tears started flowing," Balagna said. "Last year I had a big year, so this year was supposed to be my coming out party. With us making the playoffs and doing what we've done so far, I just feel kind of crushed right now. But I'm hoping coach will stay on focus and keep the team going hard."

But Balagna's football days are not over. In fact, the Farmington running back received a surprise visit in the hospital from Western Illinois interim coach Mark Hendrickson. The Leathernecks, Georgia Tech, Miami (Ohio), New Mexico State and Army have all shown interest in Balagna.

But Farmington standout has set his sights on one school: Drake. Balagna called the Drake coaches during the weekend to ask if his injury would jeopardize his scholarship offer to play running back.

"They said it shouldn't because it's far enough into the season where he knows how hard I can play, and I've already sent them film from last year," Balagna said. "They've already tried to recruit me. I'm probably going to see a game in a couple weeks. ... It's a nice facility. The coaches are really nice there, and it has a nice physics program. I'm hoping to study human forensics when I get into college."

Balagna isn't your typical student-athlete. He can bench press 300 pounds, squat 500 pounds and run a 4.52-second 40-yard dash. And, oh yeah, he can dunk a basketball. He has been able to since a basketball camp at Bradley University during his sophomore year.

"He's the best all-around athlete I've ever coached; he's a freak of nature," said Farmington coach Casey Martin, who has coached former Illinois State and NFL linebacker Boomer Grigsby. "Illinois came to visit our school for the first time in 22 years last spring for Charlie. I don't have false illusions; he's not a blue-chip player for them. But the fact that they took time to come to our school about him I thought was pretty cool."

Balagna's broken leg will not require surgery. He will wear a cast for four to five weeks and then a walking boot for three weeks before entering physical therapy. But you can bet Farmington's team leader will be on the sidelines to cheer on his teammates for the rest of the season.

"I just told my friends and my teammates to make sure I didn't break my leg and my senior season for nothing," Balagna said. "You know, go deep in the playoffs and make me proud."

RECRUITING RAMBLINGS

• Matthews (N.C.) Butler linebacker Hawatha Bell plans on taking an official visit to Illinois, possibly during the Nov. 15 game against Ohio State according to Rivals.com. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker is deciding between Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina and Michigan. Bell plays at the same high school as Nate Charest, brother of Illinois freshman quarterback Jacob Charest.

For more of Jeremy Werner's recruiting blog, click here.