The scene was reminiscent of classic sports movies - the injured athlete in his hospital bed hanging on every word of the radio broadcast.

In "Remember the Titans," a car crash was responsible. In Hoosiers, it was alcoholism. Reality, in this case, is much less dramatic but every bit as serious.

Missouri Western punter Jamie Hanson spent last Saturday at Heartland Regional Medical Center, listening to the Griffons' 17-3 victory at Missouri Southern on the radio. Eight days ago, Hanson thought he just had an ingrown hair on his right foot. By Friday, his foot had doubled in size, and he was hospitalized with a MRSA infection.

"I was deeply crushed," Hanson said.

But the senior also should be relieved the infection could only end up costing him two games. Some people have lost much more to this frightening bacteria.

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a strain of bacteria that used to be contained to hospitals or other health-care settings. But in the past decade, a separate strain of the bacteria, which is resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics, emerged in the broader community. Children and young adults are particularly susceptible to developing a serious infection from the bacteria, which thrives in warm, moist places like locker rooms.

Football players have become the poster children for MRSA infections.

Contact sports create more cuts and abrasions for the bacteria to enter the body than other activities. And the number of football players in this country - college programs routinely have more than 100 players on their rosters - means more infections among these athletes, in some cases, by no fault of their own.

"You can't run from something that is on your body," said Dr. Brian Crites, a sports physician at Heartland and Western's team doctor. "You can do everything right and still get it, which is kind of the scary part."

Staph is commonly found on the skin of about a third of the population. Hanson knew he was a carrier and took the necessary precautions, which essentially come down to staying as clean as possible, not sharing towels or razors and keeping all cuts covered.

But with the evolving, more aggressive strains of MRSA, sometimes it doesn't matter. Ten years ago, Crites would prescribe some antibiotics and send the patient on his way. But after a few cases of MRSA killed the carrier within 48 hours, doctors take even the smallest boil or pimple much more seriously.

"It is becoming more aggressive and virulent," Crites said. "It's just a nastier bug. It has the ability to mutate and swap genes with other bacteria to develop resistance to treatment."

In Hanson's case, antibiotics didn't do the trick, so he underwent surgery Sunday to drain and clean out the infection. Hanson should make a full recovery.

But while the bacteria isn't becoming more prevalent in recent years, the seriousness of the infections is, and doctors aren't sure why. The overuse of antibiotics probably has contributed. However, Crites said it's too soon to credit the wide-spread use of FieldTurf, which every team in the MIAA uses, and the cuts that come with it for the higher number of serious staph infections.

"From the cases I have direct knowledge of, most of them have not been on areas that were exposed to turf," Crites said.

Doctors also don't know how a different strain evolved outside of health-care settings or why it has become more aggressive and harder to treat. The bacteria has changed significantly in just a decade, and it's a scary proposition to think about where it could be in 10 more years.

But at least Hanson's story has a quasi-happy ending. He should be released from the hospital today, and the Griffons are optimistic he can play in their season finale against Truman on Nov. 8.

"To see his face Friday when it really hit him he wasn't getting on the bus with us, there were tears. It wasn't a good thing," Western coach Jerry Partridge said. "Hopefully he'll get a chance next Saturday."

NOTE: medical information for this article on MRSA came from MayoClinic.com.

Sports reporter R.J. Cooper can be reached at rjcooper@npgco.com