MARYVILLE, Mo. — LaRon Council remembers that scary October Saturday afternoon in Warrensburg, Mo., when he crumpled to the turf around the Central Missouri 15-yard line, his left leg shattered.

He remembers being placed on a gurney and being whisked away for medical care, his 2006 season abruptly ended and his entire playing career in jeopardy.

He also remembers the next year, taking a helmet on that same leg and having a second consecutive season shortened by injury.

These days those memories just make the senior running back’s infectious smile a bit wider, as he thinks about his latest accomplishment — becoming just the fifth running back in Northwest Missouri State history to reach surpass the 3,000-yard mark.

Coach Mel Tjeerdsma quickly noted that because of those injuries, most of those yards came in just 1 1/2 seasons.

“Because of the injuries that he’s had, I think he appreciates just being out there so much more than a lot of other people do,” Tjeerdsma said. “He doesn’t take it for granted, because he knows how close he was to never being able to play again.”

Council surpassed the rushing plateau last Saturday when he ran for 126 yards and a touchdown in Northwest’s 45-12 win at Emporia State. He now has 3,045 yards in his career, and could move up to No. 4 on Northwest’s all-time rushing list with a similar performance today in the Bearcats’ homecoming game against No. 16 Washburn.

Council said he was unaware that he had reached the 3,000-yard plateau until after the game.

“It’s a good thing to know about, especially after the injuries I went through,” Council said. “But it’s a real tribute to the offensive linemen that I’ve run behind the past two years.”

Council came to the Bearcats in 2005 from Kansas City Central, where he rushed for 1,920 yards on 221 attempts his senior season.

Tjeerdsma watched Council play in high school and was impressed by his athletic ability — he placed in the state wrestling meet despite not attempting the sport until late in his high school career — and the coach liked his stature.

“He has a low center of gravity,” Tjeerdsma said. “He’s hard to tackle.”

Opposing defenses have found that out. He has rushed for 100 yards or more three times this season and twice finished with 99 yards in a game.

Last Saturday, Tjeerdsma said, Council got many of his 126 yards on his own because of mental errors in a less-than-spectacular performance.

In part, that’s because the offensive line has been pieced together at times this season. Inexperienced in the early going, injuries and illness have disrupted whatever continuity the Northwest line had developed.

“We graduated four or five (offensive linemen) last year, so we kind of threw them together,” Council said. “They’ve just gotten better every game. I’m just proud of them for that.”

Tjeerdsma said the loss of Ryan Lessman (ankle sprain) and Dane Wardenburg (pneumonia) for games and practices may have showed in the Emporia State game.

“The offensive line, it’s so important that they play together,” Tjeerdsma said. “We hadn’t had that, and it showed Saturday.”

Overall, however, Council is quick to praise his offensive line.

“I feel like they’re starting to gel, but we’ve had guys get sick, guys get injured,” Council said. “They’ve had their ups and downs, and I think at this time of year, as always, they’re starting to gel a little bit better.”

Council said left guard Brett Grozinger is an example of the vast improvement he has seen.

“Brett Grozinger has made huge strides since last year,” Council said. “He wasn’t starting at all and didn’t even play very much, and this year he’s been a dominant force on the offensive line.”

While he has shown his gratitude to his linemen in words, Council has yet to show it in deed. The big guys like to eat, and unlike some running backs, the All-American has yet to treat them to dinner.

His procrastination hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Eventually I’m going to take them out to dinner, but I haven’t yet, and they give me a hard time about it,” Council said. “But I’m pretty close with most of those guys. I live above Ryan Lessman, so there’s always an offensive lineman at our place. We’ve got a pretty good relationship.”

When the guy they’re blocking for finds the end zone, the offensive linemen have fun. But in this case, a healthy LaRon Council may be enjoying this football season more than anybody.

“All I have to do is look over there and see that big, old smile and just say, ‘Wow, this guy’s having fun,’” Tjeerdsma said.