During his junior season with La Salle Institute, running back Matt Bott was nearly unstoppable. He had no problem finding the end zone week after week.

All was looking good until Week 6 when an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee brought it to a halt.

“It was really hard, way harder than I thought,” said Bott of the recovery. “It was a lot mentally, too. Seeing my teammates do stuff without me, it was almost like I wasn’t part of the team.”

Bott spent the offseason doing rehab, working his way back to the Cadets, and trying to be at the top of his game again.

“It all felt like trying to get back to where I was last year instead of improving more into the senior season,” Bott said.

When he stepped back on the field in September, it took him a few games to shake off the rust and get his confidence back. Bott said he got there around Week 4.

“He said ‘this is the best I’ve felt,’ and he said the same thing each and every week, so he’s consistently improving,” said John Audino, head coach for La Salle Institute.

It showed that week at Troy in the battle for the Collar City Cup. Bott ran for 188 yards and a touchdown in La Salle’s win.

Audino says Bott, a team captain, is the heart and soul of their offense.

“The last three, four weeks, he’s really come into his own and he’s doing a great job,” Audino said.

La Salle will continue to lean on Bott this Friday night at Bethlehem. The Cadets and Eagles are fighting for the second seed in the Capital Division, with the Section II Class A playoffs starting next week. La Salle-Bethlehem kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, exclusively on Spectrum News 1.

“I think we need to put up a lot of points on this good Bethlehem team,” Bott said. “We have to stop their run game. I think that’s what we’re focusing on.”