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A grief stricken Woodberry Forest football program heads into its second game of the season this weekend, dealing with a shocking and gruesome injury to junior quarterback Jacob Rainey, whose leg was amputated at a Fairfax hospital a week after going down in a preseason scrimmage at Flint Hill High School.

Rainey, who is from Charlottesville, suffered a broken knee cap on Sept. 3 after being tackled from behind and was taken to the hospital where further complications, including a ruptured blood vessel, were discovered. He remained in an intensive care unit last week while the Tigers traveled to Richmond to play Benedictine.

Woodberry was celebrating a 16-13 victory on the bus ride home when Rainey sent a Twitter message to a teammate telling him the injury was worse than they knew. Tigers coach Clint Alexander gathered the team when they arrived back on campus and delivered the news that the star quarterback would lose part of his leg.

The school released a statement Monday afternoon.

“Jacob received prompt and appropriate medical attention, first at Fair Oaks Hospital, and later at Fairfax Inova, where doctors determined the injury had severed the main artery in his leg and that emergency vascular surgery was necessary,” the statement read. “Damage to the affected area was extensive, and doctors amputated the lower portion of Jacob’s leg on Saturday, September 10, in Fairfax. Jacob is still hospitalized.

“Film from the scrimmage indicates that the tackle was clean and the injury Jacob sustained was highly unusual.”

Rainey, who remained in good spirits according to the Woodberry coaching staff, posted a message on his Facebook page thanking supporters and well wishers.

“Thank you everyone so much for your thoughts and prayers,” the message read. “I truly do appreciate it.”

After transferring to Woodberry from St. Anne’s-Belfield last year, Rainey emerged as one of the top junior quarterback prospects in Virginia. At 6-3, 215 pounds and timed at 4.61 seconds in the 40-yard dash, Rainey was equally feared as a runner and passer and had attracted interest from a variety of Division I programs, including Virginia and Virginia Tech.

“A young man playing at Woodberry Forest suffered a tragic thing where he lost his leg,” Virginia coach Mike London said in his weekly press conference Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the whole Woodberry Forest football family and to this young man’s family in particular. Wins and losses are important, but sometimes the realities of what’s really important are the young men and the family members and the sons that we are responsible for.”

Last week, Rainey’s best friend Nate Ripper wore the quarterback’s No. 9 jersey in his honor and a different Woodberry player will wear No. 9 each game this season. The Tigers travel to Blair Academy in New Jersey on Saturday.