It would be cause for concern if Lakeland High football standout Casey Phelps didn't walk off the field following a game or practice without battle marks.

It's become a familiar scene the past three years. As Phelps takes off his gear in the locker room, one might suspect that he's been in a minor car accident.

Blood drips from his head and other areas of his body. Some of the cuts and bruises are moist; others are reopened abrasions that haven't healed.

While he may look like the guy who got the worst end of an old- fashioned fanny whippin', go to the opposing locker room and talk to players who had difficulty tackling Phelps when he was at fullback or had the misfortune of receiving a teeth-rattling hit when he was at linebacker.

Or ask a teammate who has been in the wrong place at the right time.

Phelps dishes out more than he takes.

"My coaches give me a bad time if I'm not bleeding (after practices or games)," Phelps said, smiling. "It seems like I'm always bleeding somewhere." Coaches keep cotton swabs, gauze and tape handy just for Phelps.

"I got this one last week against Priest River, but I don't remember when," Phelps said, lifting the back of his shirt up to reveal a 5-inch long cut that had started to form a scab. "It was probably from somebody's cleats. Most of the time I don't know I'm hurt until I see the blood."

Lakeland coach Terry Kiefer said Phelps never complains about his injuries.

"He's a hard-nosed kid," Kiefer said. "He's played through more injuries than we've been aware of, I'm sure."

It's as if Phelps walked out of one of those soundless, grainy black-and-white videos from the days of leather helmets and no facemasks; back when players likely just wiped the blood off with their hands and lined up for the next play.

"Talk about a throwback kid," Hawks defensive coordinator Lee Libera said. "Even in form tackling and warmups, he's knocking the heck out of his teammates. He straps it on and goes full bore. We've had a lot of kids like that in the past that maybe were not the most talented, but they'd knock your socks off. Casey's got the talent to go with it."

He's arguably the best two-way player in the region.

A four-year letterman and three-year starter, Phelps was among Lakeland's top tacklers as a sophomore and the leader as a junior. He currently leads through five games.