St. John Vianney is asking the public to pray for their injured senior quarterback.

Aaron Van Trease, quarterback and safety for the Lancers squad, suffered a spinal cord injury during the third play of a game on Friday.

He was airlifted to the hospital and received surgery on Saturday.

The school's social media page made a post addressing the public’s supportive response. It reads, "Thank you to Lancer Nation, The Shore Conference, and everyone else who has reached out to show their support and prayers for our brother AV18. We cannot thank you all enough!"

The students and faculty of St. John Vianney are rooting for him to get well soon.

“We spoke to his parents. We speak to them regularly. He's recovering in the hospital,” said principal Margaret Kane.

“Wonderful young man. Academic, kind, spiritual. He's a great young man and our prayers go forward that he will make a full recovery,” she said.

Steven DiMezza, St. John Vianney president and former football coach, says a quick response by doctors and trainers helped stabilize the senior after the incident.

“The safety of our students is the first priority. Anything that we do, we make sure we have the right people at the right places,” he said.

Van Trease’s injury comes just days after Linden football player Xavier McClain died from head trauma during a game on Sept. 9.

DiMezza says this is the most serious injury he's seen in his 32 years at Saint John Vianney.

“Students play all different sports. There's a danger in every sport and a risk of getting hurt in anything that you do. It is very sad what happened. The whole Monmouth County is praying,” he said.

According to published reports, following the accident, the injured senior told his coach not to worry and to win the game.

They won with a score of 32 to 0.

The team is now set to face off at Marlboro over the weekend, racking up 4 wins and one loss so far this season.