It had been a while since Marcus Sierputowski had something to celebrate, but the senior receiver at Mentor is making up for lost time. Fighting back after missing most of the last two seasons with injuries, Sierputowski has caught touchdown passes in each of Mentor’s past two games. He had a 13-yard touchdown reception in Mentor’s 35-27 win over Cleveland Heights in Week 5, then hauled in a three-yard scoring strike in the Cardinals’ 47-21 win over River Rouge (Mich.) on Sept. 28. The catches come after Sierputowski missed most of last year with an MCL tear in his right knee and then a concussion. The 6-foot, 170-pounder also sat out the first three games of this season with an MCL tear similar to the one he sustained last season. Suffice it to say, Sierputowski is happy to be back on the field and not simply standing on Mentor’s sideline. “It felt good,” he said. “I’d been out five or six weeks. I’m just getting there again. It feels awesome.” Sierputowski was slated to start as a junior, but an MCL tear in a scrimmage with Kenston and Austintown-Fitch put him on the sideline. He returned briefly, then went down in a Week 4 game against Medina when he dove for a pass, landed awkwardly and broke his collarbone. Sierputowski healed up and had a good season with the Mentor basketball program, then spent the summer working out for what he envisioned being the breakout season that was SUPPOSED to take place his junior year. Then in the same scrimmage against Kenston and Fitch, Sierputowski partially tore his MCL again. “Yeah, it was really frustrating,” he said. “I was going upfield on a bubble screen, the dude who stopped me kind of gator-rolled and my leg twisted. It was the same injury against the same team as junior year. Frustrating.” As Sierputowski sat on the bench at Kenston’s Bomber Stadium, his head in his hands in frustration — he said he knew he had sustained the same injury as the year before — teammates approached him one after another to encourage him. “They told me to keep my head up; keep my spirits up — I’d be back,” Sierputowski said. His return came last week against Cleveland Heights. He has two catches this season and both have gone for touchdowns. His return gives Mentor’s vaunted offense another weapon to go with quarterback Scotty Fox, running back Jackson Farley and a deep receiving corps that includes Justen Hodge, Austin VanHuss, Grant Cerny and Dominic Baroni. “I love it,” said Fox of Sierputowski’s return. “He’s battled injuries the past couple years. He finally gets the ball and it’s great. I’m super happy for him.” Sierputowski said that while there was frustration over his injuries, he never considered walking away from football. “I would never quit on my team,” he said. “The support of my team … they’re like family to me. I knew I’d get back here and win games with my boys again.”