Saturday was one of Joe Craddock’s best days as quarterback of the Parma Panthers. Four touchdowns by air, one by foot, helped pace Craddock and the Panthers to a dominating victory over the Bologna Doves.

On Monday morning, Craddock received a wake up call, as did the rest of Italy. A 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook 26 cities in central Italy at 3:30 a.m. local time., hitting L’Aquila, 60 miles north of Rome, strong. A BBC report said up to 90 were killed and tens of thousands of homes and buildings were damaged.

As everyone across the world sent messages to their family and friends in Italy Monday, Craddock, a former Briarwood Christian quarterback, sent word through his mother. He was safe in Parma, about 250-300 miles away from the quake. He e-mailed his weekly journal entry Tuesday with his account of the news.

“This is the closest I have ever been to an earthquake. If I was ever in an earthquake I would not know what to do. I think I will find out a plan for survival in case another one comes close. Although I was not affected by the wrath of Mother Nature, I realize how close that was from me, and I am thankful to be alive in another beautiful day that God has given me,” Craddock said.

Craddock’s new update was upbeat of how his team pulled together for Saturday’s win. His bad news from the game though was a leg injury.

“It really scared me at first considering I have torn my ACL before. I saw the last two months flash before my eyes, and I thought I was headed home. Even though I do miss home a lot, I am having so much fun in Italy to have to leave now,” Craddock said.

The diagnosis though was only a slight hypertension of the knee. Craddock hoped to be back under center this weekend.