There were a few things that happened during my senior year that would prove to have drastically changed the way my life is today. These events happened on and off the field, but the defining moments happened on the football field.
Statistically, my senior season was off the hook. I would have games where I would walk off the field with about 20+ tackles. I know some of you don't realize the significance of that number, but let's just say 6 or 7 tackles is a good game for a player. None of my stats were enough for me to ignore my goal. Our goal. We wanted to win a Turkey Bowl. But first we needed to get in the play-offs.
Four days after September 11, while the majority of sporting events all around the country were canceled, we were still on a bus headed up to Chester, PA. I didn't understand the stakes of the game at the time, but they were definitely high. I didn't know it, but in the stands was a recruiting coach from the University of Pittsburgh. So this game was an audition that I didn't know about. It probably was a good thing that I didn't know about it because I'm not sure how the pressure would've affected me. I had one of the games of my life. I was all over the field. I got sacks at will. I made teeth chattering hits. I would say that was one of the best games in my career as a football player, if not thee best. As a team we ended up winning that game, but as an individual I lost. With the clock winding down and Chester in position to score a touchdown to win the game, I came up big with a tackle and forced a fumble on the quarterback. I hit him so hard, that I dislocated my shoulder. Thankfully my shoulder popped right back into place, but the ramifications of that play reverberate into my present and future...
Roosevelt High School was one of our biggest rivals. Not only did they share one of our colors, but they were in the next neighborhood south of us. The thing that really made us rivals was we were mostly from the same neighborhood. Kennedy Street was the line that separated what school you would go to. If you were north of Kennedy you went to Coolidge. If you were south of Kennedy you went to Roosevelt. I myself lived south of Kennedy but was granted special permission to go to Coolidge just like many of my classmates. There were also many people who lived north of Kennedy that decided to go to Roosevelt.
This closeness in proximity made for a very interesting matchup against Roosevelt my senior year. We were pretty much all friends but on this day that friendship had to be pushed to the side. With two more games to play, the only thing that was standing in the way of our goal was Roosevelt. We would have to eventually beat Wilson, but since Roosevelt had beaten them already, we knew they were the key. That game came down to one play. I like to call it "Thee Play." We called a play that would send all of the receivers to the end zone but myself. My job was to stay in and block to make sure nobody hit Tony P (our quarterback). With ten seconds left, at the 30 yard line, and down 6 to nothing, we knew that this would be the only play that gave us a chance at victory. Roosevelt was well prepared for this. They called a blitz which rushed Tony to throw the ball a little earlier than he wanted to. This may not have been a problem, if he hadn't have thrown the ball to me. At the time, I was laying a block on one of the blitzing linebackers that had broke free thru the line. After I made that block, I turned to see if Tony had released the ball. To my surprise, he had and it was right in front of me. I think any other player on that field would have dropped that ball. but I expected it for some reason. I wanted the ball in my hands. I needed it. If I could secure the win with a 30 yard run with time winding down I would be a savior (no disrespect Jesus). I caught that ball and looked for my nearest escape. One problem. Not only did I expect to get the ball, but Roosevelt did also. I was determined to score a touchdown though. I was hit by the first potential tackler and he bounced right off me. This slowed me enough for other potential tacklers to pursue. But hit after hit they continued to bounce off me. I was still trying to make a move to escape when I realized that the time was running down and I still hadn't progressed enough up the field to score. One of the players from the other team finally realized that the only way that he was going to bring me down was to go low and take out my legs. It worked. As time expired I was being tackled and the game was essentially over. I knew at this point our goal would not be realized. I have never cried so much in my life. I'm not really a crier, especially in front of people, but I sat right there on the field and boo-hooed like a baby. I had never felt disappointment like that before. I would've welcomed all of the ridicule and scrutiny just to win that game. It hurt. So much so that I couldn't fight back the tears. I layed there for about 30 mins weeping like there wasn't going to be a tomorrow. People attempted to console me but it didn't help. Even K.K. came on the field to dry my eyes but I couldn't move. I was heart broken. I think at one point I even blamed God. I didn't understand how I could want something so bad, and it no be given to me. I don't think I have ever gotten over that loss. Of course I don't blame God anymore, but from time to time, I look at that game and try to see if there was anything I could've done differently to make the outcome more favorable for us.
That next week we had Wilson. Other than the fact that we played in the same division, we weren't really rivals. We had nothing to play for other than pride. I didn't wanna go out as a loser though. We killed Wilson. Well maybe I'm exaggerating, but we beat them soundly. I had another stellar game, but I was more proud of the fact that we were able to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss to Roosevelt. We didn't just show up with the attitude that we didn't have anything to play for.
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