Devauntay Ellis finds an opening during a 7-3 loss to Delran on Nov. 8, 2013. (Photo by Albert Rende.)
Things were looking bleak for the Ewing High School football team after a 1-3 start, but sometimes even a loss can turn a season around.
By the fourth quarter of the October 4 game against Lawrence, Ewing had held the Red Birds to just 7 points. A feat, considering Lawrence was still undefeated and routinely defeated its opposition by wide margins. Ewing eventually lost 20-0, but head coach Drew Besler said his boys were a new team after the whistle blew.
“They had pretty much given a beating to everybody they had played,” he said. “I think what happened was after that game, it just was evident to the coaches and all the players that, ‘Wow, we’re really good. Maybe we’re not as good as Lawrence at that moment right then and there,’ but we knew that if we could play like that against any other opponent, we’d be a tough out for anybody.”
Akahyl Henry said Lawrence is a big rival, so “everybody wanted to come out strong.”
“I felt that that was our big game,” he said. “We knew we had to come out on defense and show that their running back was not going to run all over us.”
Tre Jones said while the offense didn’t score, big runs and play execution were a big confidence booster.
Whatever it was, Besler said something “clicked” and set the team off on a four-game win streak.
“We realized how physical we could be,” he said. “We were extremely focused throughout the entire game. The guys were flying around, getting to the football. The defense stood out. We knew the defense was good, we just didn’t know how good until after that game. Once we said that, we went into the Bordentown game the following week, and I told the kids, ‘If you can play like you played against Lawrence, you’re probably going to win,’ and that was the case. I’m glad they made me truthful and not some liar.”
Ewing went on to defeat Bordentown, New Egypt, Robbinsville and Burlington City, all by convincing margins. It was enough to propel the team towards the top of the division and into state tournament contention.
Quite a change from last year’s 1-9 record.
“Morale was good,” Tyler Julious said. “Our heads were down, but not everybody’s head was down. It picked up around the senior leadership, and it picked the team up.”
It was easy for the team to come together.
“We’re more of a family this year, Henry said. “Family has your back. A team is just there just to be there, but we actually like being with each other.”
The team went into its Nov. 8 game against Delran at 5-3, just a game away from capturing the division title and a far cry from the 1-3 it started the season with. After a few slip-ups, the Blue Devils lost 7-3.
“A play here, a play there, we could have easily won that game,” Besler said. “We were in a situation where the ball was on the 10 yard line, and we threw an interception in the end zone. It was one of those things where we were very close to being division champs.”
Still, the squad still had the state tournament to look forward to. Though it eventually lost to 8-1 Hopewell, Besler said achieving his early-season goal of being a contender once the playoffs rolled around was enough for him.
“It’s exciting watching kids when they work hard and they see kind of the fruits of their labor, that anything is possible,” he said. “Yeah, it’s wins and losses at the moment, but what this game is supposed to teach you is that you can work hard and even if you’re against all odds, that you can surmount any obstacle that gets in front of you.”
Besler said senior Devauntay Ellis was a representation of that.
“He’s a hard worker for us,” he said. “He’s done a complete turnaround himself, in the classroom, in the community, and in this program. He’s been great. He’s a symbol of what we’re trying to do with this program. We want to win. Everybody here, coaches, all the way down to the stat keepers, they want to win. What had been nice for Devauntay is that when he works hard, he’s capable of very many things. It’s been really fun to watch.”
Tre Jones and Kani Tye also stood out. Besler said Tye, a wide receiver, didn’t see a lot of passes because of an offense focused on rushing, but he stayed positive and unselfish.
Ellis, Jones, Tye, quarterback Vandy Hall and their senior peers are who Besler credits with leading the turnaround. Workouts started in January and didn’t stop until the season ended.
“In a sport where you practice a heck of a lot more than you play, it’s important to have strong leaders,” Besler said. “The senior leadership has just been fantastic. Obviously, all of these kids have to grow up and get out of high school, but it’s one of those things that you just wish you could have some of these kids. You just wish you could have one more year. These kids are going to go on to bigger and better things.”
And though wins are nice, Besler said the intangibles are what he’s most looking forward to for next season.
“I think this is a really good opportunity for life lessons to be taught,” he said. “That’s really the exciting thing. You’re dealing with young adult males who you want to show them that you can persevere through adversity, and I think that’s the one thing they’ve learned. I’m extremely excited that we’re in the state playoffs. I think the program is headed in the right direction. That’s really the exciting part.”
,
