By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
Cancer is a brutal disease, no matter what form it comes in, and all too often these days people have to deal with losing a loved one to cancer. I went through it a year ago around this time, losing one of my older sisters to the disease after a year-long battle.
But as an adult, unfortunately you’ve probably had to deal with a death in the family, it’s a part of life. It shouldn’t be a part of the life of a bunch of teenagers, but this past week the Holy Spirit football team got punched in the mouth by life when assistant coach John Bewley lost his fight against cancer and passed away eight days ago at just 37 years old.
He was a former Holy Spirit player who earned the nickname “Rhino” because of his hard hits on the gridiron, and this past year, according to his obituary, he landed his dream job as a chemistry teacher and assistant football coach at Spirit.
The Holy Spirit players and coaching staff were heartbroken, but they responded the only way they know how — by giving everything they had in a rousing 15-13, come-from-behind win over a tough Ocean City squad at Carey Stadium on Friday night.
The Spartans rode the emotion to a 9-0 first-half lead, then it seemed as though they were spent, and let that lead slip away as the Red Raiders rallied to take an improbable 13-9 lead with less than three minutes to go.
Spirit spent most of the second half fumbling away opportunities, but stiffened their spines and came out roaring on the final drive, which culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by Jahcere “Pops” Ward with 36 seconds remaining.
“There’s no right or wrong answer to (how anybody feels). Everybody deals with emotions differently,” said Spirit coach Andrew DiPasquale after the win. “For me, football is an escape from real life, and I think a lot of people who coach football and play football feel that way. You get two hours a day where it’s just football, and it’s a nice escape from reality for a little bit. And that’s the kind of stuff that helps you through tough times — having a team and having that family atmosphere. You’re never in it by yourself.
“The kids have been great throughout everything, and I was thrilled they got to see him last week (prior to Spirit’s win over Delsea on Oct. 11). Overall, they have responded well. They know at the end of the day they have a job to do — and that’s what he would want us to be doing. They know that. They know we have to just keep going, keep moving forward.”
“It sure is emotional. We were up and down throughout the game, but our defense really stepped up and the offensive line stepped up when it mattered, and Pops gets in the game and nobody wants to get in front of him. He’s running people over with 50 seconds left and we’re giving him the ball instead of throwing it. That’s the kind of guy we want on our team. Everybody stepped up. God rest John Bewley’s soul — we did it for him,” said senior quarterback Ty Costabile.
“A lot was going on and those last two minutes were a roller coaster of emotions. That roughing the passer call saved us, and then Pops just punched it in. That’s what Holy Spirit is all about — we never give up. Even if we’re down 42-0, we’re always trying to punch it in and have that glimmer of hope,” added senior linebacker Nick Medina. “We came together as a team and knew we had to change our mentality, don’t get your heads down, and just play the game. Do your job and we’ll win.”
Could this be the kind of gut-check moment that leads Holy Spirit on an inspiring state playoff run? Only time will tell. For now, the Spartans will take the bye this week to rest up, try to get healthy, and try to work through a myriad of emotions that go much deeper than a helmet sticker honoring a fallen Spartan.
HOW BOUT THOSE RED DEVILS?
I told y’all last week this Rancocas Valley team was for real, and they proved it on Saturday with a 20-14 win over St. Augustine Prep, kicking the Hermits out of the state’s top 20 in the process. The Red Devils limited Prep to less than 200 yards of total offense, while QB Sayvien Adams threw for 139 yards and rushed for 117 more. And how about kicker Jameson Hollander? Nailed another two field goals. In his career he’s missed just one field goal, and on PATs he’s 87 percent the last three seasons.
The Devils probably won’t win a division title because of their loss to Camden, but watch out for this team in the state playoffs.
BIG-TIME SHOWDOWN
If you like small school football, be at Glassboro High on Friday night! The host Bulldogs — one of just six unbeaten teams in the West Jersey Football League — take on another unbeaten in the Woodstown Wolverines. This will likely decide the Diamond Division title, and Woodstown has to find some way to stop all-state running back Kenny Smith, a Hammonton transfer who already has run for nearly 600 yards and eight touchdowns while playing in just four games. He’s amassed more than 4,000 career rushing yards and 48 touchdowns, and he also has nearly 500 career receiving yards.
ANSWERING THE BELL
Cherry Hill East hasn’t had the toughest schedule around, but the Cougars keep winning and are undefeated heading into this weekend’s matchup against Bridgeton. This will decide the Memorial Division title, and the Bulldogs are 4-0 at home this year. Expect this to be a quick game, as East loves to run the ball. They’ve racked up nearly 2,000 yards rushing and average about 32 carries per game. The Cougars have had nine different ball carriers this year, with Denzel Lee leading the way with 1,130 yards on 110 carries.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com
