Cedar Creek 195-pounder Jose Quinones lets the demon inside come out when he’s on the mat

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher Something happens to Jose Quinones when he steps onto a football field. Or a wrestling mat, for that matter. The demon inside of him comes out. It’s a transformation he doesn’t fully understand, but all he needs to know is that when he gets into that zone, good things happen for him and his team. At first glance, Quinones, a senior 195-pounder at Cedar Creek High School, looks every bit the part of the demon. He has wild, curly hair, piercing eyes and elaborate skull tattoos that cover both of his upper arms. But the Quinones off the field or mat is the polar opposite to what is displayed when he is in uniform. He’s a pretty nice guy. “When I play football, I have another side of me. Everybody would call me the demon. When I get on the field, I feel like I have another side of me. I take all the good out and I’m just mean out there. I created this tattoo (on my left arm) because that’s how I visualize myself (as an athlete), and the other one is a cross and a skull. They both bring a bad side, but the one (on my right arm) just lets me know that I have good in me. I just wanted some images that would stand for me,” Quinones explained. “I’m a nice guy off the field. I study hard, keep my head out of the business out on the streets. I don’t deal with any of that. I want to get to college. That’s what everybody should do, in my opinion, if they want to get to the places they want to get to, you have to take away the bad habits.” Jose Quinones, a senior 195-pounder on the Cedar Creek wrestling team, said he is aiming to make it to the regional tournament this year for the first time in his career. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Quinones had been more demon than saint early on in his high school career. Like many 14- and 15-year-olds, he was full of bravado and thought he was the man. He’s learned the hard way, by making mistakes and dealing with some personal issues, what it really means to be a man. He’s helped lead the Pirates’ football team to a couple of outstanding years as a ferocious outside linebacker, but his junior year on the wrestling mat was cut short as he had to attend to some personal issues. He had to work to help his family out, and basically had to take some time to get himself on a better path — the right path, the one he wanted to be on. A path that would take him to college and allow him the opportunity to make something of himself. “I feel like I’m more of a man now. My junior year, when I turned 16, I knew I had to step up. I wasn’t being a little boy about it. I told my mom, look, if I have to work I will work. It’s not a big deal. So I feel like I have really matured over the last couple of years,” Quinones said. “Going back to my freshman year, I felt like I was the man back then. But now I know how it really feels to be a man. It’s just so much different. I made so many mistakes my freshman and sophomore years, but now I say to myself that I’m not going to make those mistakes again. It gets easier as you grow. Being a man is where I want to be. My passion is what made me who I am today and built me up, that’s how I see it.” He has built himself up into a legitimate contender for the district title in his weight class, and as he gets into better wrestling shape he and first-year coach George Cappuccio believe that making it out of districts and into the Region 8 tournament is a realistic goal. “He’s always been that solid .500 wrestler. We had high hopes (coming into this year). He’s been talking about it all spring and summer, about how this year was going to be fun. He’s really been looking forward to it, and for him to come out and follow through with that is nice to see,” Cappuccio said. “I expect him to get out of districts this year and get into regions and see what he can do. It’s going to be tough, though. We only have three seniors and they are all kind of in that same boat where they are battling and have high hopes to at least get through the districts. It’s a heartbreaking thing to work hard for four years and then not make it out (of districts).” “I feel like I’ve gotten way better this year. I have to work on my conditioning a little more, but other than that I have technique down, I just need that little bit extra conditioning,” Quinones said. His future in the district tournament remains unknown, but one thing is for sure. Quinones is going to give it his all, and he doesn’t know the meaning of the word “quit.” That was evidenced during a quad match earlier this month when he went up against Absegami’s Khiri Williams, another tough senior. Quinones got an early lead, but then was gassing and was nearly pinned by Williams. He fought through the exhaustion and escaped with a narrow victory. “That’s the mentality I have. I don’t like to quit. I keep that in my head,” Quinones said. “And this year, since I’m a senior and there is only a few seniors on the team, I feel like I have to set an example that you can’t just give up in the middle of a match. I was one point behind, but I wasn’t going to let up.” Quinones celebrates after a hard-fought, overtime win over Absegami’s Khiri Williams during a quad meet in January. The two could square off again at the upcoming district tournament. That’s a true wrestler’s mentality. Some guys have it, and some guys don’t, Cappuccio said. “Sometimes we have trouble having guys stick with the sport, because it is a tough sport. But he’s stuck it out and now he’s really enjoying it. Most of our guys start out (wrestling in high school) and it takes two or three years to bring them up to speed,” Cappuccio said. “It’s sad to see them go because you’ve spent all that time and they finally got to be where they needed to be, then they leave you.” Cappuccio said he feels as though Quinones is right on the brink of where he needs to be, and Quinones agrees. He has the talent, now it’s just a matter of building up the conditioning to make sure he doesn’t run out of gas at the most crucial time of the year — mid-February. “For some of these guys, going through football season where they have to deal with injuries, then to jump right into wrestling is tough on them. He was pretty out of (wrestling) shape his first couple of matches and we told him he had to pick it up. Now he’s in better wrestling shape,” Cappuccio said. “It’s such a different kind of shape. It’s six minutes and every part of your body is working hard, there are no breaks, no stopping. So it’s definitely a different kind of shape you have to be in. “When it comes to his focus during matches, that’s where the biggest difference has been. He’s on that level where he always had a good pace in practice. That hasn’t changed much, it’s more on match day. He steps up and finds that extra gear and pushes through it and gets it done.” “I feel like I am way ahead of where I thought I would be. With wrestling, you never know. People have their off days and their on days. My mentality is just to do what I have to do, and wrestle whoever I have to,” Quinones said. “There are true 195-pounders, and right now I’m kind of an underdog (in that weight class; Quinones weighs 192 pounds). But you can’t just be strong and not have technique. You have to have the whole package. Right now, I just need to have more conditioning.” While Cappuccio is keeping his postseason expectations for Quinones tempered at the moment, Quinones isn’t scared to dream big. He said he is aiming for a trip to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, sit
e of the state championships in March. “My goal is to go to states. Be first in districts and take at least second or third at regions and win my way to states,” Quinones said. “I feel like I’m going to have to get stronger, build my technique up and work on some new moves. People will study your moves, so I like to be versatile. Every wrestler has their bread and butter, but I need more moves so that way I can reach beyond my expectations from earlier this season.” Cappuccio said confidence will be the key for Quinones. “I think a lot of it is his confidence. He had the ability, but I think he has more confidence this year,” the Pirates’ coach said. “He’s going out and hitting the moves that he needed to learn and he’s hitting them with authority. He’s always had natural ability, it’s just all coming together now.” Can Quinones beat the odds and advance through the district and region tournaments? He’s just going to have to unleash the demon inside and see what happens. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]