STORY: Alabama commit VanDarius Cowan no longer on PB Gardens team; uninvited from Army Game

[SportsNut25]

Wow. Huge news out of Palm Beach County: http://floridahsfootball.com/2016/10/24/alabama-commit-vandarius-cowan-no-longer-palm-beach-gardens-football-team/

[Floridatech]

First off PB Gardens shouldn't even be kickin the best player off their team, they ain't even got no offense and second they are barely hanging on to playoff contention right now

[Original1]

Hopefully this young man learns from his mistakes. There is a lesson in everything.

[SportsNut25]

First off PB Gardens shouldn't even be kickin the best player off their team, they ain't even got no offense and second they are barely hanging on to playoff contention right now

 

More than just a game, my man. Gotta get these players on the right path. 

[Floridatech]

More than just a game, my man. Gotta get these players on the right path.

Well yea but eatin food on the sidelines while your team is losing to a team less talented lol thats priceless

[Floridatech]

More than just a game, my man. Gotta get these players on the right path.

Why he got ejected from the game

[gator boy]

he didn't get ejected

[Floridatech]

he didn't get ejected

He didn't??????

[gator boy]

was benched

 

He didn't??????

[Floridatech]

was benched

Ok

[SportsNut25]

Story has been updated with Tweets from Cowan, as well as a look at what his next few steps in life will be.

[mbhs69]

I have no comment on this player's situation, but it brings to mind another long ago story about young men who make mistakes, sports, high school, and lessons about life at a time when alternatives were college (which few in Philly could afford without a scholarship) or a voracious draft which usually resulted in a ticket to Vietnam.

A bit long, about basketball not football, from a Philly newspaper.

 

ON THE NIGHT of Feb. 26, 1968, the defending city champion North Catholic High School Falcons made national headlines with a 77-60 victory over the mighty Bishop McDevitt Lancers in the Philadelphia Catholic League Northern Division playoff opener.  But not in the normal fashion.  It did so with a squad of Junior Varsity players, subbing for the suspended varsity team.  The coach, and man behind the suspensions, was Coach (and School Disciplinarian and Latin Teacher) Jack Friel.  The fill- in JV starters were juniors Iggy Brodzinski, Joe Evanosich and Mike Kaiser, and sophomores Bill Dever and Jim Boylan.

 

The replacement Falcons took the floor to the sound of deafening boos from the Falcon’s own fan section and chants of " We want the varsity . . . we want the varsity".  They trailed just once, 2-0, scored the final 11 points of the game after McDevitt had sliced the lead to six with 2:45 to go, and had become larger than life - even to some McDevitt fans - by the end of the night.   Later, Coach Friel received countless awards and honors for his noble stand and, to boot, letters of admiration from as far away as the West Coast and a Sports Illustrated story.  

 

BUT THAT'S GETTING ahead of the story, which began with a special morning prayer and team Mass, and a directive from Friel to the players that they go out to a diner for some breakfast then return for second period.  The first part went fine, but the players never returned, at least not on time.  Friel then tracked them down and the machinery was set in motion to prevent them from representing the school that very night.

 

"The team was due back at 9:15AM sharp, " said Friel. " I happened to be in the Discipline Office at the time and I noticed the attendance slips came back with all their names marked absent.  By 10:30, they still weren't back.  I made a few stops around the neighbourhood and met them as they were walking back to the school.  I said, 'On your way back, think about not playing tonight.'  I gave them the opportunity for an explanation, but none seemed to hold water. I then went off to discuss the matter with the principal, Rev. Edward Corcoran, and the vice principal, Rev. William Guerin.  There was no hesitation.  We had to show the kids in the strongest way possible that they were students first, athletes second.  The kids took a liberty and betrayed a trust.  As athletes, they felt they deserved something extra.  But they always got that through the accolades they received for playing the games.  Another punishment never even entered my mind.  It was clear-cut as far as I was concerned.  All 12 varsity players were suspended"

 

BUT THE NEWS did NOT spread like wild fire.  "I'll never forget, fifth period history class," said Brodzinski.  "There were a couple JV players and a couple varsity players. One of the varsity guys, Billy O'Hara, whispered to me that the varsity had been suspended and that the JV would be playing tonight.  He was such a practical joker, though, I didn't take him seriously.  Then, the teacher mentioned something that he had heard a rumor to the same effect. I started believing it.â€

 

Later, the JV players received notes to "come to the Discipline Office after schoolâ€, and waited there until 3:30, when everything was made official.  They then practiced for a half-hour (they hadn't played in eight days and some had to borrow sneakers and socks),  went to the Northeast Diner for what was supposed to be a light meal (Evanosich and Dever, it is recalled, ordered spaghetti and meatballs, sundaes, and everything else that would not be found at a normal pre-game munch), then the team took the train to the historic Palestra.

 

5,495 fans packed the Palestra for the 7PM game.  "When we came out and our own North fans were booing, it made us feel more mad than bad," said Evanosich, best remembered for his floppy, parted-down-the- middle mop of hair.  "I was so into what was going on, I didn't even notice the boos until Dever mentioned it.  But we got ticked off and we wanted to show 'em.  All along, I thought we could win.  On the train, some of the guys were saying, 'People will read about this in the comic strips, not the sports section.'   I told 'em, 'They might be a year older than us, but they're still just kids and they put their sneaks on one at a time like we do. ' "

 

"Nobody expected us to win, " said Dever, who had not even started all year for the JV.  "When Coach Fran Dougherty (JV coach) told me I was starting, I was thinking, 'Don't put ME in there, don't do this to me.'  At halftime, I figured we could play with them, but when they cut it to six I figured, 'Oh, oh, now they're playing like they should. That's it, the fairy tale's over. ' Then we scored the last 11.  That was the greatest year of my young life.  In football, our first two quarterbacks got hurt and I started in the Thanksgiving win over Frankford.  Then, that JV game."

 

Dever's role in the game was ballhandling, while Evanosich (13 points) handled the outside sniping.  Kaiser (6-2) totaled 20 points and 23 rebounds,  Brodzinski (6-3) 19 and 18,  and Boylan (6-4) 14 and 15 as the JVs - who had split once with McDevitt's JVs - posted their highest point total of the year, and a 62-36 rebounding advantage against McDevitt.

 

"THE ONLY DISTINCTION between us and the varsity," said Kaiser, "was that they played the second game all year. We had a lot of talented players and we were all pretty close.  At first, I wasn't sure if the school was making the right decision and if we were making the right decision to take their place.  It was sort of like we weren't supporting the varsity.  I asked the guys what they thought.  They were so psyched up to play, I had to go along.  I mean, like who ever gets a chance like this?" 

 

"If I remember right, " said Brodzinski, " Mike Kaiser didn't think very much of the school for putting us on the spot like that.  He was not too enthused.  Meanwhile, we thought it was great.  Really, we were the perfect matchup for that team.  It was a little scary when we first came out, but the booing by our own fans really helped us.  And the Palestra's so tight, the fans are right on top of you.  We had a few goofballs on the team, like real lunatics.  So that razzing was all they needed to push them over the hump.  I know Coach Friel deserved a lot of credit for what he did, but JV Coach Fran Dougherty deserved a lot credit for what we did.  The JVs were his, and he stepped up with 3 ½ hours notice to coach us that night.  He had us prepared so well." 

 

"I was more nervous than the players," Coach Dougherty said.  "To be very honest, I felt there was no wayâ€, he said.  â€œThe team was laughing, joking and cutting up.  But the second they went on the floor, they got real serious, real fast.  They had this look like they expected to win, they were hungry, like wolves.  When we got off to the good start, I thought, 'Geez, maybe we've got a shot here.'  All night, we kept going right through McDevitt’s press.† “The response to Coach Friel's decision from the varsity players' parents was mostly favorableâ€, Dougherty said.   "The only guy I remember really being hot was Mr. Siemiontkowski," he said, of father of varsity starter Hank Siemiontkowski, City MVP who would star at Villanova and be drafted by the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers.   We saw him that night. I thought he was going to pop us. And he was a real big man, real big."   Dougherty went on, "what we achieved could never happen today. Back then, there were a number of quality players at all-boys North Catholic (the enrollment was 2,800). Ten, 15, even 20 tremendous players.  The JV scrimmaged against the varsity every day.  Sometimes we beat them."  

 

"When the varsity came back," said Friel, "it did so with a super attitude.  None of the guys were sullen or bitter or hanging their heads.  They had a feeling like 'Hey, we messed up, we paid, it's done, we're alive, let's go do something about it.'  They were good kids, they really were.  We had team rules, team expectations, team goals.  They just made a bad mistake in judgment like all high school kids occasionally do."  Six days later, with the varsity reinstated for the semifinal game with powerhouse Cardinal O'Hara - which the defending city champ Falcons lost agonizingly 51-49, on a tap by Lou Ferro that rolled around the rim for 2 seconds before falling in at the buzzer - Friel saw fit to dress six of his JVs.  Two played in that game, Kaiser and Dever.

 

FROM THE OTHER side, the whole chain of events was a nightmare for McDevitt's players and their coach, Steve Chapman.  "I happen to think it was a psychological freak." said Chapman."  Our kids had nothing to win and everything to lose.  For their kids, it was just the opposite.  When we got to the end of the first quarter down (15-10), that was enough to set off their psyche.  Against their varsity, we would have been right on schedule.  Against their JVs, well, there was nothing I could say to my kids to shake them out of it.  People that talk about adjustments and Xs and Os are crazy.  It wasn't that at all.  The will to win a game comes from the heart".

Playing at the Palestra - http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/pennband/honorbands/img/1920/blue.jpg

[Cat_Scratch]

Well yea but eatin food on the sidelines while your team is losing to a team less talented lol thats priceless

I agree, but teams rules are team rules. Kind of crazy though. 

He had a PF and was benched, I guess the coach was taking the loss out on him.

[Floridatech]

I agree, but teams rules are team rules. Kind of crazy though.

He had a PF and was benched, I guess the coach was taking the loss out on him.

Lol i still just think it was funny he was eating on the sidelines tho lol he was juss chillin basicly

[DisabledAccount]

I think I heard stories one of our players fell asleep on sideline earlier this year and was told to go home lol

 

Guess that is similar story except our guy never played that much anyway lol