HOMETOWN — Mason Evitts grabbed his gold helmet and trotted out onto the practice field with the rest of his Marian teammates.
He didn’t have to be there.
But in his opinion, there was no place he’d rather be.
It’s been that way all season for the 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior.
Evitts was ruled ineligible by the District 11 Committee after he transferred from Mahanoy Area to Marian in January.
Instead of sulk, whine and complain about his situation or quit, the 17-year-old Mahanoy Plane resident has been a vital member of a Colts squad that will face Bishop McDevitt in the opening round of the PIAA Class A playoffs Friday at Ben Johnston Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia.
Evitts has participated in every practice and every team function the entire season for the District 11 champions, from weightlifting to film study to prayer sessions to team dinners.
He was honored at Senior Recognition Night, will receive a varsity letter and was rewarded with a District 11 gold medal after last Friday’s 33-0 win over Tri-Valley.
The only thing he hasn’t done is play on Friday nights.
“He’s here every day, on the sidelines for every game,” Marian coach Stan Dakosty said. “He’s very much a part of our program.
“It breaks my heart that he can’t play this year. But
he’s handled it like a man.He’s handled it a lot better than some adults would have handled it.
“He’s one of us. There’s no hesitation about it.”
Evitts was a three-year starter at running back/defensive back while at Mahanoy Area, earning Republican-Herald All-Area honorable mention honors as a sophomore and All-Area and Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association North second-team defensive honors as a junior.
Over the past two seasons, Evitts rushed for 670 yards and seven touchdowns, and caught 38 passes for 620 yards and five scores in the Golden Bears’ Flexbone offense.
He had six interceptions his sophomore season as a cornerback and helped Mahanoy Area reach the 2013 Eastern Conference Class A championship game and the District 11 Class A semifinals last season.
Switching schools
Everything wasn’t rosy at Mahanoy Area, however.
Evitts had actually considered going to Marian for his freshman year, but decided otherwise. His parents, Kevin and Jan, were worried about Mason not being academically prepared for college, even though he was an honor roll student.
Their fears were confirmed when their daughter, Miranda, came home after her first semester at Lebanon Valley College and said she was “overwhelmed.”
The family discussed things over the holiday break, and at the end of the first semester, Mason Evitts enrolled at Marian on Jan. 20, 2015.
“Mason transferred for academic reasons,” Kevin Evitts said. “We just didn’t like where he was heading academically at Mahanoy Area.
“When the second marking period was over, we called Marian. We figured he’d get a half-year in, and if he didn’t like it there, he could come back.”
Evitts’ athletic eligibility, however, was questioned after Mahanoy Area completed its PIAA questionnaire regarding the transfer.
At a hearing in March, the District 11 Committee ruled Evitts was ineligible to play football, citing Article VI in the PIAA Constitution and By-Laws that states transfers can not be done that are “materially motivated in some way by an athletic purpose.”
The District 11 Committee said Evitts was eligible to play any sport except football. According to District 11 Chairman Bob Hartman, Evitts was deemed ineligible to play football for one year from his transfer date, Jan. 20.
The Evitts family appealed the decision to the PIAA Board of Control, which upheld the District 11 Committee’s ruling. Marian attempted to appeal again this fall, but that request was denied.
“It was really hard,” Mason Evitts said of being ruled ineligible. “I dreamed of playing my senior year and maybe getting a full ride or a half-scholarship to a school that I would choose. Now I’m just hoping I can get accepted.”
Evitts played baseball last spring for Marian, hitting .282 with eight doubles and 20 RBIs as the Colts won the Schuylkill League Division III title and reached the District 11 Class A semifinals.
Football, however, is his first love and, despite not being eligible, Evitts was determined to remain part of the Marian program in some fashion.
Even though he couldn’t play, Dakosty was happy to have him.
“We’re obviously disappointed with the ruling. But he’s been great in school,” said Dakosty, who also teaches history at Marian. “He had a great baseball season and is looking forward to another one. He’s been nothing but totally involved in our community. He’s one of the Marian family now.
“It’s unfortunate he didn’t get a chance to play,” Dakosty continued. “It’s the first time I’ve been around a situation like this, but I think it shows his true colors. He didn’t look to go anywhere else. There are a lot of places that would have taken him.”
Every team’s No. 1
Evitts said the transition from Mahanoy Area to Marian was a smooth one, mostly because he was good friends with tailback K.J. Snerr and baseball player Joe Nahas before he got to the Hometown campus.
In practice, Evitts’ main role is to serve as the opposition’s best player on both sides of the ball.
When the Colts do offensive drills, Evitts serves as a shut-down cornerback on Marian receivers Aaron DeAngelo or Hunter Nause. When Marian wants to work on its defense, Evitts is the scout-team quarterback, running the other team’s plays.
Having a player as experienced and talented as Evitts serving in those roles has been a big reason for Marian’s success, Dakosty said.
“He’s been invaluable. Every week he’s their team’s best player,” Dakosty said.
“So you’re getting a guy against our first-team offense and defense who is a high-level football player, a very talented football player. He goes full-speed all the time.”
Dakosty said Evitts’ defensive presence during Marian’s offensive workouts have helped improve the Colts’ passing game. Junior quarterback Ethan Kuczynski has completed 80-of-150 passes for 1,175 yards and 13 touchdowns, with DeAngelohauling in 38 receptions for 664 yards and six scores and Nause catching 13 passes for 114 yards.
“You see his work a lot in our passing game,” Dakosty said. “He covers our kids during practice, our receivers DeAngelo and Nause. They’re having to work, and I think you see the results. It’s not like they’re going against a little sophomore. They’re going against an experienced varsity player.
“They have to work their routes and work to get open. It’s helped Ethan too. We’ve been more effective in our passing game this year.”
Evitts’ work in practice was also valuable in Marian’s two wins over Mahanoy Area, 35-7 on Oct. 23 and 21-12 in the District 11 Class A semifinals Nov. 13.
Evitts said he was able to handle the emotions of being on the sideline for those two games in a calm fashion.
“I was actually fine for them,” Evitts said. “I prepared (his teammates) well all week for both games. I told them what they were going to bring and what they’re going to have.
“During the game, I told them what I was seeing and what they would be seeing. I kept my mouth closed the whole game because I didn’t want to start anything.”
Moving forward
Evitts would like to play football in college, where he intends to study physical therapy. He listed Temple, Colgate and Misericordia as potential destinations, and said Misericordia has already been in contact with him.
Dakosty, in his 39th season, hopes to help Evitts fulfill that dream.
“He wants to play at the next level, and we’re going to do everything we can to help him,” said Dakosty, whose son Stan Jr. is an assistant coach at Colgate. “It might have to be a different route initially. We’ll see what happens.
“He’s got ability. He’s got some good fundamentals down this year that are going to help him at the next level.
“He’s a talented kid. He could definitely play at the next level.”
Dakosty considered giving Evitts a job on game days, like charting plays or sending in signals, but decided not to. He relies on Evitts as a motivator on the sideline, pumping up his teammates and offering them words of encouragement when they need it.
That’s exactly what he was doing Friday night as Evitts walked down the line of Marian players stretched along the 40-yard line.
There were handshakes, high-fives and hugs, and an occasional word of encouragement or laugh as the Colts celebrated their first District 11 Class A crown in eight years.
A gold medal draped around his neck and onto his white, No. 12 jersey, winning a District 11 championship is what Evitts dreamed about when he envisioned his senior year of high school football.
He may have not played a down this season, but his work off the field hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Coming here, with Coach bringing me in and letting me join the (Marian) family, it really taught me how to be humble, how to stay above everybody else and to keep pushing my brothers to get to where we want to get,” Evitts said.
“At the beginning of the season, we were at a dinner in Hometown. We went through the seniors, and we all set goals. Mainly, all of our goals were to win the district championship. And that’s what we did.”