School: Harry S. Truman
Football, Wrestling, Track & Field
Favorite athlete: Dwight Freeney
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: I got an interception in a scrimmage.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: I was beating this kid in a wrestling match, and there was one minute left in the match, and he said to me, ‘Let’s just lay here and be friends.’
Music on iPod: Michael Jackson, Baltimore club music, Eminem, Nas, R Kelly
Future plans: Play football and do track in college
Words to live by: ‘Success – some people dream of it while others wake up and work hard at it!’
One goal before turning 30: Go skydiving
One thing people don’t know about me: Love to play Call of Duty Black Opps
By Alex Frazier
Harry S Truman football coach Ed Cubbage will never forget the scene.
Following Harry S Truman’s 27-8 win over Council Rock North on Homecoming Day, he watched captain Quinton Bryant leading the team and the marching band as they danced off the field.
“It was a neat scene,” said Cubbage. “The homecoming crowd was just phenomenal. The place was packed.”
Especially neat because not so long before that, there was little to cheer about.
The Tigers’ football season was in serious jeopardy even before the first game was played. The Monday before they opened against Cheltenham just 16 players showed up for practice.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the next day head coach John Iannucci resigned.
Cubbage, an assistant, took over the reins of the program.
The Tigers lost their first game against Cheltenham, but by the time they played their first home game against Ben Franklin the following week, their numbers swelled to 24, and could have been higher if they hadn’t decided to turn down some upperclassmen who wanted to return to the team.
Their 20-12 win in front of their home fans was very satisfying.
“After the first game, we all felt down,” said Bryant, “but with the win after that, it brought our spirits up. It refueled us, helped us move on.”
Bryant was one of maybe there players, and the only lineman—that never came off the field.
He played offense.
He played defense.
And he played special teams.
“It got to me sometimes,” said Bryant. “You just have to dig deep sometimes, and give out for all my brothers out there on the team. They gave me all they had, so I had to suck it up and go out there and give all I got for them.”
“Every game was a marathon for him,” said Cubbage. “He got up for them all. The other guys that did it would have been d-backs. They didn’t take the pounding, they weren’t putting their heads in the ground every play and smacking into someone. What he did was extremely impressive.
“He’s beyond dedicated. He loved competing. He loved being there every day. He relished the leadership role. ”
Two weeks after their first win, the Tigers hit rock bottom. Down 35-0 at the half against Council Rock South, the game was suspended.
“We had no one left,” said Cubbage. “We were all injured.”
“That was truly when I thought our season was going to be over,” said Bryant. “I cried and I was sad. I love playing football.”
They may have been down but they weren’t out.
The following week against William Tennent, the Tigers were poised to score the winning touchdown but were stopped on the one-yard line as time expired, just out two points shy of a victory.
In week seven came the highlight of the season when Truman trounced last year’s district qualifier Council Rock North.
“It was my favorite moment,” said Bryant. “We hadn’t beaten Council Rock North in a long time, and then on our Homecoming we beat them. It was a great feeling. We needed that.”
For the rest of the season, the Tigers held their own despite going winless, partly because they didn’t have the numbers to give players a rest.
“We were trying to sub guys in and out but couldn’t get our air half the time,” said Cubbage.
“We always gave a fight,” said Bryant. “If we had more players, it would have been a different story. All the other teams thought they were just going to walk all over us, but when they got out there it was a totally different Truman than they thought they were going to get. We banded together and gave them a fight. They weren’t expecting that and that was what kept the game close.”
As one of the captains, Bryant led the team not only by his play on the field but also off the field and vocally.
“He was one of the guys I had no worries about,” said Cubbage. “Each day he was in school, and I knew he would be at practice every day. He was a leader in practice. He kept the other 19 guys going in terms of working hard and trying to get better. With all the craziness we had, I still considered our year a positive strength because of Quinton and a couple of other players like him.”
Though the Tigers ended up winning just two games, Bryant was rewarded for his personal achievements by being named first team all-National Conference as an offensive guard and second team as a defensive end. He was also one of three Truman players selected for the Bucks County All-Star game.
“I’m extremely proud of him because of the way he handled himself and the way he played each and every week, despite everything that was going on,” said Cubbage. “He had a fabulous year.”
If only Cubbage could have him for one more.
“Even away from the football stuff, he was an awesome kid,” said Cubbage. “I’ve been lucky enough to be coaching football for 15 years, and he’s right up there with my favorites. I’m upset I only had a chance to have him for one year.”
Football is only one-third of Bryant’s athletic life.
The three-sport athlete is a rarity anymore, but Bryant has managed to be highly successful in wrestling and track as well as football.
“That’s what’s amazing about him,” said wrestling coach Steve Given. “He’s old school.”
“Sometimes you feel you need a break,” said Bryant, “but I like to try new things. I tried wrestling and track and got very good at them. I find myself to be privileged to be a three-sport athlete.”
Bryant said that playing in three sports has kept him focused on all the right things.
“I do hang out with my friends a lot, but you only have one chance to have a high school career,” he said “I gave my all to that. It helps me stay out of trouble and getting involved with the wrong people.”
It also helped him keep his priorities straight.
“First is school, second is sports and third is my social life.”
Despite only starting wrestling as a sophomore, because he and some friends decided it would keep them in shape for football, Bryant qualified for regionals two years running.
After wrestling just four varsity matches his sophomore year, he worked hard over the summer, came back and unseated the varsity heavyweight and went 26-12.
“The work he put in was unbelievable,” said Given. “His talent has only been touched in wrestling.”
This year in fact, he had his sights set on states, but came up short, which was nothing to sneer about given his limited experience and his diminutive size for a heavyweight.
Weighing in at about 220, Bryant could have made 215, but he chose to stay up meaning he often had to face kids that were 20, 30 or 40 pounds heavier.
Given can make the exact same claims about Bryant that Cubbage did.
“He never misses a practice,” he said. “He’s in school every day. On the day of meets, I don’t have to question about who has a shirt and tie on, who has a jacket on. He does everything that you could ask of as a coach and actually takes it to the next level. He actually tries to outdo what I say. He makes other kids on the team better when he can.”
This year as a team captain Bryant placed third in sections and fourth at districts, finishing his final season at 34-8.
His three-year mark is 64-20. He was selected to the all-league second team. How many three-year wrestlers can claim the same?
“I still feel like I was successful even though I didn’t make it to the big meet (states),” said Bryant, “but the fact that I came so far in a little bit of time makes me successful.”
Given said that part a of Bryant’s success can be linked to the support he gets from his mother, father and grandmother.
“They’re great people,” said Given. “He has nothing to do but thank them for what they’ve done for him. They’re very supportive of the booster club. We had a bowling night out; they all showed up. They’re going to be missed.”
Bryant also just picked up track three years ago as a thrower. He is best at tossing the disc.
In his very first season, he broke the school record, surpassing the 145-foot mark with a toss of 147 feet.
The last two years he missed states, but he is poised to get to Shippensburg this year. He’s already making throws of 180 feet in practice. He’s already qualified for districts in his first meet tossing the disc 159 feet. The state-qualifying distance is 152 feet at the district meet (or placing in the top five).
“I have a goal to get my name on the states board in the gym,” said Bryant. “I fell short in wrestling, so this is my last year to get it up there. I’m going to try as hard as I can.”
In the classroom, Bryant’s grade point average has hovered around a 3.0.
He was on the Varsity Club and also volunteered for the Bucks County Challengers, a county organization that set up flag football games for handicapped kids.
“It’s pretty nice thing,” he said. “Kids from all over the school district come. You meet new people outside the football setting.”
Bryant has still to solidify is college decision. His choices right now are Lycoming, Delaware Valley and Weidner. He plans to major in business (marketing or accounting) and minoring in sports management.
As for his athletic career, he plans to play football and most likely track. Wrestling is a long shot.
“Down the road, if he ever turns towards wrestling or discus he’s only going to find out how much better he can get at those two sports,” said Given.
“I might try to do all three, but it’s tough to do at the college level,” said Bryant.
Let’s face it, a three-sport college athlete is not only rare but also extinct like the woolly mammoth.
