With the Lincoln High School football team, the uniform No. 11 is a numeral that the players all covet to wear. It gives you a sense of importance, a place of prominence.
Before the current season, junior wide receiver/defensive back Desmond Stevens believed that he should be the one to don the prestigious uniform jersey this season, joining former Lion great players like Ronald Butler, Isiah Roberts and Jason Harrison, all three former All-County players who earned scholarships to college.
“I asked for it,” Stevens said.
So head coach Robert Hampton obliged. He believed that Stevens had a ton of promise.
“He thought he was the heir apparent to wear the number,” Hampton said. “That number has a great place here. It’s a big number here. So if you get the number, you’re expected to have the same level of excellence. Desmond is a likeable kid, a very good kid. And if he ever develops, he could be a very special player. There are a number of things he can do.”
Hampton then presented Stevens with the number of honor.
However, that turned out to be a mistake.
“He needed a sense of maturity,” Hampton said. “It was almost like he had a false entitlement. He became infatuated with the number and didn’t play like he deserved to have it. He had a level of cockiness that wasn’t good.”
So after the first game of the season, Hampton changed Stevens’ number from 11 to 6.
“I wanted to keep it,” Stevens said. “I said, ‘C’mon Coach, give me a break.’ I wanted to have the chance to wear it. I took No. 6 and put it on my back. That was it.”
Hampton said that since the uniform change, Stevens became a new player.
“He just had to be himself,” Hampton said. “He didn’t have to try to be someone else. So he had the chance to make No. 6 a special number, make it his number. I think it was big in helping him mature. Since the change, you could see him on the right path. He got humble and there wasn’t a problem anymore.”
Stevens was destined for greatness even before the uniforms were dispensed.
Last summer, Stevens attended football camps at places like Syracuse, Temple and Stony Brook and was clocked by camp organizers in the 40-yard dash.
“He ran a 4.4 in Syracuse and Temple and I was shocked,” Hampton said. “It didn’t look like he was running that fast.”
“I heard that and said, ‘Are you serious?’” Stevens said. “I couldn’t believe it. It completely blew my mind.”
Stevens’ numbers got better with a 4.35 clocking at Stony Brook.
Despite Stevens’ small frame (5-foot-7 and 155 pounds), popping the clock like that usually means scholarship offers, because you simply cannot teach speed.
Stevens has been running track during the winter and spring seasons since he entered Lincoln.
“I don’t think I have a favorite sport,” Stevens said. “I like doing both.”
Remarkably, football was not one of Stevens’ first loves.
“I played basketball my whole life,” Stevens said. “I love basketball.”
But in eighth grade, Stevens was talked into trying football by his best friend, current St. Peter’s Prep cornerback Max McIntosh.
“He talked me into giving it a try,” Stevens said. “I tried tackling and couldn’t do it. I said, ‘This is not for me.’ I almost walked away. But I wanted to play a different sport in high school. I had to start somewhere.”
Stevens got his first taste with the Jersey City Recreation Jets and remained in the game, right into Lincoln High School.
And Stevens has played the last three seasons with the Lions.
Last Saturday, Stevens had the best game of his football career, when he set a Lincoln record by intercepting three passes, returning one for a touchdown, in the Lions’ 38-22 victory over Raritan in the opening round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II playoffs at Caven Point Cochrane Field.
The win enabled the Lions to avenge the stunning 28-26 loss they suffered on the hands of Raritan in the Central Jersey Group II championship game last December at Kean University.
For his record-breaking efforts, Stevens has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
It’s a distinction that all three aforementioned players (Butler, Roberts and Harrison) earned once during their playing days. Now Stevens joins the group, only with his own No. 6.
Incredibly, Stevens almost returned all three of his interceptions for touchdowns. The first pick was the easiest.
“I read the quarterback completely,” Stevens said. “I was waiting for the receiver to do a curl move and I jumped the route.”
Stevens stepped in front of the pass and pranced his way into the end zone, a good 25-yards ahead of the rest of the field.
On the second interception, Stevens caught a deflected pass, turned around and turned on the jets. He was brought down at the 1-yard line.
“I really thought I had two,” Stevens said. “I got taken down at the last minute.”
The third pick came in the fourth quarter and Stevens made another brilliant defensive move, collecting the pass and racing toward the end zone.
“I had some lead blocking,” Stevens said.
Unfortunately, Stevens ran right into that blocking and was inadvertently taken down by his own blocking teammate. It was like a lightning bolt going past the Raritan tacklers – times three.
“I’ve been around since the 1970s and I don’t remember ever anyone getting three interceptions,” Hampton said. “Realistically, he could have had three touchdowns. That’s something that never happens. And he did it against the same team that broke our spirits last year. We got a chance to play them again and beat them. Revenge is sweet.”
While Stevens had a career day at defensive back, Hampton believes Stevens is a better wide receiver and that his future lies as an offensive player. Stevens caught one pass for 22 yards in the win Saturday.
“With offseason weight training, we can get him to 165 [pounds],” Hampton said. “He has a lot of potential. He can be a prospect. He’s a warrior, a tough kid. He just had to learn how to play the game. He’s very hard to cover. I think he’s a very good receiver and could be a major prospect. He’s also a very bright player in terms of football. He’s very intelligent overall.”
For now, Stevens’ defensive prowess has to take center stage.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Hampton said. “I saw Butler and [Frank] Darby [currently at Arizona State] and Harrison and none of them had anything like this. This was beyond compare. He was in another world. He was like Derek Jeter in the World Series or like [Frank] Sinatra at Madison Square Garden. It’s the team that beat us last year and he gets three picks? It’s amazing.”
Even Stevens is startled beyond belief.
“I’ve watched the tape two or three times,” Stevens said. “It’s like, ‘Wow!’ Did I really do that? No way is that happening.”
Stevens was like lightning. Sounds like a great nickname. Desmond “Lightning” Stevens has a very nice ring to it.
“Lightning, that’s a good nickname,” Stevens said.
And now and forever, “Lightning” Stevens has his own number.
“I’m No. 6,” Stevens said. “It’s mine.” – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com