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Western Hills quarterback 'had the game of his life' after grandmother's death
Scott Springer Cincinnati Enquirer
Western Hills High School will not be mentioned in any postseason awards for their gridiron success in 2020.
The Mustangs are one of several schools in Ohio that opted out of the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs, in a year where every school that wanted in would qualify.
This past weekend they recorded their first victory, which doesn't sound like much but was actually a monumental win for the ages in the eyes of Mustangs coach Armand Tatum.
The starting quarterback for the Mustangs is 15-year-old Omar Beckley. The pressure of starting a varsity football game behind center before you have your driver's license is tough enough, let alone what Beckley faced Saturday. About 30 minutes prior to leaving for their game vs. Dohn at Withrow, Beckley was dealt an untimely blow.
His grandmother had died. He had multiple messages on his phone. Tatum had noticed tears on Beckley's face when he saw him.
A Western Hills assistant coach immediately volunteered to drive him to his family. The game immediately became secondary.
Not to Beckley.
After gathering himself, he exercised his position as a team leader, calling a meeting to tell his football brothers he was going to stay and play. Next, he told his coaches.
"They said whatever I choose they respected," Beckley said. "Even the players, they respected whatever I chose."
Beckley's only fear was starting the game and then being unable to continue. He had spoken to freshman back-up Rahson Hutchinson before the contest telling him to be ready if he couldn't focus and failed in his first series.
Perhaps grandmother was watching as Beckley did not fail. Instead, he prevailed.
"I told the back-up, 'I'm going to play one drive and see how it goes,'" Beckley said. "I said, 'If I feel like I can't do it, I'm going to let you play.' After the first drive, we had something good going. The offensive line came up to me asking if I was going to stay and play. They said, 'Do it for her. You're already here, you might as well do it for her.'"
Tatum preaches to his players to not be the "what about me?" guy. Prior to recent construction at Western Hills, their locker room door read: We Over Me.
"I'm more happy about them coming together in support of one of their brothers in his time of need," Tatum said. "If nothing else, he was able to forget about that pain for a couple hours. For them (Beckley's teammates), it's just to know what it takes to support someone when they're in need."
Western Hills has more football to play. The Cincinnati Public Schools had a delayed start as the school board kept them from competition until late September. For the schools that opted out, CPS constructed a city championship. The Mustangs will next face Clark Montessori, a CPS school out of the Miami Valley Conference, on Taft High School's field Friday at 6:30.
Should they not win, it won't be a mission lost. Tatum's job goes beyond coaching as the structure of football and friendships are crucial to his squad. Tatum and staff offer a sympathetic ear, a shoulder and nutrition with CPS providing food during training to teens who might not have the means or access to three square meals a day.
"They may not like the food for breakfast, but there's something for them to eat," Tatum said. "They may not like the lunch, but there's something for them to eat. Before practice, we have food. After practice, there's peanut butter and jelly, chocolate milk and Nutragrain bars. A lot of kids don't eat unless they're with us."
The hope is all the good that comes from the team setting is paid forward. The Mustangs won the game 27-0 with Beckley running the option flawlessly.
Scott Springer Cincinnati Enquirer
Western Hills High School will not be mentioned in any postseason awards for their gridiron success in 2020.
The Mustangs are one of several schools in Ohio that opted out of the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs, in a year where every school that wanted in would qualify.
This past weekend they recorded their first victory, which doesn't sound like much but was actually a monumental win for the ages in the eyes of Mustangs coach Armand Tatum.
The starting quarterback for the Mustangs is 15-year-old Omar Beckley. The pressure of starting a varsity football game behind center before you have your driver's license is tough enough, let alone what Beckley faced Saturday. About 30 minutes prior to leaving for their game vs. Dohn at Withrow, Beckley was dealt an untimely blow.
His grandmother had died. He had multiple messages on his phone. Tatum had noticed tears on Beckley's face when he saw him.
A Western Hills assistant coach immediately volunteered to drive him to his family. The game immediately became secondary.
Not to Beckley.
After gathering himself, he exercised his position as a team leader, calling a meeting to tell his football brothers he was going to stay and play. Next, he told his coaches.
"They said whatever I choose they respected," Beckley said. "Even the players, they respected whatever I chose."
Beckley's only fear was starting the game and then being unable to continue. He had spoken to freshman back-up Rahson Hutchinson before the contest telling him to be ready if he couldn't focus and failed in his first series.
Perhaps grandmother was watching as Beckley did not fail. Instead, he prevailed.
"I told the back-up, 'I'm going to play one drive and see how it goes,'" Beckley said. "I said, 'If I feel like I can't do it, I'm going to let you play.' After the first drive, we had something good going. The offensive line came up to me asking if I was going to stay and play. They said, 'Do it for her. You're already here, you might as well do it for her.'"
Tatum preaches to his players to not be the "what about me?" guy. Prior to recent construction at Western Hills, their locker room door read: We Over Me.
"I'm more happy about them coming together in support of one of their brothers in his time of need," Tatum said. "If nothing else, he was able to forget about that pain for a couple hours. For them (Beckley's teammates), it's just to know what it takes to support someone when they're in need."
Western Hills has more football to play. The Cincinnati Public Schools had a delayed start as the school board kept them from competition until late September. For the schools that opted out, CPS constructed a city championship. The Mustangs will next face Clark Montessori, a CPS school out of the Miami Valley Conference, on Taft High School's field Friday at 6:30.
Should they not win, it won't be a mission lost. Tatum's job goes beyond coaching as the structure of football and friendships are crucial to his squad. Tatum and staff offer a sympathetic ear, a shoulder and nutrition with CPS providing food during training to teens who might not have the means or access to three square meals a day.
"They may not like the food for breakfast, but there's something for them to eat," Tatum said. "They may not like the lunch, but there's something for them to eat. Before practice, we have food. After practice, there's peanut butter and jelly, chocolate milk and Nutragrain bars. A lot of kids don't eat unless they're with us."
The hope is all the good that comes from the team setting is paid forward. The Mustangs won the game 27-0 with Beckley running the option flawlessly.
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