Jean DePlacido
A special event to benefit injured St. John's Prep football player Jared Coppola will take place on Thursday, Feb. 18th at the Sylvan Street Grille in Peabody (12 Sylvan St.) with New England Patriots starting linebacker Gary Guyton.
For a $10 raffle ticket fans will get an autographed picture of Guyton, the first undrafted player to start for coach Bill Belichick's defense (second leading tackler on the team this season) and be eligible to win some great prizes including Patriots memorabilia.
Sean Stellato, NFL player agent and assistant Prep football coach, is one of Guyton's advisors. The pair raised money to benefit the Salem Boys and Girls Club at a meet and greet appearance at Carter Fine Jewelers on Route 114 last month.
"I've been working on this event for the past six weeks, and all proceeds will benefit Jared," said Stellato. "We're hoping for a big turnout, and I will contact other athletes to come. Gary was intrigued by Jared's story (Coppola was severely injured in a football scrimmage prior to the start of last season), and wanted to do something, especially since one of his coaches Bill O'Brien (Patriot offensive coordinator) is from the same high school. He will stay for a question and answer session at the end, and Jared is excited about coming, too."
Coppola has returned to his North Reading home after spending months at the Shepherd Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He has made great progress and is continuing his rehabilitation in hopes of walking again.
The junior has also returned to the classroom at St. John's. Throughout the entire ordeal Coppola has maintained a positive attitude and amazing determination.
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Salem State is retiring Evelyn Oquendo's basketball jersey today (11:30 a.m), and it will hang on display in the O'Keefe Center lobby with five other prominent shirts for fans to view. Oquendo, the all time leading women's scorer for the Vikings with 1,738 points, never found playing basketball difficult.
As a young college freshman it wasn't sports that worried the Salem native, but how she'd be able to do in her classes. As a result she made the wise choice for not playing until after first semester ended and she felt more comfortable.
"I didn't play until the Christmas Tournament that year," said Oquendo, who is now 45 and a physical education teacher in Salem. "I wasn't sure I could juggle my courses and play basketball at the same time. Honestly, I had never thought about going to college and had never taken (college courses) until my senior year. I have to thank Tim Shea (SSC women's basketball coach and athletic director) for convincing me to give Salem State a try."
In 1986, Oquendo led the Lady Vikings to their first and only NCAA national championship in her senior year, but her biggest moment came not on the court but when she walked across the stage to get her degree the following May.
"I'm one of eight in my family, and the first one to get a college degree," said said. "My parents said just finish high school; college wasn't anything they knew about. Mom and Dad are from Puerto Rico and worked on a farm. They didn't stress education that much, but they instilled values in all of us. They led by example because they always worked hard, and told us if we did we would be successful with whatever we did in life.
"I have to give my brothers, and the boys in the neighborhood all the credit for teaching me to play basketball, and then letting me play with them. We were the first Spanish family to move into what is now called the Point, but back then was the French-Canadian section of the city, and we were welcomed with open arms."
Oquendo has followed the example set by her parents, and not only works as a physical education teacher at the Collins Middle School, but is a cook at a golf course in Nahant on Saturdays, and volunteers to help the Salem High girls' basketball team. In fact, Shea made sure to tell her about the ceremony well in advance so she could get a Saturday off from work.
"I've been back in Salem for six years now after living in Georgia for 14 years," said Oquendo. "I go see Salem State play as much as I can to support the program that gave me so much. You know I never look at jerseys hanging on a wall, but lately I've taken a closer look around Salem High at Rick Brunson's, Scoonie Penn's, and Jeff Juden's thinking that will be me now. It's incredible to believe stories will be told long after I'm gone."
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It took 10 years to do it. For the first time ever the Williams College wrestlers recorded a win over The College of New Jersey, 22-21 led by junior Ryan Malo, former St. John's Prep star. Going into the final two matches of the meet the Ephs, who are ranked No. 1 in New England and 17th nationally, trailed 11th ranked in the country TCNJ (a five time national champ) by two points, but Malo pinned his opponent 40 seconds into the second period for his 30th of the year to put his team on top. Williams won the Metro/New York/New England Duals by beating Hunter College and New York University. It's no wonder coach Dan DiCenzo refers to his ace wrestler as "the hammer".
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Jean DePlacido is a part-time writer and columnist for The Salem News. Contact her at jmdeplacido@aol.com.
