Football is about more than wins, losses

The words were cut from an overlong story.

Discarded then - just after the final game of last season - they have a certain resonance as the 2007 football campaign commences.

Pennsbury had just lost to Bethlehem Liberty in the PIAA Class AAAA Eastern final in heartbreaking fashion - a 45-38 four-overtime defeat - and the Falcons' Jackson Fagan was lying on the ground, his face buried deep in his hands.

He finally rose. The tears streaking his eye-black, Fagan spoke from the heart. He spoke as if he had made the journey to manhood during Pennsbury's glorious 13-2 District 1 championship season.

"This could have been my last football game," said Fagan, then a senior, "and that's not even the worst part. The worst part is that I won't play with these guys ever again."

At 16, 17, 18 years of age, it may seem inconceivable to think that a season or a career will finish in defeat. With all-out optimism coursing through the veins on opening day - a football player's Christmas morning - no one wants to hear about the bitter end.

But with hindsight crystal-clear, Fagan's lament is a reminder that the game will come and go - even for the most gifted - but the lessons learned and the friendships forged will last longer than any X or O.

If they don't, something went terribly wrong.

"It's just a game," Fagan said. "But it's become over the season that it's not just a game. It's not just some team."

A 5-foot-10, 170-pound running back, Fagan didn't enter his senior season with even a hint of fanfare. The recruiting-hype machine had overlooked Fagan, a rarely used wide receiver the previous fall.

But when the lines were actually lined, the balls actually snapped and the games actually played, Fagan had as fine a season as any other tailback in Southeastern Pennsylvania. All totaled, he rushed for 2,270 yards on 256 carries, scoring 27 touchdowns. In one game, he ran for a school-record 331 yards.

It's Aug. 31, and the next Jackson Fagan is ready to explode into December. Who could it be and which team will be the beneficiary? Pennsbury was expected to do well last season and delivered on that promise. La Salle had a fine collection of players, but one worthy of Catholic League Red Division title consideration?

Apparently, no one told the Explorers they had no shot. All they did was pull off a monumental upset, knocking off St. Joseph's Prep, 14-7, just five weeks after the Hawks dismantled them, 42-14.

Interestingly enough, Pennsbury and La Salle - Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in The Inquirer's final Top Ten - played each other in a preseason scrimmage last August (and again this August). However, because the Catholic League was not in the PIAA, the teams never had a chance to settle any arguments on the field.

With the Catholic League being transitional members this school year and full-blown can-compete-for-a-state-title members next year, any lingering, best-of issues can be resolved. But that's for next year.

This year, the "Wait till next year" teams will have a chance to put last year behind them. Lower Merion, Monsignor Bonner, Springfield (Montco), Kennedy-Kenrick, Fels and William Penn will attempt to improve on 2006's winless slate. Methacton is hoping to end its 25-game losing streak.

And though his career continues at West Chester University, it's important to heed Fagan's sentiments.

Enjoy the triumphs, learn from the losses. But remember: Victory is achieved not in the result but in the doing.

And if that's too idealistic or hokey for now, just lop off the final few words and save them until the end of the season.