DL Gary helps Wood tattoo King

ARCHBISHOP WOOD senior Chris Gary was finishing up with one reporter after the Vikings plundered Martin Luther King, 52-8, for the AAA City Championship Saturday, when a second reporter requested a word.

"All this press," Gary said, cheesing, "I'm not used to this."

How about a picture, too?

"Shoulda gotten my hair cut," he joked as he quickly coiffed with his hand.

Now that he's photo-shoot fresh . . . Click.

"I almost feel like a celebrity," he said, laughing. "I mean, it's a first for me because I'm so underneath the radar. So, I'm loving this."

Meet 18-year-old Chris Gary, folks. The 6-foot, 205-pound defensive lineman certainly doesn't lack for personality, and in a minute you'll learn where he gets it. However, you'll also find out what he's overcome, who helped him, and why Saturday's victory meant so much.

A tattoo bearing his mother's name, Annette, rests on the inside of his right bicep, the definition of which spurred the moniker "Gunz" from classmates.

But, the ink is there to honor the woman with whom he lives and loves profusely.

"Me and my mom have a very fun relationship," he said. "We joke around a lot. One of the main things she says that gets on my nerves is that she would change my name."

To what, pray tell?

"Bill."

Bill?

"Because I'm such a huge bill. I always make her buy a lot of food or stuff like that. I'm just a huge bill. She should have named me Bill."

Mom's jokes belie her love. For example, when Chris broke his jaw the summer of his junior season after a freak weightlifting accident - who was there to puree his food?

After maxing out on the bench press at around 275 pounds, Gary said his spotter gave way and the bar landed on his face. His mouth was wired shut for 6 weeks, and he lost about 20 pounds. He could still talk, but only through clenched teeth.

Eating was also a challenge.

"Tried applesauce," he said. "That worked. Steak and a lot of A1 Steak Sauce? That didn't work. We tried cereal. That wasn't that good."

Liquefied sweet potatoes did the trick, however.

Hunger pangs may have called after the kitchen closed in their Mount Airy home , but mom, Annette Gary, would always reopen. His grandmother, Evelyn Gary, also helped.

"She's been there from the beginning since peewee football,'' he said of Annette. "Out there in the cold, in the heat. She's been there with me the whole way."

Don't forget about dad, Anthony Muhammad, who played a season of football at then Bishop Neumann. Though they don't live together, Gary said his father makes most practices and games. Oh, and "he bought the sweet potatoes for me, and my mom cooked them."

Saturday's victory was made a little sweeter because Gary said he knows a few of the MLK players and coaches from playing with the Mount Airy Bantams youth football squad.

Wood junior Devon Cobb tallied two sacks for minus-11 yards. Gary also notched a pair on King QB Joe Walker, perhaps the Pub's most elusive tosser, and the sacks cost the Cougars minus-30 yards.

The game plan: "Get on them quick, step on their throats and don't let them get anything," Gary said.

A 35-spot in the second quarter accomplished just that, especially after 17 came in the first frame. The halftime score read 52-0, and with all the negative first-half trucking, the Cougars had zero yards of total offence.

Wood quarterback Tom Garlick tossed three touchdowns. Jarrett McClenton and Josh Messina each rushed for a score, while Joe Dutkiewicz scored twice on the turf. Jake Cooper caught two and Justin Rubin, who also had an interception, snared another.

With a two-sack performance, Gary is hoping to ping on college coaches' radar soon. He's gotten some division-III sniffs, and with a 3.5 GPA and plans for a business degree, his future appears bright regardless.

For now, not being noticed has given way to something bigger.

"It motivates me, but I'm more motivated by getting a championship ring on my finger," Gary said. "That's what motivates me the most."