Jones leads Southern to healthy win over Bartram
Linebacker Qazi Jones, who is planning to become a nurse, helped clinch Liberty Division victory.
WITH THE WAY Qazi Jones plays football, you might not figure him for someone who is passionate about joining a helping profession.
Jones, a 5-9, 165-pound senior, is an aggressive, sometimes loud-talking linebacker for Southern High. However, when he was about 11, a trip to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia sold him on nursing.
It wasn't serious, but after Jones filleted his left thumb while slicing an orange, he did require stitches. Blue scrubs were all he could recall about the female nurse whose compassionate bedside manner birthed his passion.
The mark she left was indelible nonetheless.
"Ever since then I was like, 'I want to do this, I want to do this,' " he said last night after Southern beat John Bartram High, 16-14, at the South Philadelphia Supersite.
Jones caught the game-winning two-point conversion pass from Kahssian Kay with 1:18 left in the Public League AAAA contest. That reception followed Kay's 2-yard sneak, which was set up by Jones tackling a ballcarrier and stripping the ball in the same motion.
Earlier in the game, that type of thievery may have gotten Jones' gums to start flappin' but his own two fumbles as a running back, plus a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for trash-talking, brought humility.
"Our assistant coach pulled me aside before the game because he knows I like to talk trash," Jones said. "He said, 'Don't talk trash!' That one time I slipped up."
Yappin' fuels Jones' fire, but he understands sometimes his team gets scorched too.
"Yes, it gets me hyped," Jones said.
But the bad part: "The flags, the flags," he said with a sheepish grin as he shook his head dejectedly from side to side. "Too many flags. That's my second penalty from talking trash this year."
Flags flew freely in last night's Liberty Division meeting. The Rams (3-5, 2-3) were ticketed 13 times for 105 yards while Bartram (5-3, 3-2) misbehaved seven times for 67 yards. Each team also fumbled four times, losing three apiece.
Southern junior defensive back Qashah Carter started the scoring with a 19-yard interception return early in the first. Jones added the two-point rush. That advantage held up through the half until the Braves rallied for 14-unanswered points to start the third quarter.
Batram senior quarterback Ernest Mulbah and senior receiver Ta-Shawn Stringfield (two catches, 53 yards) teamed up on a 56-yard touchdown. The conversion attempt failed, but Mulbah (220 passing yards, two TD passes) eventually hit fellow senior Quenzel Members (two catches, 50 yards) down the right seam for the go-ahead tally. Senior running back Makai Sheed (12 carries for 57 yards) made it 14-8 Bartram with a conversion run at the 2:44 mark.
Fast-forward to the fourth with 3:15 left after the Braves' defense forced a turnover on downs with the Rams threatening at the 13. A play later, Jones hustled to steal the ball from behind and, six plays later, awkwardly caught the clincher.
"It was crazy," he said. "I caught the ball and soon as I caught it, I took a hit. I'm surprised I held onto the ball . . . It was a hard hit. No. 4 gave me some work, I'm not gonna lie."
Southern's win means a possible playoff berth with a win next week against Frankford. Bartram will face Samuel Fels High.
For Jones, who actually attends Parkway Center City High, a playoff trip would make his senior year. So would fulfilling his school's community service requirement with some nursing experience.
Years ago at CHOP, Jones' identical twin brother, Qiad, was in the hospital room with him.
"It was so crazy that my twin said he felt my pain," Jones said, laughing. "He was in the room crying with me, I lie to you not! But ever since then, I've liked the hospital, liked nurses and liked being in that atmosphere."
If his Division II football looks don't materialize, Jones appears to have other plans. And, as for the nurse who made such an impression, Jones doesn't know her name, but has a message just the same.
"I would thank her because she basically helped me decide what I want to do in life," he said, "because nursing is really something that I want to pursue."