Asher Hayles, DeSales football team competing with Xavier Quinn in mind
Needing to change his uniform number on the DeSales football team this season because of a role change, No. 99 seemed like an obvious choice to senior Asher Hayles considering some of his favorite college and pro players also have worn that number.
But Hayles didn’t switch to No. 99 until Week 3, instead wearing a number with an emotional connection for the members of the senior class.
For the Stallions’ first two games, Hayles wore No. 29, which has been temporarily “retired” since 2019 because it was supposed to have been the jersey number for Xavier Quinn, who was set to be a freshman that season.
Quinn, who was on track to be an impact player during his first season with DeSales, was fatally shot July 26, 2019, after practicing with the team throughout that summer.
“We still all talk about him to this day,” Hayles said. “He was about to start as a varsity player as a freshman. I grew up with Xavier playing football, so I knew him for a long time.”
The Stallions wear a sticker on their helmets with the letters “X” and “Q” in memory of Quinn, whose older brother, 2021 graduate Quintell Quinn, is a former standout for the program and a redshirt freshman playing for Ohio University.
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The father of Xavier and Quintell is Kenny Quinn, a 1996 Brookhaven graduate who made it to state in track and field as a senior in four events.
Hayles’ uncle is 1998 Mifflin graduate Ashford Hayles, who also was a standout in track.
Because of a relationship between the families that goes back more than two decades, Asher Hayles got permission to wear No. 29 for the Stallions’ first two games, which were both on the road.
Hayles wore No. 53 last season, but because he’s been seeing action at tight end this fall, he needed to switch to a jersey that would make him eligible to make an offensive play if called upon.
According to Hayles, the senior class also has been raising money to buy a plaque for Xavier Quinn that will be placed along the walkway to DeSales’ football stadium.
“This would have been (Xavier Quinn’s) senior year, so our kids have been trying to honor him,” coach Ryan Wiggins said. “Our new uniforms came in three weeks late, so Asher, with permission from the Quinn family, wore 29. Xavier was going to be a star and he would’ve played next to his brother, Quintell. That’s part of the story of (the 2023) class.”
Hayles and junior Cameron Gwinn are linemen and senior Omarion Conteh and junior Max Shulaw are linebackers who have led the defense.
The Stallions opened the CCL schedule with a 7-2 victory over Hartley on Sept. 23 and beat Dover 23-16 in three overtimes Sept. 30 to improve to 4-3. They continue league action Oct. 7 at Watterson and close the regular season Oct. 21 at home against St. Charles in the CCL finale.
Recently added to the schedule is a game Oct. 14 at home against Cincinnati Dohn Community, but that is not an OHSAA-sanctioned program so a win wouldn’t provide playoff computer points.
DeSales was projected to be eighth in Division II, Region 7 this week.
“I feel like our team is at a good place,” Gwinn said. “If we just play together and play like we should, we’ll be pretty good together. We just have to keep our consistency and our energy up.”
Through five games, Hayles had 11 tackles for loss and Gwinn and Conteh both had 10 tackles for loss. Shulaw has been battling injury and did not play against Hartley.
While Gwinn is contributing full-time for the first time this fall, Hayles spent most of the 2020 season — when DeSales lost in overtime to Chardon in the Division III state final — as a junior varsity player. He became a starter on the defensive line midway through the 2021 regular season and this fall typically lines up at either end or linebacker.
Hayles is 6-foot-2 and is listed at 230 pounds after weighing just more than 200 last fall.
“I’ve most definitely gained a lot of weight,” he said. “Last year I ran a 5.3 (seconds in the) 40 and now I run a 4.8, so I’ve most definitely gotten stronger, faster and bigger. This whole offseason, me and Cameron trained together and we went to Atlanta and learned some defensive line stuff there.
“Our defense is really good. We have some really nice talent on defense.”
julrey@thisweeknews.com
@UlreyThisWeek
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Hayles, DeSales football team competing with Quinn in mind
