La Academia’s bench is mostly empty chairs. Only seven players are available for each game. There should be one more.
Quinnes Jones-Hawkins was supposed to be a starter for the Lancaster city charter school. His basketball season ended during Week 9 of football.
Jones-Hawkins, playing for McCaskey, tried to make a tackle near the sideline. Two of his own linemen crashed into him. The result was a torn ACL in his left knee.
The junior spends his school days limping around in a giant brace. He spends his evenings doing the rehabilitation that will bring him back.
“The first day, I was emotional,” Jones-Hawkins said. “I went back to the locker room and I was really going through it.”
La Academia, a perennial qualifier for the PIAA Tournament in Class 1A, could use the 6-0 guard as it heads down the stretch. Los Leones are 9-8 and ranked sixth in District Three.
Coach Jerry Johnson happened to be in attendance when Jones-Hawkins suffered his injury. Johnson’s 1999-2000 McCaskey team was being inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame that night.
A festive mood turned sour.
“That’s a huge loss for us,” Johnson said. “Q was one of our starters. He’s another ballhandler, a defender, a good IQ who understands basketball.”
Jones-Hawkins was one of McCaskey’s most versatile and talented football players. He played quarterback, receiver and running back on offense and cornerback, safety and outside linebacker on defense.
Football is a family tradition. Jones-Hawkins’ dad is former Donegal great Barry Hawkins. Father and son watched college games in the basement when Quinnes was younger.
“He has a mind that understands the game,” McCaskey coach Todd Mealy said. “He’s a competitor. He wants to win. He seems to grasp smaller nuances better than most kids.”
Jones-Hawkins was McCaskey’s only Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One first team all-star on both offense and defense.
McCaskey’s Week 10 assignment was at Penn Manor on a frigid night in October. Mealy told Jones-Hawkins he could skip it if he wanted. Jones-Hawkins was there.
“Even in the moment, Quinnes showed some mental strength, some fortitude about what just happened to him,” Mealy said. “He handled it like an adult.”
Jones-Hawkins rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He had 12 receptions for 121 yards and another score. One of McCaskey’s priorities was to get the ball into the hands of its biggest threat any way possible.
Injuries are painful on multiple fronts. There’s the actual torn ligament. That’s bad enough. There’s also the loneliness and time spent away from sports.
Jones-Hawkins is in group chats and must tune it out when his teammates are hitting the weight room or gathering for some other kind of workout. The closest the junior gets to competition right now is his PlayStation 5.
“I like being busy and active,” Jones-Hawkins said. “I’m always out places. It’s different. I’m at my house not doing anything. Just doing my stretches and all that.”
It’s even harder to stay connected with La Academia’s basketball team because it mostly plays road games and it doesn’t have a home gym.
Johnson said Jones-Hawkins’ contributions weren’t always evident in stats and have been difficult to replace.
“The football correlates to the court,” Johnson said. “So you lose that toughness that you need to set the tone in games. Guard their best player. Hound them a little bit. That’s what we miss.”
Jones-Hawkins hopes to continue football in college. Before that opportunity arrives, his goal is to return for his senior season.
At this point, he said he expects to be in action not long after Week 1 in August. That’ll be a memorable night. One he can’t help but picture in his mind.
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot,” Jones-Hawkins said. “When I get back on the field, it’s gonna be a little scary at first. I’m definitely gonna be proud of myself for getting through it.”
Jones-Hawkins can’t wait to compete again. Not in video games. In real life.
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