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FOOTBALL: Despite Impediments, Cap's Deaf Duo Succeeds

Ewing and Griffiths overcome hearing disabilities to play important roles for Mustangs.

running back Justin Ewing had just completed a 34-yard run, but the Mustangs couldn't stop to celebrate.

Following his big gain, Ewing realized he had lost his hearing aid. That brought the Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division game to a halt for a few minutes as he looked for the missing device.

Ultimately, Capuchino was set to continue the contest without one of its main offensive threats. But then a player from the opposing team, Carlmont, found what seemed to be a needle in a haystack: Ewing's hearing aid.

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Despite encountering some challenges most players could never ponder, Ewing, a sophomore, hasn't let his hearing impediment interrupt his development into being a playmaker for Capuchino, which is heading into its on Saturday at 2pm.

And he isn't the only Mustang succeeding despite having a hearing disability. Jordan Griffiths, a wide receiver, has also become a staple for Capuchino's offense. And both players are defensive contributors in the secondary.

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It is unusual for someone with a hearing problem to play football, much less for two such people to play on the same team. Bonnie Sloan of the St. Louis Cardinals (1973) and Kenny Walker of the Denver Broncos (early 1990's) are the only two deaf players to have ever reached the NFL.

Both Ewing and Griffiths were born with their hearing impediments, and they accept that they need to work more intensely than others.

Once track season ended for Griffiths last spring, he immediately began working out in preparation for his senior year of football.

Ewing was not sure whether or not he was going to play for the varsity or JV team as a sophomore, so he participated in all four varsity practices each week over the summer, as well as two JV sessions.

Their hard work has certainly paid off. Capuchino head coach Jordan Seiden said he includes them in "close to 75 percent of the plays."

"They are two of the most talented players on the team," the first-year coach said. "They are successful despite their challenges because nothing will hold them back."

According to Seiden, Ewing and Griffiths add the dimension of speed—they are extremely quick with the ball in their hands. Defensively, they are able to cover a lot of ground and are critical pieces to Capuchino's coverage scheme.

"They are naturally talented and their hearing difficulties haven't seemed to impact their playing abilities," Mustangs center Domenic Fonseca said.

Creativeness and determination from deaf players helped sculpt how the game of football looks today.

In 1894, the team at Gallaudet University, a school for the deaf in Washington D.C., had trouble with opponents, some of whom knew sign language, attempting to steal signs. Therefore, the players began to huddle together before each play to shield themselves from the other team. To this day, almost every football team in America utilizes this method.

Capuchino still faces occasional miscues once it breaks the huddle. Hearing pre-snap changes has sometimes been difficult for Ewing and Griffiths.

"When we call audibles or change snap counts (mistakes) happen sometimes," said Fonseca.

Furthermore, both Ewing and Griffiths have found it difficult to understand their coaches' instructions from the sidelines.

"It's really hard to hear if we are on the field doing something and coach is just yelling," Griffiths said.

Ewing and Griffiths still think about what life would be like if they were not deaf.

"I think I would be a perfect human being," Ewing joked. "Every blue moon I think about it, though."

For his part, Seiden said that he doesn't consider his players handicapped.

Whenever Ewing returns a kickoff into the opponent's territory or Griffiths makes a clutch third-down catch, it's easy to see why.

"I'm not the kind of person to let something hold me back," Ewing said.

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