Standout QB Savage to complete senior year at O’Hara

By John Knebels

Score one for the Archdiocese. Score one for Tom Savage. Score one for the Savage parents.

The trifecta involves a unique situation regarding a request made on Savage’s behalf to sacrifice the second half of his upcoming senior year at Cardinal O’Hara to attend Rutgers University in January.

The move is not as much an anomaly as one might think. Several other standout athletes at different schools in the area have made a similar appeal for various reasons, the chief of which is to be better prepared for college come September and, later, to graduate from college earlier than most.

In Savage’s case, the 6-foot, 4-inch, 220-pound All-Catholic quarterback had already verbally committed to Rutgers late in his junior year after excelling in the classroom. He attained a 3.8 grade-point average.

The plan would have included taking a class at Delaware County Community College this summer and then doubling up both his religion and English classes in the first semester of his senior year.

Savage’s parents considered the idea and asked the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to allow their son an early admission to Rutgers. They pointed out that they and their son understood everything involved and felt comfortable about the possibility.

Since the Archdiocese has not allowed such a request before, permitting Savage to leave O’Hara in January would have established a precedent.

After careful consideration of the matter, the Archdiocese rejected the Savages’ request and informed the family last week.

The Archdiocese’s decision makes perfect sense.

Not only would approving the request set up a potential domino effect, it would also support the notion that experiencing four years of high school is not an integral element in the development of each student.

When taking into account all that a teenager encounters during high school — spiritually, socially, intellectually, and emotionally — it’s easy to wish that high school was actually longer than four years.

Our society has become engrossed in immediate needs. The word “now” has replaced “later” in just about every phase of our culture. We see it in the credit cards that help our economy function with blind eyes. We even see it in the cell phones that occasionally ring or beep during a spiritual retreat.

When Tom Savage looks back on the Archdiocese’s decision years from now, he will appreciate not having been rushed to his next personal chapter. He will be able to look back on friendships that continued to be fostered from January through June. He’ll recall having fun at the prom and joining his peers as they rooted for their school at various athletic functions. He’ll have had an opportunity to enjoy those final few weeks of school when, despite the pressures of final exams, the reality of graduation sinks in and produces an array of appreciative acknowledgements.

When the Savages were told of the Archdiocese’s decision, they did not balk. They chose to accept the ruling without anger or mean-spiritedness. They chose the high road and pointed out they understood and appreciated the benefits of Tom finishing at O’Hara instead of starting at Rutgers.

They understood and supported the notion that sometimes later is better than now.

In a positive, mature outcome that is far too rare these days, score one for everyone involved.

John Knebels can be reached at jknebs@aol.com.