Xavier Irizarry was born to be a football player.
But during his first two years in high school, he was unable to do what he loved. That was until he blocked out everything else and got back to doing what he missed so much.
“I was dealing with a lot of hardships and I couldn’t play,” said Irizarry, a senior wide receiver and safety at Abraham Lincoln High School. “I played my whole life, and it really hit me how much I missed it. I decided that no matter what I go through, I need to get back to football because I missed it so much.”
Irizarry was a welcome addition to the Railsplitters.
Last year, he helped Lincoln go 4-1 in a shortened spring season that was moved because of the pandemic. This year, he’s been one of the top players on a team that hasn’t lost since the opener when the Railsplitters had to forfeit for using an ineligible player.
The Railsplitters avenged that one loss on Friday when they defeated George Washington 12-6 in the first round of the Public League Class 6A playoffs. This marked the fourth straight year, not counting last year when there was no postseason, that the Railsplitters won a playoff game.
It wasn’t a typical game for Lincoln, which had to rely heavily on its running game because of the sloppy, windy conditions.
Irizarry, who starts at receiver and is a backup on defense, wasn’t able to be his usual self downfield because the wind and the wet ball had it nearly impossible to pass. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t contribute.
“It wasn’t my day to shine, but I did block a lot, helped spring some big runs,” said Irizarry, who lives in Mayfair. “That’s the thing about our team, nobody has to shine every day. We have a lot of guys who can shine.
“I look at myself as a good receiver. I can do it all. I can go downfield, I can catch short passes. But when we’re not passing, I still have a job to do. I have to do what it takes to win.”
Lincoln will now meet Northeast in a second-round game. That should spell more fun for Irizarry, who has a lot of friends on the Vikings.
“We know they’re a really good team and they’re a rival school so I’m glad we’re playing them,” Irizarry said. “I have friends that I grew up with and played little league with. It’s going to be a good game.”
Irizarry is in his second year of playing high school football, but he’s no stranger to the sport. He has been on teams since he was 5 years old. During his career, he played for Max Myers, Oxford Circle Raiders and Fairhill. He was a linebacker and tight end for most of those years, but it still prepared him for high school football.
“I played at a few places, but I always had the same coaches every year before I started playing at Lincoln,” Irizarry said. “They were great coaches. Playing football definitely kept me focused. I just loved playing it so much that I was able to put all my energy there.”
He’s doing the same thing in high school.
While playing for Lincoln coach Hakeem Cooper, Irizarry has learned a lot about the game and he’s hoping that his football IQ continues to grow so it will help him at the next level.
He found the perfect mentor in Cooper.
“He’s such a good coach and person,” Irizarry said. “He’s always prepared. I love how he makes sure we are on the right path. Great conditioning coach. He gets you right mentally. He’s always prepared. No obstacle that we see that we aren’t ready for. He predicts it. His gameplan can’t be beat. He is always ready for anything.
“Football always helped me. I always wanted to be in an environment like that. Growing up, you see certain things, football always helped me take my anger out. Take my mind off it. I grew to love the sport.”
He doesn’t plan on giving it up anytime soon, either.
The Railsplitters still have unfinished business. After their date with Northeast, they’ll either go on to the next round or start preparing for their Thanksgiving Day game against Father Judge.
Once the season is over, Irizarry will turn his attention to indoor track, and later outdoor track. Last year he played basketball, but he’s giving that up to focus on running, which he thinks will help him at the next level.
He has big plans beyond high school.
“The goal is to play college football and see how far I can take it,” Irizarry said. “I want football to be my future, but I’m also worrying about my major. I don’t know what I want to study. Maybe coding. My aunt told me big businesses hire people to do things on computers and I mess with computers.”
Coding is a good possibility, but he also has other things in mind, including marketing. During his downtime when he’s not playing football or going to school, he helps his dad, who works in sales. He hopes he has less downtime for the next few weeks because he wants to be a Lincoln football player for as long as he can.
“Football is my way out of everything, when I’m playing, I don’t worry about other things,” Irizarry said. “We’re going to be ready for Northeast. They’re really good, but I’m proud of where we are. It feels great to win and it’s even better in the playoffs.”
