Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
DETROIT, MI –There is no doubt that Jared Evers was born to be an athlete.
With the blood lines the Ithaca senior came from, it is easy to see why.
Evers is the son of L.T. Levine and Cheryl Evers and nephew of Mike Evers. All three were star athletes at the University of Kansas.
Levine played running back for the Jayhawks and was later drafted by the Denver Broncos. Cheryl Evers threw the shot put and discus for the Kansas women’s track and field team, and Mike Evers was Kansas’ first two-time All-American decathlete.
“I was bred to play sports,” Jared Evers said.
One of those sports is football, following in his father’s footsteps, and Jared’s talents are part of why the Yellowjackets won their third straight MHSAA Division 6 state title on Friday, November 23 and are currently riding a 42-game winning streak.
Jared plays wide receiver and defensive line for Ithaca, and in the team’s title game against Constantine, the 5’11”, 225-pounder came up big.
Playing some running back, Evers rushed the ball 10 times for 77 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter on a 4th and 1 play for the Yellowjackets.
He also caught two passes for 30 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
And on defense, he finished with six tackles and a half a sack.
Ithaca coach Terry Hessbrook is glad to have such a talent from a talented family.
“What a horse,” Hessbrook said. “We needed him today. He is such a mismatch at wide receiver, and he is so strong as a runner in the backfield. On that 4th and 1 play, he came to me and said, ‘Coach don’t worry, I’ve got it,’ and then he pops it for 32 yards. What a horse.”
That’s because he comes from a good blood line.
“He had a big game for us when we needed him most,” Hessbrook said.
The Yellowjackets did need him, because starting all-state quarterback Travis Smith was lost for the game with an injured shoulder on the second play of the game.
“When we knew Travis was done, my heart sunk,” Jared said. “That made it a lot tougher, because he’s been our leader on offense all year. But we all went to [backup quarterback Logan Hessbrook] and said don’t try and do anything spectacular, we’ll all make plays. And that’s what we did.”
Now Jared Evers’ play-making days for the Ithaca football team are done, but what he leaves behind is being a part of a program that has won three straight state titles and 42 games in a row.
“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “You hate to see this come to an end with all of these great seniors on this team, but it’s nice to go out on top.”