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Do IT this week: Layering
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 05:52 p.m. EST, Nov 14, 2009
BEREA: When Michael Drake crossed the field Oct. 30 during Stow High School's Senior Night, the announcer introduced the trio accompanying him as ''mother Patty, sister Abby and brother Josh.''
That the voice didn't boom, ''mother Patty, sister Abby and Browns Pro Bowler Josh Cribbs'' said much about Cribbs' intentions to keep the night about a teenager who might have been playing his last football game. It also said much about Cribbs' devotion to the Drakes, who were his ''second family'' during his four years as the starting quarterback at Kent State.
Michael Drake is the son of former Kent State assistant coach Mike Drake, who died of lymphoma in August 2005 at age 48. The elder Drake recruited Cribbs and served as his offensive coordinator in 2001-02 before being diagnosed with cancer before the 2003 season.
The Senior Night idea — for what Patty Drake said turned out to be ''the best night of Michael's life'' — was born this summer.
Casey Wolf, in his seventh year as KSU's director of football operations, remains a close friend of Cribbs and knows how much Mike Drake meant to him. Wolf remembers Drake telling the story of recruiting Cribbs, when the player's mother sent Drake out of the family's Washington, D.C., door at 11 o'clock at night with a bucket of fried chicken for the trip home. When the Golden Flashes had a game after Thanksgiving during Cribbs' freshman year and players weren't allowed to go home for the holiday, Cribbs spent it with the Drakes.
When Drake passed away during Cribbs' rookie year with the Browns, Wolf said then-coach Romeo Crennel let Cribbs leave during the break between training camp practices to attend the funeral.
Wolf lost his father when he was 8 years old and was already thinking about who would walk with Michael Drake on Senior Night. During a football camp this summer at KSU named for Mike Drake, Wolf brought it up to Cribbs, who said it was something he would like to do. Wolf reminded Cribbs at Kent State's homecoming game Oct. 10 and Cribbs vowed to be there.
At the time, Patty Drake thought she might be accompanying Michael alone because his sisters, Abby and Hannah, attend college out of town. Abby, a fashion major at KSU, is studying in New York and Hannah goes to Ball State.
''I knew I was going to do it for sure,'' Cribbs said Friday. ''It was just a point of making it on time, trying to get out of practice real quick. It was in traffic, that time of day, but I got there.''
The plan was to surprise Michael, but as Patty said, ''He didn't want it to become the Josh Cribbs Show.''
So Wolf handled the arrangements, bringing Cribbs in the back just before it was time to take the field. Wolf said only five people knew Cribbs was coming, including Stow High School director of athletics Cyle Feldman and Kent State assistant Zane Vance, who also had a son playing on Senior Night.
Memorable night
Michael said he did a triple-take when he saw Cribbs.
''I looked, then looked away, then said, 'Why are you here?' '' Michael recalled. ''I was shocked.''
A receiver, cornerback and holder for extra points, Michael said Cribbs offered advice before his final game.
''He said, 'Play your heart out. This is it. Give it your all. Don't ever stop on any play. Keep pushing,' '' Michael said. ''I almost felt worried. I didn't want to look bad for him.''
Waiting in line, Patty said she was nervous, too, but because so many people were coming up to Cribbs. She thought it bothered him that he was getting too much attention.
''He shook their hands, but stood by me and tried to talk privately to me,'' Patty said. ''He knew this was about every senior boy and cheerleader and band member. Josh was fabulous. It was the most personal thing he's ever done. Then he bowed out.''
Cribbs said he was there to ''support and encourage, not at all to replace the type of father his father was.'' He admitted it was an emotional evening.
''[Michael] didn't expect it. It was something that I had to do, I felt obligated to do,'' Cribbs said. ''It turned out to be a great evening. Everybody was trying to hold back tears. His mom kept crying, his sister, and I was trying to be strong for them.
''It meant a lot to them for me to be there and it meant a lot to me to be there. Just seeing them, how choked up they were, it was about to bring me to tears.''
'Coolest thing'
Wolf was watching from the Stow sideline with Abby's boyfriend as the seniors lined up on the visitors' side of the track. Wolf's only disappointment was he didn't see the stunned Michael's face.
''I thought it was the coolest thing. I don't think people in the stands realized who that was,'' Wolf said of Cribbs. ''That's the way he wanted it to happen.
''That family is very composed. I told Abby's boyfriend how tough this has to be for Patty. He said, 'The one thing that's held her together all day is knowing Josh is going to be here.' ''
Michael said many people approached him wondering if it was Cribbs, including his teammates and coaches.
''I was the most popular kid in the world,'' he said. ''It was an experience I will never forget. It was amazing.''
To cap it all, Stow defeated Cuyahoga Falls 17-7.
''We won. I played extremely well. It was the way I wanted the season to end,'' Michael said.
Now Michael is contemplating whether to continue football — he said he's received some letters from Division II schools — or to concentrate on academics, perhaps engineering. Cribbs said Michael could be ''a teamer,'' as in special teamer, which is no slight in Cribbs' world.
All who were aware of what happened on Senior Night went home touched. The experience left Wolf remembering Cribbs' final game at Kent State, when Drake was too ill to coach and served as academic adviser and sideline reporter for the KSU radio network.
''The last game against Central Florida might have been one of Josh's best,'' Wolf said. ''The last two guys going into the locker room were Mike Drake and Josh Cribbs, with their arms around each other. Mike had just interviewed him. It was a fitting end to a great career for both of them.''
Cribbs still recalls his final conversations with Mike Drake.
''The cancer started making him lose his mind a little bit, he wasn't coherent,'' Cribbs said. ''But when he was talking, he would say, 'Hey, I coached you right, right? I did everything I could.' He was second-guessing himself. I'm like, 'You were a heckuva coach,' reassuring him that he made a positive impact on my life.
''A hard-nosed football coach who gave me the basics to get where I am today.''
On Senior Night, Cribbs repaid him.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.
BEREA: When Michael Drake crossed the field Oct. 30 during Stow High School's Senior Night, the announcer introduced the trio accompanying him as ''mother Patty, sister Abby and brother Josh.''
That the voice didn't boom, ''mother Patty, sister Abby and Browns Pro Bowler Josh Cribbs'' said much about Cribbs' intentions to keep the night about a teenager who might have been playing his last football game. It also said much about Cribbs' devotion to the Drakes, who were his ''second family'' during his four years as the starting quarterback at Kent State.
Michael Drake is the son of former Kent State assistant coach Mike Drake, who died of lymphoma in August 2005 at age 48. The elder Drake recruited Cribbs and served as his offensive coordinator in 2001-02 before being diagnosed with cancer before the 2003 season.
The Senior Night idea — for what Patty Drake said turned out to be ''the best night of Michael's life'' — was born this summer.
Casey Wolf, in his seventh year as KSU's director of football operations, remains a close friend of Cribbs and knows how much Mike Drake meant to him. Wolf remembers Drake telling the story of recruiting Cribbs, when the player's mother sent Drake out of the family's Washington, D.C., door at 11 o'clock at night with a bucket of fried chicken for the trip home. When the Golden Flashes had a game after Thanksgiving during Cribbs' freshman year and players weren't allowed to go home for the holiday, Cribbs spent it with the Drakes.
When Drake passed away during Cribbs' rookie year with the Browns, Wolf said then-coach Romeo Crennel let Cribbs leave during the break between training camp practices to attend the funeral.
Wolf lost his father when he was 8 years old and was already thinking about who would walk with Michael Drake on Senior Night. During a football camp this summer at KSU named for Mike Drake, Wolf brought it up to Cribbs, who said it was something he would like to do. Wolf reminded Cribbs at Kent State's homecoming game Oct. 10 and Cribbs vowed to be there.
At the time, Patty Drake thought she might be accompanying Michael alone because his sisters, Abby and Hannah, attend college out of town. Abby, a fashion major at KSU, is studying in New York and Hannah goes to Ball State.
''I knew I was going to do it for sure,'' Cribbs said Friday. ''It was just a point of making it on time, trying to get out of practice real quick. It was in traffic, that time of day, but I got there.''
The plan was to surprise Michael, but as Patty said, ''He didn't want it to become the Josh Cribbs Show.''
So Wolf handled the arrangements, bringing Cribbs in the back just before it was time to take the field. Wolf said only five people knew Cribbs was coming, including Stow High School director of athletics Cyle Feldman and Kent State assistant Zane Vance, who also had a son playing on Senior Night.
Memorable night
Michael said he did a triple-take when he saw Cribbs.
''I looked, then looked away, then said, 'Why are you here?' '' Michael recalled. ''I was shocked.''
A receiver, cornerback and holder for extra points, Michael said Cribbs offered advice before his final game.
''He said, 'Play your heart out. This is it. Give it your all. Don't ever stop on any play. Keep pushing,' '' Michael said. ''I almost felt worried. I didn't want to look bad for him.''
Waiting in line, Patty said she was nervous, too, but because so many people were coming up to Cribbs. She thought it bothered him that he was getting too much attention.
''He shook their hands, but stood by me and tried to talk privately to me,'' Patty said. ''He knew this was about every senior boy and cheerleader and band member. Josh was fabulous. It was the most personal thing he's ever done. Then he bowed out.''
Cribbs said he was there to ''support and encourage, not at all to replace the type of father his father was.'' He admitted it was an emotional evening.
''[Michael] didn't expect it. It was something that I had to do, I felt obligated to do,'' Cribbs said. ''It turned out to be a great evening. Everybody was trying to hold back tears. His mom kept crying, his sister, and I was trying to be strong for them.
''It meant a lot to them for me to be there and it meant a lot to me to be there. Just seeing them, how choked up they were, it was about to bring me to tears.''
'Coolest thing'
Wolf was watching from the Stow sideline with Abby's boyfriend as the seniors lined up on the visitors' side of the track. Wolf's only disappointment was he didn't see the stunned Michael's face.
''I thought it was the coolest thing. I don't think people in the stands realized who that was,'' Wolf said of Cribbs. ''That's the way he wanted it to happen.
''That family is very composed. I told Abby's boyfriend how tough this has to be for Patty. He said, 'The one thing that's held her together all day is knowing Josh is going to be here.' ''
Michael said many people approached him wondering if it was Cribbs, including his teammates and coaches.
''I was the most popular kid in the world,'' he said. ''It was an experience I will never forget. It was amazing.''
To cap it all, Stow defeated Cuyahoga Falls 17-7.
''We won. I played extremely well. It was the way I wanted the season to end,'' Michael said.
Now Michael is contemplating whether to continue football — he said he's received some letters from Division II schools — or to concentrate on academics, perhaps engineering. Cribbs said Michael could be ''a teamer,'' as in special teamer, which is no slight in Cribbs' world.
All who were aware of what happened on Senior Night went home touched. The experience left Wolf remembering Cribbs' final game at Kent State, when Drake was too ill to coach and served as academic adviser and sideline reporter for the KSU radio network.
''The last game against Central Florida might have been one of Josh's best,'' Wolf said. ''The last two guys going into the locker room were Mike Drake and Josh Cribbs, with their arms around each other. Mike had just interviewed him. It was a fitting end to a great career for both of them.''
Cribbs still recalls his final conversations with Mike Drake.
''The cancer started making him lose his mind a little bit, he wasn't coherent,'' Cribbs said. ''But when he was talking, he would say, 'Hey, I coached you right, right? I did everything I could.' He was second-guessing himself. I'm like, 'You were a heckuva coach,' reassuring him that he made a positive impact on my life.
''A hard-nosed football coach who gave me the basics to get where I am today.''
On Senior Night, Cribbs repaid him.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
akron, oh
Posted 06:11 PM, 11/14/2009
Cribbs is the best.
akron, OH
Posted 06:27 PM, 11/14/2009
Go Cribbs
Akron, OH
Posted 06:56 PM, 11/14/2009
Thank you for a beautiful story, Marla.
People overemphasize the bad things that come from big-time high school, college, and professionals sports, and often forget all of the life lessons that can be hammered home by participating in these activities.
Akron, OH
Posted 07:11 PM, 11/14/2009
I remember watching Cribbs play while I was attending Kent State. He made the games interesting.
A guy like this is completely wasted on the Browns.
new york, ny
Posted 07:17 PM, 11/14/2009
This is what it is all about people.Every child needs a role model to emulate. Michael and his team have definitely found theirs!!
Akron, OH
Posted 07:48 PM, 11/14/2009
Very classy.
Posted 07:50 PM, 11/14/2009
Very nice story Marla. Josh makes his family, friends, and KSU proud. Go Josh!!!
Posted 08:37 PM, 11/14/2009
Joshua is the tip top of class.
Kent, Oh
Posted 08:46 PM, 11/14/2009
Cribbs is a class act and a great open field runner.
Cincinnati, OH
Posted 08:57 PM, 11/14/2009
Class. Pure, unadulterated class.
Josh, your momma raised you right.
Marla, thank you for a beautiful story.
Posted 09:58 PM, 11/14/2009
Josh Cribbs is a class act. Very touching and encouraging to see people with these qualities; helps to make the world a better place.
Atlantic City, NJ
Posted 10:23 PM, 11/14/2009
@huggie and steel Always has to be at least one to take the low road. I hope your momma's are smiling ear to ear with pride!
Posted 01:04 AM, 11/15/2009
CLASS ACT. VERY CLASSY JOSH CRIBBS.
Akron, Oh
Posted 08:22 AM, 11/15/2009
A Really Good Story,Nice that Mike Drake took Josh under his wing,Nice to see Josh give this Back to
Michael Drake and now its Michael's turn to give to another..
Thanks Josh for stepin' up an bein' a MAN...
WADSWORTH, OH
Posted 10:48 AM, 11/15/2009
COOL
Posted 01:08 PM, 11/15/2009
Class act all the way...
Deerfield Beach, FL
Posted 02:12 PM, 11/15/2009
I haven't actually been "shouting from the mountain top" that I'm a Browns fan lately...you all know why. But this story reminds me not to get so wrapped up in the Browns' record, coaching mess, front office fiasco, etc. Josh Cribbs, you are a cool dude! I'm sure there are many other "straight up" players on the team...Go Browns! I AM proud to be a Browns fan!
Akron, Oh
Posted 03:10 PM, 11/15/2009
Way to go Josh, You are the best personable athlete around. A real class act!!
Dallas, TX
Posted 04:37 PM, 11/15/2009
What a wonderful person Josh Cribbs is. Thanks for such a positive uplifting story .
Posted 04:51 PM, 11/15/2009
A wonderful story. Josh was already my favorite player;after reading this,I'll root even harder for him.
Columbus, OH
Posted 05:00 PM, 11/15/2009
Josh Cribbs= Class Act
Tucson, AZ
Posted 06:49 PM, 11/15/2009
As an eight-year lymphoma survivor who has seen parents of small children die from this disease, I am very touched by this story. I didn't have to worry what would happen to my kid if I should pass away, because she was already grown and out. But there are a lot more suffering parents out there who would be so much more at peace if someone like Joshua Cribbs would step up to the parental plate and help out -- even if it's for a single day. I don't live anywhere near Ohio but I am now a Browns fan. That the team cooperated with him in doing this good dead speaks volumes.
MARATHON, FL
Posted 08:17 PM, 11/15/2009
That was so great of Josh Cribbs to do that!!! That speaks of someone with a great heart and integrity,if only their where more people like him it would make this world a better place. I dont live anywhere near Ohio but that story touched me and its great to hear that someone cares and that the bad news is not the only thing that gets attention in the world. I would like to say to Josh Cribbs God Bless You and Yours Always. You deserve it and I hope others do the same a little love and respect does alot!!!!!!!
leland, nc
Posted 08:28 PM, 11/15/2009
I think alot of NFL players can learn alot from Josh Cribbs even though he would be a tough act to follow i think josh cribbs is a classy and very careing person and thank god that there are still guys in sports like him
Cardiff, Ca
Posted 08:33 PM, 11/15/2009
i'm just a california farmer who love football. this is a great story. had me in tears, really. such a class act at a time when they are few and far between. thanks for sharing.
Killeen, TX
Posted 09:32 PM, 11/15/2009
There is so much in the news negative about our professional athletes these days. It is an awesome jesture when one steps up to the plate and does something worthy especially when a child or young adult is affected. This was a great show of 'thanks' for him to stand-in for his deceased coach and family that took him in before he was who he is today. Good job!!!
Sebastian, Fl
Posted 10:10 PM, 11/15/2009
I saw this story on National News and came here to read more! What a great story! I want to say Congrats to Michael Drake on his upcoming high school graduation in 2010. You are a fine young man that your dad would be proud of! Whatever you decide to do with your life, I know you will give it your all! It sounds like you have an incredible family and an amazing Mom! You are blessed!
And a special "way to go!" to Josh Cribbs for doing something so self-less and genuinely caring. You came through when this family needed your support! You can bet that this probably meant more to Michael and his family than you will ever know. But then again, I bet you DO know! You have set high standards both on and off the field for others to follow. Wishing you much success in your NFL career and in life! I hope you and Michael & the Drake family always have that special bond.
Thanks Marla for sharing such a touching story! Nice to read some good news for a change! Keep up the great job you are doing as a reporter.
Akron, Oh
Posted 10:23 PM, 11/15/2009
Wonderful, I found myself tearing up. Just like most other Browns stories.
Canton, OH
Posted 08:11 AM, 11/16/2009
Josh Cribbs is a class act. Congrats to Michael Drake also. Great STory.
Akron, OH
Posted 09:40 AM, 11/16/2009
Josh Cribbs #1 on and off the field! Enjoy the rest of your Senior Year Michael and best of luck to you in the future.
Green, Ohio
Posted 09:49 AM, 11/16/2009
Wow! Very classy Josh, it is so great to read this and best wishes and good luck Michael.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:15 AM, 11/16/2009
Does this cancel out the drug bust and the domestic violence?
Copley, OH
Posted 11:47 AM, 11/16/2009
Leave it to Unkel Jed to trying ruining a wonderful story.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:27 PM, 11/16/2009
Some folks only feel better when they're putting others down. It's all they have. That would be you, Unkel Jed.
Josh Cribbs is probably as classy a player as the Browns have. Now he's shown he's a classy MAN as well. Thanks, Josh; you make a Kent Alum proud!
Posted 07:57 PM, 11/17/2009
Anyone who knows Josh Cribbs is not surprised by this story. Most of his generosity goes unreported.
To the Drake family, everyone I know who speaks of Mike Drake does so with great respect. His impact lives on.
