Ted Silary: Gratz Charter's Hunt dedicates big game to slain cousin

PASSING ALONG some city high school football tidbits . . .

If ever Gratz Charter linebacker Curt Hunt wanted to perform in spectacular fashion, it was Friday vs. Franklin.

The site was 29th Street Stadium, and Hunt, who goes 6-2, 190, lives moments away at 27th and Cambria. Right beyond the field's west end zone is the cemetery where Curt's cousin, Charles Britten, was buried last May after being shot to death.

"Of all my relatives, he supported me the most. Came to all my games," Hunt said. "He was like my older brother, really. I always feel like he's with me, but for that game . . . Anytime I needed more inspiration, I just looked toward that graveyard.

"Plus, all my friends from around my way were there to support me, so the whole afternoon was pretty exciting."

As Gratz triumphed, 22-6, thus claiming a Public AAA playoff spot, Hunt made two interceptions, forced/recovered a fumble and involved himself in eight tackles (two for losses; one for a safety).

Oh, did we mention he's playing with a broken left wrist?

He suffered the injury in a late-August scrimmage when he jumped for a pass and used his hand, as he put it, "to break my fall." Don't you hate it when bodies take commands too literally?

"Just looking at it, I could see it was broken," said Hunt, who's also a part-time fullback, mostly for impassioned blocking. "The doctor said I should miss the season, but my grandmom, and me, was telling him how much football means to me. We convinced him to let me play with a sports cast. It still hurts a little, but not as bad as before.

"If this happened to my right hand, it'd be harder. But I'm getting by. I guess you could say I made those interceptions one-and-a-half-handed."

Overall, the fumble sequence surprised Hunt the most.

"The cast forced that one," he said, laughing. "I didn't feel me hitting the ball. But I was on the ground and there it was, right next to me."