The 5-9, 250-pound Evans, a guard and nose tackle, attends Mastery Charter North, which is housed in the former Pickett Middle School in Germantown.
As a student at a charter school that, at that point, did not offer football, he formerly was able to play for G-town because that was his closest "regular" public school. And he could have done so again this fall thanks to a grandfather rule that has allowed wideout Myles Brooker and rusher Aaron "Snook" Boyd, who are still enrolled at MCN, to keep representing the Bears.
Football season No. 1 for MCN ended last night, in driving rain, with a game at Simon Gratz Charter, a first-year member of the Mastery family that continues to sponsor its own sports teams, and Evans' smile was bright enough to light up nearby Broad Street.
With Evans faring well on both sides of the ball, the Pumas claimed a 15-6 victory over a squad that had finished second in Public AAA during the regular season.
"Some of our fans weren't too confident," said Evans, one of only five seniors on coach John Davidson's team. "I was hearing, 'You're a first-year program. Gratz has been around forever.'
"I was so anxious to get out there and play. See, I'd done my research. We probably played the toughest schedule in Pennsylvania. The best team in our state, Archbishop Wood. The best team in New Jersey, North Bergen. The best team in Delaware, Archmere Academy . . . "
The Pumas finished 3-8. They opened the season with a win over Jenkintown and closed it with triumphs over Morrisville and Gratz. Next year, they'll be part of the Public League.
"Yeah, for me, that's the bad part," Evans said. "I wish I could still be here with this program."
