There seems to be a piece of Siaka Massaquoi for everyone to enjoy.
Evanston’s star running back can cook, act, draw cartoons, perform martial arts, coordinate a rally and give a speech at a businessmen’s luncheon that’s so good someone wants to offer him a job.
School administrators believe he symbolizes their blueprint for education and have entrusted him with the handling and care of a 12-year-old junior named Shawn White.
This young man can charm anyone, especially when you put a football in his hands. Massaquoi’s instant acceleration and game-breaking moves had Iowa, Illinois, Notre Dame, Michigan and Northwestern offering scholarships.
He made an oral commitment to Iowa because of the Hawkeyes’ personal recruiting approach.
“It’s a homey atmosphere, and they seemed concerned with you as a person,” said Massaquoi. “Whether it’s true or not, that’s what got me.”
After leading the fifth-ranked Wildkits to three easy victories with 576 yards rushing and seven touchdowns, Massaquoi will square off Saturday with No. 20 Maine West (2-1) and its breakaway threat, halfback Alex Voltaire.
“Blocking for Siaka is a pain in the neck,” said lineman Alex Thomas. “Nah, actually it’s fun. After he hits the hole and shoots through, it’s basically a touchdown. He’ll cut back or do whatever it takes to get there.”
In last year’s playoff opener against Larkin, that meant the sheer force of his will. Massaquoi sparked a comeback, running for 200 yards in the second half, and his touchdown in the final minute left his team trailing Larkin 28-27.
“I watched the (two-point) play start and I shut my eyes, because I didn’t think he had a chance,” said Evanston coach John Riehle. “Somehow, he got into the end zone.”
Massaquoi seems equally determined to cultivate a wide spectrum of interests, which could stem from his unusual background.
He was born in Rochester, N.Y. Two months later, his family returned to its native Liberia, where his parents–Patrick and Gnenpu–soon divorced. Gnenpu has since taken back her maiden surname, Stubblefield.
“I remember it was more laid-back in Liberia,” said Massaquoi, whose first name is an African word for “chief.” “All of us schoolkids would walk home together, and everyone was the same. There were no racial slurs or tensions like here. I wasn’t exposed to Caucasians, and I thought back then that mulattoes were white.”
Massaquoi was almost 4 when he moved to Chicago with Gnenpu and his younger brother, Mento. At 7, he went to live with his father in Rochester before settling in Evanston with his mother and brother two years later.
“Life wasn’t as stressful in Liberia,” Gnenpu said, even after acknowledging the civil unrest that destroyed her father’s home in the mid-1980s. “There’s more community spirit and involvement. Education is not mandatory, but every mother, even those who are illiterate, wants her children to attend school.”
Massaquoi ran smack into the reality of race relations in America as a freshman.
“I started to see the segregation, where certain lunch tables are all white or all black,” Massaquoi said. “I don’t agree, and try to keep myself away from that.
“One reason I like football is that everyone comes out for the team. We are a whole mix of whites, blacks, Hispanics and anybody else who wants to play.”
While he goes out of his way to accommodate all races and creeds, there is a special place in his heart for the Asian culture.
“I’m infatuated with Japan and that whole thing with the Samurai warrior and his code of honor,” said Massaquoi, who has studied Asian art and is currently excelling in an Asian cooking class. “Maybe it’s the good-guy mentality, but I want to become an FBI agent and get all the bad guys. I’d like to visit Hong Kong, but I want to retire in Japan and live there the rest of my life.”
Massaquoi’s upbeat, unpretentious demeanor and appealing nature have Evanston students climbing out of back-seat car windows to catch his eye. Everybody, it seems, wants to say “hi” in the hallways.
“A lot of people look up to Siaka, not only as a football player, but as a great person and a real good friend,” said sophomore team quarterback Lorenzo Stephens. “I want to accomplish what he’s done, and yet, you would never be able to tell he plays football.”
“You can talk to him about anything and he’ll understand,” said honors English classmate Jenny Fischer. “He won’t let you down. The way he talks to you about your personal problems winds up making you happy. He won’t tell you something can’t be done. Instead, he’ll show you how to do it.”
Massaquoi’s positive influence isn’t limited to teenagers.
“Siaka has an effect on the entire building,” said principal Nat Bilsky. “He transcends even his own athletic ability and is symbolic of what we’re trying to accomplish. He represents a kind of civility and personalization we’re searching for–I only wish I knew him even better.”
Pam Baumgartner does. She wore his jersey during homecoming week last year as each Wildkit player bestowed that honor upon his favorite teacher.
“You should have seen it; I was somebody for a day–all day,” said Baumgartner, who had Massaquoi in art history and cartooning classes. “I had kids coming up to me saying how cool I looked.
“Siaka has a unique combination of creativity, focus and a broad range of interests, and he seems to be in touch with all those aspects. He opens up to being vulnerable, and when you’re vulnerable is when you learn.
“He makes being a teacher what we all signed up for.”
Morris Robinson owns an Ameritech dealership in Evanston and hired Massaquoi for part-time work soon after last spring’s Rotary Club speech. Robinson considers Massaquoi a role model for all athletes, and especially those of color.
“Siaka is a delight,” Robinson said. “Like any new employee, he started out cleaning the bathroom and emptying the garbage–and he did it willingly. He is going to make fantastic strides, and not just on the football field.
“People like him come along once in a generation, and it’s important that he is nurtured in the right way. He is blessed and is off to a great start. If it all gets spoiled, it will be by himself or whomever he takes up with at Iowa–and that would be a real shame.”
Massaquoi said his mother, a nurse with the Evanston Health Department, helps him maintain a level perspective.
Massquoi knows how to keep himself grounded to reality.
“I’m not afraid to embarrass myself,” he said. “If people can laugh at me, maybe they won’t ever feel that I’m better than them.”
He is the kind of kid who phones his coach in the middle of June to wish him a happy Father’s Day.
” . . . (A player like Massaquoi) is the reason you go into coaching,” said Riehle. “You talk to him, and you end up feeling better about yourself. There’s a decency, an honesty and integrity–people need to know about a kid like this.
“I want this season to go on as long as possible. I look forward to practices because of Siaka and the other seniors. This is one of the world-class kids, and I’m going to cry when he’s gone.”
