The Titans of Albert Einstein High School football: Then and now
KENSINGTON, Md. — The Titans of Albert Einstein Football were known for their long-lasting losing streak that went on for years back in 1990. They ended their 1992 season by losing almost all the 10 games of the season in varsity football.
In a game against Kennedy High, in 1991, the Titans were so degraded with the score 42-0 that the captain, Tim Akinmukomi, desired to leave the field. Ultimately, the game ended before its time.
The team losing all its respect was made fun about their poor play as well as their academic record. The loss was mentally exhausting for the entire team to the point, where on some occasions, the coaches would scream at the players and give up on the practices because of their poor play. The losses became mentally tiring, the players stopped giving their best on the field.
Self-doubt and discouragement can break a player, causing the team to break, which in return causes chaos in the energy of the entire team. The Einstein Titans had the same case of discouraging energy until the new coach, Kervin Wyatt, joined the team that summer.
“If you make a commitment, and you plan and you put in the hours and the time and preparation and study, you succeed. That’s the American dream,” Wyatt said. “Football teaches you that.”
The team was lacking the energy and spirit to help them move forward and that is what was needed in work. Wyatt realized that and encouraged the student-athletes to work hard on their weaknesses and strengthen their capabilities.
He showed his student-athletes that football is just like life and people who want to win in life, have plans and put in the hard work. So basically, he taught them how to live a life through playing football.
Just a little bit of self-belief and the coach’s encouraging words set the team off on their way to not giving up. They stayed until the end of the game, worked harder, fought better, lost better. It was a learning curve and they kept going on, building on the last game, improving.
“After games, I get parents who thank me because they see the sparkle in their son’s eyes,” Wyatt said at the time. “They say they’ve never seen him so happy and so interested in studying.”
Ever since then, the Einstein Titans team has built upon these principles. In the 2013, the team’s overall record was 4-5. The team’s 2014 record stood at 2-8. The loss was jarring for the Titans, yet the year 2015 games also cracked the team’s spirit with a record of 1-8. The Titans, however, picked themselves up with wins, 6-4 in 2016. The Titans’ spirit did not break, they kicked off the next fall, with the same spirit and went 7-3. They lost their balance in 2018 going 4-5. However, the Einstein Titans ended the 2019 season with tremendous wins 7-3.
The team has improved greatly, in 2019, they made program history by beating Blair in the first-ever playoff game they hosted.
The team’s current coach, Sean Loftus, said, “You know it’s really easy to have a great season and then turn around and be terrible the next year. So we have a lot of not pressure, but we have a lot of desire to prove that it’s not a fluke and we’re building a great program the right way.”
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 did not give players the chance to build upon what they achieved in 2019. The season ended with two games and the Titans finishing 1-1. Yet, the players worked hard in their free time. Steven Jackson, a Titans senior, said, “During the whole corona break, I was on this field every day, me and my friends working all the time.”
The Einstein Titans opened their 2021 fall season in September against Paint Branch. The Titans lost the game with a score of 44-7.
Nonetheless, the Titans have seen much worse days and by now they know-how to gain back their momentum. Just like Vince Lombardi said, “Winning is not everything–but making the effort to win is.” The Titans have always been seen putting their all into the game, and that is what matters.
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