WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — The man of the moment, especially in his hometown of Whitehall Township, is defined not by the yards he gains with a football in his hands, but by the miles he travels with his fellow man in his heart.
On Super Bowl Sunday, Saquon Barkley could stumble, maybe rushes for 28 yards on the very day he’ll celebrate his 28th birthday. Maybe he fumbles a few times in a Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Unlikely, of course, given this historic season during which he led the NFL in rushing with 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns, won the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year and was a candidate for league MVP.
But even if Barkley performs against type — think The Rock portraying “Othello” — how Whitehall and the Lehigh Valley view him isn’t likely to waver.
'Runs toward the needy'
While Barkley avoids defenders on the field, off of it he runs toward those most in need.
Through Barkley's Michael Ann (his grandmother’s name) & Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation, he gives his time and resources to help underserved youths, schools and community organizations in Whitehall and the Lehigh Valley.
- Need funding for a turkey drive and a coat drive for needy children? Barkley zips toward them.
- A Lehigh Valley homeless shelter needs help, there’s Barkley.
- An Allentown charter school needs winter coats for 80 students, there’s Barkley.
- Children need school backpacks, there’s Barkley to fill them with supplies and hope.
- Barkley joined St. Luke's University Health Network and its AthLife Foundation to support student-athletes in the Lehigh Valley, to improve academic achievement and prepare students for success after high school.
“He is all about the kids,” Whitehall Township Commissioner Alberta Scarfaro, and Barkley Foundation board member, said.
“Because of how he grew up, he didn’t have much, he remembers the struggles he went through. He knows what it feels like to not have.”
“But when Saquon shows up, and they’re standing next to him, and he's talking to them, the smiles on their faces are something."Alberta Scarfaro
Beyond the coats and backpacks he donates, Scarfaro said she's most impressed by the faces.
“Some kids feel hopeless, that life won’t get better,” she said. “But when Saquon shows up, and they’re standing next to him, and he's talking to them, the smiles on their faces are something. I’ll never forget some of those faces.
“Seeing that is worth more than money.”
Sometimes, though, it’s about money.
When Barkley learned a Bethlehem family did not have the money to travel to Florida to be with a very sick family member, he got them there.
“For Saquon, it’s simple,” Scarfaro said. “If he can help, he will.”
Tearing up
If the Eagles win the Super Bowl, Barkley would become the third Whitehall High graduate to win the big game as a player. Matt Millen won four titles and Dan Koppen two.
Eagles receiver Jahan Dotson, a Nazareth High graduate, would be yet another local product to win a Super Bowl ring.
Again, the primary view of Barkley, a two-time nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for service to one’s community, is less football and more kindness.
The mere mention of Saquon Barkley brought tears to Jeffrey Warren’s eyes.
At a recent workshop meeting of the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners, Vice President Warren showed up wearing a green Barkley jersey.
He said he was thrilled about the national spotlight the 2015 Whitehall High School graduate has shown upon the township. He marveled at the momentous season Barkley turned in during his first in Eagles green.
“At that moment, Saquon became a Hall of Fame person. I’m tearing up just recalling it because it shows what a good person he is."Jeffrey Warren
A geologist by trade, Warren didn’t have to turn over many rocks to find the many reasons Whitehall adores and respects Barkley.
“I travel the country for my work,” he said. “When people ask me about Saquon, the story I tell them first is when he gave his gold medal he won in track to a girl from Saucon Valley High School at the Colonial League and EPC Track and Field Championships.
“After the girl won her race in the hurdles, there was a clock problem and they had to run the race over again. When they reran it, she hit a hurdle, it went into another lane and she was disqualified. She was devastated.”
Coincidently, before rerunning her race, the girl, sophomore Rachel Panek, held the starting block for Barkley during his 100-meter dash final, which he won.
“So, after he won and she lost the second race, what does Saquon do?" Warren said. “He finds her and gives her his gold medal because he felt in his heart she deserved it.
“At that moment, Saquon became a Hall of Fame person. I’m tearing up just recalling it because it shows what a good person he is.
“And he’s never changed. He is always here for Whitehall and the community. He shares his successes. You couldn’t ask for a better representative of Whitehall.”
Kindness of the heart
Ed Kolosky will never forget that day.
“After Rachel didn’t get her gold medal for winning her race, she had a meltdown,” said Kolosky, the former Saucon Valley track and field coach.
“The stadium was buzzing about how unfair it was to Rachel. I told her she still had the district championships the following week. But she was crying in my arms because she felt her Colonial League title was taken from her.”
A short time later, Kolosky spotted Panek with a gold medal smile; the tears long gone.
“I saw the gold medal around her neck and asked, ‘Where’d you get that?’” Kolosky said. "She said Barkley gave it to her because he felt bad about what happened to her and how she deserved it. That was kindness of the heart.
“She told me, ‘He put it around my neck and asked if I wanted to have it because I deserved it.’
"The next day, this kid comes up to me to say hello. It was Saquon. I told him I didn’t know what to say about how kind he was to Rachel.
"He just smiled as if it was no big deal. That’s special.”
Proud momma
It is speculated the meaning of the name Saquon has Swahili roots meaning "warrior," or Ethiopian and Algonquian roots meaning "blessed."
Both apply to Barkley, all thanks to his mother.
“Saquon was always taught to be a person to show empathy for his fellow family members and friends,” mom Tonya Johnson wrote in an email.
“He tried his best as a child to please everyone.
“Whitehall-Coplay is the place where he grew up. It’s where he built relationships with friends with whom he is still close to. There are no words to describe how proud this momma is of her son.”
'This is crazy!'
The game was just hours old. The Eagles’ torching of the Washington Commanders in the NFL Championship Game was still smoldering two weeks ago.
At Barkley’s suburban Philadelphia home, a quiet celebration was held. Barkley, fiancee Anna Congdon, their two young children, family members and friends toasted the achievement of one of their own.
Attorney Madison Scarfaro has been a trusted friend of Barkley since they were in middle school. She knew Saquon Barkley before he became Saquon Barkley.
“We were at the house watching that night when the Chiefs beat the Bills,” said Scarfaro, 28, daughter of the Whitehall commissioner.
“I told him, ‘Well, that’s who we’re playing! This is crazy! Saquon, you’re going to the Super Bowl!’
“He just nods and says, ‘Yeah, but the goal is to win, not just get there.’ That’s him. He just won the game to get to the Super Bowl and he’s the same guy I’ve always known.”
Barkley had rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns against the Commanders. Scarfaro approached him at his home to congratulate him.
“I told him, ‘Saquon, you are an insane football player!’” she said.
Barkley responded, sheepishly, “Uh, yeah.”
'Great for our school'
Let the Super Bowl game play out, Whitehall High School Athletic Director Bob Hartman said.
Township Mayor Joseph J. Marx Jr. echoed the sentiment.
Let’s wait, not jinx anything, before planning a celebration of Super Bowl champion Saquon Barkley at Whitehall High School and also somewhere in the township.
“He is a high character person who cares about people deeply, especially around here."Bob Hartman
As both Hartman and Marx dared to imagine Barkley, one of their own, returning to Whitehall with the Lombardi Trophy, both men chose to focus not on championships, but rather his character.
“Obviously, his actions and words speak for themselves,” said Hartman, whose children used to be babysat by Barkley.
“He is a high-character person who cares about people deeply, especially around here. It’s really cool to see that whole side of Saquon. He is great for our school and our community.
“But with the positives come negatives. We’ve had to tell some people on Facebook to stop using our [school district] logo to put on T-shirts with Saquon. He’s that popular.”
'Sign of greatness'
Whitehall and the Lehigh Valley are awash in Barkley Fever.
The marquee outside the Whitehall Diner reads “Let’s Go Saquon!"
Dorney Park is flying Eagles flags from the tops of several rides, and also is lighting up its Ferris wheel and Dominator ride in bright green.
Win or lose on Super Sunday, the fever will not subside.
Win or lose on Super Sunday, in the eyes of Whitehall, Saquon Barkley will forever be a champion.
Myles Munroe, the late Bahamian evangelist, wrote:
“The greatness of a man is measured in the way he treats the little man. Compassion for the weak is the sign of greatness.”
