St. Francis athlete rejects disabled label, excels in 3 sports

A spirited debate was brewing along the St. Francis-Mountain View sideline last month on whether the Lancers, down by a point to visiting Riordan with about two minutes left, should go for it on fourth down or attempt a potential go-ahead field goal.

“Stop, stop,” St. Francis senior Trill Hebert said. “Riley can make it. Let’s just put it on Riley’s foot.”

The coaching staff turned to starting senior safety and part-time kicker Riley Quinn, who glanced back.

“I’ll make it,” Quinn said.

Of course he would. The three-sport athlete and straight-A student has been figuratively splitting the uprights for most of his young life.

Quinn, 18, was born without a left forearm and hand due to an amniotic band breaking early during his mother’s pregnancy. The band had wrapped around his left arm, and neither his family nor the doctors knew until he was delivered.

The Quinns had two older children, but a third had died at age 2, three years before Quinn’s birth.

“So long as Riley was breathing we could handle anything,” his mother, Cheryl Quinn, said.

But could the world handle the competitive spitfire Riley Quinn?

His parents, both athletes themselves, threw him into sports along with his older siblings, Allison and Kyle. Riley more than held his own.

'Inner drive’

He “always had that inner drive and fire,” said Quinn’s father, Chris. “He’s wired a little different than the rest of the family. He’s definitely got some piss and vinegar.

“Honestly, if he had both hands, he might just be a typical good athlete. Not having that hand just made him work that much harder and made his passion burn that much deeper.”

Sports fed that passion and Quinn played all of them: kickball, football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis and golf. The two-handed world obviously had an advantage, but soaking in such a notion would only prove poisonous.

“The idea that I am handicapped has never entered my mind,” Quinn wrote on his college essay. “Instead, I use what others may call a physical disability as my driving force and motivation to excel at everything I do.”

Excelling at St. Francis isn’t easy. Academically, Quinn’s 4.35 GPA isn’t close to valedictorian material, and athletically, the Lancers play in Northern California’s toughest league, the WCAL.

A defensive stopper on the basketball team and a relief pitcher in baseball, Quinn truly shines on the gridiron. The 6-foot, 180-pounder has 112 career tackles in two seasons as a hard-hitting, ball-hawking safety. He’s also intercepted four passes and returned one for a touchdown.

Top-seeded team

St. Francis (6-4) is the top seed in the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs and hosts Mt. Pleasant-San Jose (9-1) on Friday at 7 p.m.

“Wrapping up is sort of hard to do with one hand,” Quinn said. “And catching the ball is challenging if it’s not a good spiral.”

Outsiders watch Quinn on the field both quizzically and with amazement. His team has just come to expect it, though “every once in a while, he’ll make a play on the field and I’ll say, 'I have no idea how he did it,’” St. Francis head coach Greg Calcagno said.

“We don’t think of him or see him as anything but a normal guy,” said senior linebacker Steven Dinneen. “He’s just inspiring by himself. The fact he doesn’t have that arm doesn’t affect him. It’s not who he is. He doesn’t allow it to define him.”

Said Serra coach Patrick Walsh, who watched Quinn seal a win over his team last season with an interception: “He’s the type of kid you’d like to work for someday. I’m an outsider, but you can just see and feel his heart and passion and energy and character. That kid is a true leader.”

Added Dinneen: “He never let’s anything get in his way. If there’s something to do or accomplish, he’s going to get it done.”

Like that game against Riordan on Oct. 3. Though Quinn was fatigued from making 10 tackles and not warming up, he drilled the 39-yard field goal and St. Francis prevailed 25-23.

Earlier that week, he received his first football scholarship offer, from the University of San Diego. Though he’s also considering Ivy League schools, the San Diego offer choked him up.

“It was just a really good week and it all hit at once,” Quinn said. “It was sort of a validation that all my hard work had paid off and, frankly, that I was good enough to play at the next level.”

He didn’t need a scholarship offer to prove that, said St. Francis assistant coach and former 49ers lineman Dwaine Board.

“I’ve seen the next level a lot in my lifetime and he can play there,” Board said. “He’s real quiet and laid back, but when he steps on the field he’s got a fire in him. He wants to compete and he wants to be the best. That’s what it takes to play this game.”

Passing on advice

Quinn’s week got even better 30 minutes after the Riordan win. An 8-year-old, Emma, was waiting to talk to him. She too was missing most of her left arm.

The two talked for 15 minutes and Quinn reminded her what Jim Abbott, the famed one-armed major-league pitcher, passed on to Quinn during a chance meeting.

“Always believe in yourself. Use the talents you’ve been given. Great things can happen,” Quinn recalls.

With that, the two toasted with a stub bump.

“When I was younger, when I was told I inspired people, I’d kind of fight it,” Quinn said. “I didn’t want to just inspire, but I wanted to prove that I could hang with all the kids out there.

“Now I embrace it all. Moments like meeting Emma put it all in perspective. If I can help someone out there, I’m glad to do it.”