Failure has never been an option, and excuses have never been part of Jovan Kitchen’s vocabulary. In a society where people create excuses to explain shortcomings, the Saint Mary’s-Albany senior captain began life with plenty of them at his disposal, but neither he nor his family have ever allowed them to deter them from achieving success in life.
Kitchen’s biological father, Willie, died two weeks before Jovan and his twin brother, Ivan, were born. That in itself could lead numerous families down the path towards failure and excuses. But that wasn’t all.
Ivan suffered a stroke while in his mother’s womb, and was born mentally disabled and with cerebral palsy. His right side is nearly paralyzed, and he has trouble reading and writing. Despite that, however, Jovan describes his brother as fully functional, and the two have even enjoyed the usual moments of sibling rivalry growing up. Besides, they have always had the full support of their mother, who is also well-known throughout the Saint Mary’s athletic community.
“I’ve always had to basically be the man of the house, since I was a kid,” Kitchen said. “But my mom (Javonna Blanton) is really strong, and she holds everything together, especially when I need it.”
Blanton is self-employed, and works long hours from home, but also makes a lot of time for her three children, which includes Jovan’s eight-year old sister, Carina. Kitchen describes his mom as the team’s mascot in the stands, while Panthers coach Keith Minor has even more to say about the family.
“(Jovan) is super mature for his age, and has been a great leader, even while we have had a rough start,” Minor said. “He has tremendous character, and displays confidence to make his teammates better.”
Meanwhile, Minor describes Blanton as an extremely enthusiastic fan of the program, someone who helps at all the team dinners, and displays support at all times. Minor and Kitchen have also forged a bond, with the coach not only guiding his student-athlete on the field, but off the field as well.
“We have a lot of leadership conversations,” Minor said. “We talk about being a good man, a good father, and a good husband. It’s not easy to take on the role he has had.”
It would have been easy for Kitchen and his family to make plenty of excuses with the start they had to life together, just like it would be easy for the Panthers to make excuses right now, off to an 0-4 start. But this is a program that has reached the playoffs in all seven of Minor’s seasons as head coach, and no one is about to throw in the towel, especially not with TCAL-Rock Division play starting next week.
“We’ve definitely had our growing pains this season, but we’re excited to start league play,” Kitchen said. “We’re treating every team like a rival now. No one is taken lightly. We just need to work hard every week.”
It certainly helps to have a player like Kitchen to help turn things around. He, quarterback Ryan Jenkins, and running back/defensive back Sanjay Kettles are three-year varsity starters, and players who Minor relies on.
“(Jovan) has been a monster on the field, almost impossible to block. People avoid his side (at defensive end),” Minor said. “By no means is he perfect – no one is – but I believe in him, his work ethic, and who he is.”
Minor is not the only one to give his stamp of approval to Kitchen. Longtime Panthers defensive line coach Steve Moore swears by Kitchen, something Minor referred to as “meaning the world” when it comes to coach evaluations. And Jenkins was also able to describe what Kitchen means to this group of Panther players.
“Jovan is an emotional leader, with everyone’s best interests at heart,” Jenkins said. “He always speaks up for the greater good. He holds everyone accountable, makes them better. I love him, he’s like my brother.”
Jenkins, Kitchen, and Kettles have all led by example in recent weeks, especially in a 45-39 loss to Riordan two weeks ago, when Jenkins threw for 351 yards, Kettles ran for 84 yards and two scores, and Kitchen scored on offense. Those on-field examples resonate loudly as they try to turn the season around, beginning this Friday night against Albany.
“Our senior class, this is our last moment together,” Jenkins said. “We just try to have the same mindset right now, to get better every day. We’ve put in too many days of hard work not to turn this around.”
Saint Mary’s may have actually already witnessed the moment which could turn its season around. Trailing Bishop O’Dowd 27-0 at halftime of the last game, Kitchen raced down the field to make the tackle on the third quarter kickoff.
He then registered a sack on the first play of the third quarter, and forced a fumble on the play, leading to the Panthers’ only score of the game. That sends a message to young players looking for role models.
The Panthers also started below .500 last season, going 2-3 in non-league play before winning the Rock title with a perfect 5-0 league record. The year before featured an appearance in the North Coast Section Division IV championship game.
Kitchen, Jenkins, and Kettles were an integral part of both those teams, and none of them are about to start making excuses this season. Least of all Kitchen, who has had too many opportunities to go that direction in life, and instead keeps pushing himself and others to greater success.
