DaytonDailyNews.com

XENIA — It began as a spur-of-the-moment conversation through the fence some 30 years ago.

Shawn Brewer was a seventh-grade special-needs student. Ed Mignery was then an assistant football coach at Xenia High School.

Let's let Shawn tell the story because when it comes to Buccaneer football, nobody likes to talk about it more:

"I was coming home from school one day, and I leaned up against the fence to watch practice," Brewer said. "Coach Mignery hollered, 'Boy, you want a job?'

"I started walking with him, and he says 'I'm gonna put you to work right today,' and I guess I just took to it."

Now that's an understatement.

Brewer is the Bucs' colorful 42-year-old equipment manager, their Friday night ball boy and a full-time trumpeter of all things Xenia, big and small.

He'll be on the sidelines tonight when the Bucs host Beavercreek in the Dayton Daily News' Game of the Week at Cox Stadium. That'll be him in the white No. 10 jersey that fits a little snug across the belly of his 5-foot-11, 270-pound body.

He'll be wearing shorts, football cleats and a knee brace — thanks to a Special Olympics basketball injury. He'll sport paste-on black streaks beneath his eyes and a white headband that wraps around a burr haircut starting to show signs of gray.

"He's just a feel-good guy with a feel-good story," is the way Mignery, now the Bucs head coach and Brewer's longtime buddy, put it.

If you go on longevity, involvement, uncompromising devotion — not to mention the fact that he was the guy who caught the renegade raccoon that laid claim to the stadium dressing room last winter — "Brew Dog," as he's been dubbed, is a true cornerstone of Xenia High football.

Certainly there are Bucs better known in the outside world — Trent Cole is one of the defensive stars of the Philadelphia Eagles, Cedric Tolbert Jr. is a starting safety for the Cincinnati Bearcats, Ben Person is a starting offensive lineman for the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes — but no one is more recognizable or more lovingly embraced by the Xenia football family.

"He's the one constant," said former head coach Mike Anderson. "He been there for let's see ... four, five ... six head coaches."

And hundreds of football players.

"When all the old-timers come back, they all look him up," said Mignery. "Everything else may change, but Brew's still the same."

Asked about his tenure, Brewer smiled: "The kids love me to death. All the coaches love me. They won't let me go, won't let me retire. They say, 'You're gonna stay with Xenia football the rest of your life."

And with a shrug, he admitted: "That's OK with me. I love it."

It goes beyond football

"For most of his life, he's been down at that football field, and it's just been wonderful," 87-year-old Jane Brewer said of her youngest son. "In other parts of his life, Shawn has some disabilities that hamper him in ways. But not where football is concerned."

One of Jane's older sons, Bill "Bonehead" Brewer, was a football standout at both Xenia High and Eastern Kentucky University.

As for Shawn, he remembered coming to Buccaneer games with his mom and late father and telling them one day he was going to be part of the football team, too.

After that through-the-fence conversation he was. And then sophomore year and again as a senior, he even joined the team.

"The couple times we did put him in a game, the crowd just went nuts cheering him," Anderson remembered.

Maybe that's why he still shows up for an occasional practice drill wearing shoulder pads, jersey, gloves and cleats.

"To just call him the equipment manager doesn't do him justice," Mignery laughed. "He's as spirited a guy as you'll find — and it goes beyond football."

He runs the clock for freshman basketball games, mops the gym floor at halftime, runs the sound system and helps out with soccer, wrestling and in the weight room. Thanks to Mignery, he's been given various odd jobs around Xenia High, as well.

"Sure this is good for him," Mignery said. "He could be just another special-needs guy sitting on a bench downtown with nothing to do. Instead, he's become something pretty special here. And to be truthful, it goes both ways."

Assistant freshman coach Shawn McCormick agreed: "He's as much a part of us as we are of him. The kids love him, and he's good for them. He teaches a little about generosity and humility."

Those lessons haven't been lost on players.

"Every day he shows us that even if your situation in life isn't what you might want, you can go all out for something and be passionate about it," said junior middle linebacker Reggie Romine.

"He takes up for anybody on this team," said senior Quatez Scott. "If we were down to just one fan, there's no doubt who it'd be. It doesn't matter if we're winning or losing, Brew is there for us."

Dedicated

As the players tromped off the field in the fading light and numbing cold Wednesday evening — their practice gear rain soaked and muddy — Brewer waited for them in the dressing room, where he collected the uniforms and took them to the laundry room.

"It's gonna be a long evening for me," he said as he tamped some Grizzly snuff into his bottom lip and then stuffed the pair of washers full of grimy jerseys.

Old rock 'n' roll thumped out of the radio that set on a tabletop next to his football helmet, which he'd decorated with skull and football decals and an Old Spice Player of the Year sticker he'd found. His No. 10 jersey — bearing the name "Brewer" across the back — lay folded over a chair.

"When Coach (Paul) Jenne was here, he asked me if I wanted a couple of jerseys to wear," he said. "I picked No. 10 because that was Kordell Stewart's number at Colorado. Coach told me, 'Make sure you take these home and don't wear them around the community. Just wear 'em game nights. They're special."

But he already knew how special Friday nights were:

"I start getting butterflies before hand, but once game time starts, there's nothing more fun than standing on the sidelines and watching the kids rock everybody. I just love all of it."

He's made that pretty evident said assistant coach Cedric Tolbert Sr.:

"He's a Buccaneer through and through. He told coach whenever he dies he wants them to take his ashes out there on the field and bury them in the end zone. He doesn't ever want to leave Xenia football."