Full-circle football moment for Veris

Editor's note: This story is part of an eight-page special section in the Oct. 25 print edition of the Norwalk Reflector. NORWALK — In his mind, Garin Veris almost "had to be" in Norwalk on Saturday. Born in 1963 in Chillicothe, Veris grew up about two hours east of Cincinnati when an NFL team started playing football in the Queen City in 1968. "The Bengals were the first team I really identified with," Veris said. "I was a kid growing up in southern Ohio and they were my life. Then when I was a little boy, they always called me little Leroy Kelly as a nickname — but I was a Bengals fan." Leroy Kelly is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and starred for the Cleveland Browns when the team's namesake, former head coach Paul Brown, became co-founder of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968. After a Hall of Fame career at Stanford University was followed by eight productive seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers, Veris found himself in the perfect spot in the Maple City on October 21. A life-sized statue of Brown was unveiled, as was a historical marker from the Ohio History Connection, where Veris is donor-relations officer. He helped unveil the marker and addressed the crowd of about 300 people in front of Suhr Park on West Main Street. "The statue is incredible," Veris said. "It looks so much like him with the hat and the suit. But what he brought to the game, nobody can deny the innovation and excitement he brought to the game. "He deserves to have something like this in his hometown, and an event like this is very fitting." During his speech, Veris pulled out a picture of himself at age 9 — the same age as Paul Brown when his family moved from here to Massillon — and dressed in a Bengals uniform. The photo was taken when Veris reached one of the final rounds of the NFL's Punt, Pass and Kick competition at a Bengals game vs. the Los Angeles Raiders on Nov. 12, 1972, at Riverfront Stadium. A nationwide program, "PP&amp;K," as it was known, was started by NFL in 1961 and closed down in 2017 after 56 years of offering youngsters ages 6 to 15 an opportunity to compete in football skills. "You had to win three competitions to perform at Riverfront Stadium," Veris said. "They housed us in the Hilton Netherland in downtown Cincinnati and we always ran into players who were staying there." Veris said the punting and kicking was done during pregame, while the passing portion of the competition was at halftime. "That was my strong point, I was a big passer," he said. "I won that competition three times at Riverfront and went on to the next stage, which I believe was San Diego, Miami and Pittsburgh. I was a traveling NFL player in my mind. "But being in front of the stadium and wearing the uniform representing the Bengals just drove why I loved the NFL, and then to have a chance to play in the league and a Super Bowl was a dream come true." After a decorated three-sport career in high school at Chillicothe — which included winning the discus and shot-put state championships twice each in track and field — Veris went on to star at Stanford. From 1981-84, Veris led the Cardinal in tackles-for-loss in three seasons and sacks all four years. Tied for fourth on Stanford's all-time list for sacks with 25 and fifth in tackles-for- loss (45), he was inducted to the college's Hall of Fame in 2006. In 1982, the Cardinal finished just 5-6 during Veris's sophomore season with future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway leading the team. However, that included an upset win over then No. 13-ranked Ohio State — a 23-20 win inside Ohio Stadium in Columbus, just 49 miles from Veris's hometown. Later that season was the famous 25-20 defeat to rival Cal Golden Bears on "The Play" with five laterals and the Stanford band unintentionally serving as blockers on the final play. "I was actually recruited by Ohio State, and Nick Saban was the one who recruited me," Veris said of the legendary Alabama coach, who was an assistant for two years under Earle Bruce in Columbus. Veris wanted to play both football and track and field in college — but Bruce wasn't going to allow that at Ohio State. "When we came back to the 'Shoe and beat them, that was probably my biggest win I was a part of in college," Veris said. "But as far as notoriety, it was definitely 'The Play' against Cal." Veris was selected 48th overall in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. That draft was famous for including Hall of Fame pass-rushers Bruce Smith, Chris Doleman and Kevin Greene, along with HoF receivers Jerry Rice and Andre Reed. As a rookie for the Patriots, Veris thrived, finishing with 10 sacks and two fumble recoveries for the season. Ironically, the Patriots were 10-5 entering the regular season finale and needed a win at home against the Bengals to reach the playoffs. Leading 27-23 with two minutes left in the game, New England had a fourth-and-1 at the Bengals' 42-yard line. With Cincinnati still holding three timeouts, Patriots' head coach Raymond Berry opted to go for first down. Running back Robert Weathers covered the distance with a 42-yard touchdown to clinch the win. Veris was squaring off in the game against Bengals left tackle Anthony Munoz. The Pro Football Hall of Famer was also on hand and spoke at the statue unveiling event in Norwalk. "I had to battle Munoz a couple times in the NFL — toughest lineman I ever played against," Veris said. "And that's the honest truth and I tell everyone that." After the win over the Bengals, many of the 58,000 fans at Foxboro Stadium stormed the field in celebration and even tore down the goalposts and carried them out of the stadium. "The whole field was covered with fans, and it was the only professional game I can remember with fans on the field like that," Veris said. "They carried the goalposts right down the street." From there, the Patriots became the first team in the Super Bowl era to win three road playoff games. They beat the Jets, 26-14, at Giants Stadium as Veris had three sacks and an interception. Up next was a 27-20 win over the Raiders in Los Angeles, followed by a 31-14 win over the Dolphins in Miami, with Veris sacking Hall of Famer Dan Marino in the win. Facing arguably the greatest defense in NFL history, the Patriots were routed in Super Bowl XX, 46-10, by the Chicago Bears at the Superdome. "I wanted to be drafted by the Bengals, but to play against Cincinnati my rookie year, it was an incredible time for New England," Veris said. "To make the playoffs and to do it against the Bengals was a dream come true. It was a special time in New England, capped by the trip to the Super Bowl." Veris was named to the Patriots' all-decade team for the 1980s after a career that included 36 sacks and seven fumble recoveries. In his post-playing days, he worked as high school athletic director at Haverhill High School, Massachusetts Marine Academy, and for his alma mater in Chillicothe. Veris has been the donor-relations officer for the Ohio History Connection for about a year. In that short time, he said he's benefited from "quite a few history lessons" from various stops around Ohio — and Saturday's event in Norwalk was no exception. "I've done four or five of these as far as smaller communities go, and the turnout was bigger than usual," Veris said. "Just a great turnout, and the people were very friendly. With Anthony (Munoz) here, the mayor (Dave Light), and the high-school kids — that was amazing that they came out, the football teams. Just outstanding representation of the community."