A popular former Nickelodeon game show asked the following question in its theme song: "Do, do, do you have it? Do, do, do you have it: guts?"

As Triton's resident tough guy, senior tail back Brendan O'Neil will attest Shawn Devenish is the Vikings' gutsiest player. The senior offensive lineman, who since birth has suffered from retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye condition with no cure that has left Devenish with color blindness, tunnel vision (a lack of peripheral vision not allowing him to see anything coming from the side) and night blindness, has overcome his handicap by playing the most violent of American sports — football.

His father David played, and grew up watching college football and, in turn, playing football became somewhat of a lifetime dream for Shawn. Shawn's mother Lisa was apprehensive about the idea because football was dangerous to fully healthy athletes, let alone someone who would one day likely be completely blind. In fact, Shawn's parents did not even introduce the sport to their other son, Kyle, who played soccer for Triton.

But when Shawn entered high school, the athletic director at the time, Dave Dempsey, who had coached football for 29 years (now the Vikings defensive coordinator), and was also the special education coordinator for Triton, helped convince Lisa on Shawn's behalf that football was a step Shawn could conquer.

He ensured Lisa that Shawn would be fine because the helmet cuts off every player's vision and that a protective visor on the helmet would protect his eyes. Even more importantly, he told Lisa about two players he coached at Lynn Classical who were completely deaf and still played — one of whom later played at the all-deaf university, Gallaudet, and one who later played at UMass-Lowell.

"He told me of a student he had that was deaf and played football, and assured me as much as possible that Shawn would be fine and not get hurt," recalled Lisa Devenish of the convincing conversation. "He said you've got to let him try to find out if football is a sport for him. He said Shawn would not be a quarterback or wide receiver, that they would put him on the line and work on it.

"Basically it was a lifelong dream for Shawn to play, and Dave (Dempsey) said, 'Lisa, you've got to let Shawn make his decisions,'" continued Lisa Devenish, who added she still cringes every time he runs onto the field. "Much to my chagrin, I've seen how happy it has made him. Both his father and I are extremely proud for what he has accomplished."

In Dempsey's opinion, he was able to open Shawn's mother's eyes to the idea special needs students are just as capable of becoming student-athletes once the parent gets over the "can't do" mind-set and understands their son/daughter is capable of blossoming on their own.

"Especially in Shawn's case where increasingly his vision was getting worse, the one thing I said was that, in coaching football and being in special education, I had seen a lot of limits put on young men and women by parents," said Dempsey, who commended Shawn for having more courage than most kids who ever play football. "Really, as a young man to put limitations on him was something they should really think about because the experience — regardless of if he loses his vision three years, five years, seven years down the road — is something he will always have the memories of.

"High school sports is all about everyone being able to play," Dempsey reiterated. "(The Triton football experience) is a place of satisfaction for him and camaraderie, something he can take with him from the last four years, and no matter what can't be taken away."

The battle to overcome darkness

The process has taken time, but Shawn has grown with his teammates. They have been there to help him learn, adapt to the game and aid him when he needs looking after. Brett Foley, current Triton captain Mike Foley's older brother and a senior standout linebacker when Shawn was a freshman, was the first to look after Shawn, acting as his role model.

Two of Shawn's teammates and best friends, Adam Ouellette and Pat Carney, have helped teach him the techniques at offensive line that he never got to learn as a young Pop Warner player. When the darkness creeps in, his best friends like O'Neil and Mike Foley take care of Shawn, allowing him to grab their shoulder or arm to act as his guide, whether it be on the sidelines, during a game or walking in from practice in the dusk.

Yet, Shawn has not taken a backseat, playing in some varsity games this season even though nearly all of Triton's games occur at night. He said his biggest reward has been being able to contribute to being part of a team.

"The biggest challenge (for me) was conquering playing night games," said Shawn, who takes high doses of vitamin A and eats oily fish as the only means to slow the degeneration in his eyes. "I never thought I'd play on varsity because I never thought I would see.

"I still struggle with later in the year (daylight savings' time) because it's pitch black on the practice field," explained Shawn, who needs special textbooks for color-blind students with large print for class work and who will never enjoy the thrill of driving a car. "(My vision ) slowly gets worse (as it gets darker), the field will get smaller, my field will get darker, and I can't see as far to the left and right as much when I look around."

There are still roadblocks. The brighter-lit fields are better for Shawn. He also prefers when opposing teams wear white jerseys, which make it easier for him to see opponents ahead of him. Dark jerseys or more darkly lit fields usually make his presence in games nonexistent. In one game, Triton head coach Jim O'Leary recalled, Shawn accidently drew a personal foul penalty after Triton scored a touchdown when he tried to celebrate with his teammates but ended up pushing an opposing player.

"A funny story this year — one JV game it was starting to get dark in the second half and we scored a TD," said O'Leary, who praised Shawn for being the brightest example of the old saying, if you put your mind to something, you can overcome anything. "He thought the touchdown celebration was in front of him and he was going to hug one of our players. Instead, it happened to be a player from the other team. He pushed the player and was called for a penalty. I had to tell the ref he really can't see. That just shows the type of obstacle he's trying to get over."

As part of the learning curve, Shawn used what he has been taught to beat his fears.

"I'm really afraid of getting blind-sided, not seeing someone coming, and getting a concussion or breaking my neck. It's a constant fear," said Shawn honestly, who has never been injured during practice or a game but broke his collarbone once at a pasta party. "In football, we have been taught to have your head on a swivel. I've taken that to the extreme looking around at all times, never staring straight.

"My hearing is a lot better than most people and I think that is because I have to rely on it more," Shawn continued. "Normally if there's a blitzer coming, I'll hear the footsteps or feel the pressure and let everyone know. Sometimes I feel them fighting the pressure of my hands (after the ball is snapped). And sometimes I see someone fighting my own player by listening for contact to be made, and I hit that guy.

Two sides to the picture

Jokingly referred to as the team's equipment manager for the way he routinely donates shoelaces, cleats, shoulder straps or even helmets when other players need them, teammates love Shawn for the inspirational way that he never complains, always volunteers first to stick his neck in on a play and always tries his hardest.

As Dempsey sees it, there are two parts to Shawn's story — the part that he takes away from being on the team, but maybe even more importantly the part in which he inspires his teammates.

"I think the greatest parts of someone having a disability participate in team sports is that person gains a tremendous amount, but they also inspire their teammates to work hard," said Dempsey of his own experiences of teams with special needs student athletes. "I've found that most of these special education kids that come to team sports bring more to the table for the other kids than what the special education kids get back because the other kids get a sense of how hard these special needs kids work."

Dempsey was in fact so proud of Shawn that he hired him as a high school counselor two summers ago for the Triton school district special education summer camp that took place at Newbury Elementary school. Shawn acted as a role model for the young students.

"I hired him as a high school counselor to inspire young kids with disabilities to show them there are no limits," Dempsey said. "Here's a counselor that's been on a IEDs (individual education plans) his entire life, and look what he's done. It was the opportunity for (Shawn) to experience those kids, but again he was giving more to them. Those kids loved him and looked up to him. The people he involves himself with get more out of it than he does."

Once wishing to pursue a career as a marine biologist, however far down the road that may be, Shawn now wishes to major in education and pursue a career as a special education teacher.

"There are a lot of heroes in high school sports," Dempsey said. "In (Shawn's) own right, he's definitely a hero, a high school sports hero."