EVERETT — Thirteen-year-old John Montelus looked into the mirror and saw someone who was lost. His grades were the type that tempt kids to intercept the mail when the report card comes home. He was immature. He was the only child of a single parent growing up in Everett. And because of his weight, he was not allowed to play football.

Mike Milo, an assistant since coach John DiBiaso took over the Everett High football program in 1992, looked at the 13-year-old Montelus and saw a lot of the same things Montelus saw in himself. But Milo, in the most caring way possible, was shallow.