By TODD KRISE

t_krise@ncnewsonline.com

Garrett Thomas stood a little taller Friday night.

Not because his Ellwood City Lincoln High football team finally broke its 31-game losing streak with a 33-21 win over New Brighton.

Not because of his career-high 116 rushing yards and critical sack in the end zone that earned him the Lawrence County Athlete of the Week award.

Thomas finally heard the words he’s been so longing to hear from his stepfather, Joseph Hawrylak.

“When I called him after the game, I asked him if I could stay over a friend’s house,” Thomas explained. “He said, ‘Go ahead. You had a great game. You did a really good job out there.’

“The fact that in his eyes I did something good made me feel good inside. It’s like we’re family, no matter if our last names are different or not.”

Thomas was 4 when his birth father abandoned him, his mother, Tammy, and younger sister, Morgan. Thomas, 16, has not seen or heard from his father since.

The trio, who lived in Texas at the time, moved back to western Pennsylvania where Tammy was from originally.

That’s about when Tammy met Hawrylak in the summer of 1999. The two began dating and eventually married over a year later.

The sudden change was rough on young Garrett.

“I kind of still wanted to be with my dad,” Thomas said, “even though we didn’t talk for five years.”

He began to take his frustration out on his stepfather. Thomas did not abide by Hawrylak’s rules and did the opposite of what he said.

“He didn’t like having someone else besides mom giving him the rules,” Tammy Hawrylak said.

Add Joseph Hawrylak, “He was a pistol. It was tough. It took some fortitude on everyone’s part.”

Fortunately for Joseph Hawrylak and Garrett Thomas, they found a common interest: sports.

Hawrylak was Thomas’ coach in Little League and was responsible for getting his stepson into football. Their relationship has grown steadily throughout the last several years and seemed to reach its peak last week.

“It’s a relief,” Tammy Hawrylak said. “A lot of people in my situation don’t have that. We’ve been married for nine years now. It amazes me every day how lucky I am. It took a little while. It feels like we’re more of a family now than ever.”

Thomas was a key part of the Wolverines’ victory over New Brighton. His second-quarter sack of running back Trey Hall caused a fumble, which was recovered by Ellwood’s Ronnie Grymes in the end zone. The score gave the Wolverines a 13-7 lead.

Thomas, who leads his team with five sacks, then took his aggressiveness to the offensive side of the ball, where he took a third quarter handoff 86 yards to New Brighton’s 2-yard line.

Ellwood scored on the next play to take a three-score lead.

“We kept faking me and counter-trapping the other way, so finally we caught them,” Thomas said. “They were just figuring we were faking to me and I busted it around the outside.”

The Wolverines held onto the lead and snapped their long losing streak. Connellsville now has the longest losing streak in the WPIAL at 25 games.

“We don’t have to worry about that coming up again,” Thomas said. “There’s definitely a different atmosphere. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just a good feeling overall.”

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior is excited for next season. Thomas now has 269 yards on 63 carries this year. Ellwood coach Don Phillips said Thomas will be an even bigger part of the Wolverines’ offense as a senior.

“Obviously with his experience, we do have to exploit that,” Phillips said. “We gear a lot of the things that we normally do around his talents and abilities.”

And so does his family.

*****

THE GARRETT THOMAS FILE

POSITION: Fullback/linebacker

TEAM: Ellwood City Lincoln

GRADE: 11

KNOWN FOR: Thomas collected a career-high 116 yards on 10 carries last week in Ellwood City’s 33-21 win over New Brighton. Thomas leads the Wolverines with five sacks.

PARENTS: Joseph and Tammy Hawrylak

FAVORITE PRO TEAM AND WHY: Denver Broncos because of former safety John Lynch. “He was my favorite player and then they drafted Knowshon Moreno and now he’s my favorite player since John Lynch retired.”

FUTURE PLANS: Thomas hopes to become a municipal police officer. He is contemplating whether to go to college or attend a police academy.