Respect is earned by Canyon middle linebacker

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A year ago, Canyon Country Canyon‘s Mike Spagnola was so good playing on the defensive line that I wouldn’t have dared to move him.

But first-year Canyon Coach Chris Varner wanted to help Spagnola get a chance at receiving a college scholarship, so he switched him to middle linebacker this season. He’s even better there, based on all the tackles he made Friday night against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in a 17-7 loss.

He doesn’t have the blazing speed that big-time colleges want these days, but what a great tackler and competitor. He went down with an injury in the first quarter, had to be helped off the field, then quickly returned.

Notre Dame linemen couldn’t block him all night. He smashed Notre Dame running back Thaddeus Brown to the turf twice behind the line of scrimmage and was the one player who quarterback Dayne Crist couldn’t break away from. Notre Dame coaches raved about Spagnola afterward.

- Eric Sondheimer