PLAYOFF PROFILES : Cartaya’s Hits Send Message

Sean Cartaya remembers how badly he wanted to be a hit with the Antelope Valley High football coaching staff during his freshman season.

The young middle linebacker certainly grabbed the coaches’ attention when he hit an opposing running back so hard in a game the blow broke the face mask on Cartaya’s helmet. It also cracked one of his teeth and bloodied his face.

“I had a bloody nose, a fat lip and later on I had to have a root canal,” Cartaya said. “That was my most memorable hit.”

Cartaya, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior, continued to play in that game and has never stopped hitting.

As the team’s top tackler for the second consecutive season, Cartaya is one of the unsung heroes who will lead the top-seeded and defending-champion Antelopes against Hart in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. Southern Section Division II championship game at Antelope Valley High.

Antelope Valley has built its reputation on speed and flashiness because of a host of talented players at the skill positions that help the team average 45.2 points.

But Cartaya leads a less-noteworthy, yet physical defense that holds opponents to little more than 10 points per game.

He led the Antelopes with 88 tackles last season and has 125 this year, including four sacks and 10 tackles for a loss. He has caused four fumbles and recovered three.

“He’s not flashy, and he doesn’t have the blazing speed that some of the other kids do. He just quietly gets his 10 tackles a game,” said Wayne Ekomoto, Antelope Valley’s defensive coordinator.

“There’s been a lot of games where we’ve pulled out our first string at halftime.”

Still, opposing coaches tell Ekomoto that even 24 minutes of Cartaya was too much.

Cartaya, who is assigned to stopping runs and short passes in the middle, said he loves to hit ballcarriers head-on. He never wanted to play quarterback.

“I always liked defense,” he said. “I’d rather hit people than be hit. I love the feeling of making tackles.”

Said Ekomoto: “He’s one of the top three hardest hitters that I’ve seen. He seems to have a good nose for the ball.”

Coach Brent Newcomb loves Cartaya’s work ethic.

“He puts in those extra hours,” Newcomb said. “He’s a great hitter. He’s one of those guys who puts a little plastic on you. I just think he loves the game of football.”