When asked to conduct a postgame interview, Prairie High School senior Alvaro Sanchez said he’d come find the reporter after their meeting with the coaches. After the meeting, the reporter was tracked down by Sanchez, who said, “I’m bringing my quarterback with me.”
Alvaro Sanchez is the leader of the offensive line for the Prairie Falcons, and plays left guard. However, watching him both on and off the field, it was clear he is the leader of the team as a whole. When Prairie High School football coaching staff was asked pregame who they felt was a standout senior team leader, the response from each was Sanchez. Falcons’ head coach James Young-Lewis praised Sanchez for his leadership.
“He’s our senior leader, starting left guard. You know, his leadership has been tremendous, especially when he went down early week three against Timberline. His spirit was still there. He was still vocal with all those teammates and was able to make sure that he helped those guys get right as he was working his way back through the process.”
Sanchez plays his position on the field with passion and finesse, moving with purpose and finishing his blocks, whether run-blocking or pass-blocking. He played a great game and that often goes unnoticed, as he is an offensive lineman, and offensive linemen aren’t often the center of attention.
One person who certainly appreciates the offensive line in front of him is sophomore quarterback Nolan Brame.
“He’s super good,” Brame said. “He makes sure I don’t get hit. I haven’t been hit in three games.”
Sanchez and the Falcons have faced some adversity this season, winning only their second game on Friday, Oct. 23 against Shelton High School. The win was big and hard fought, leaving Sanchez optimistic about the remainder of the season.
“I definitely feel good, we’ve had our ups and downs,” Sanchez said.
Prairie has had to deal with some injuries to key players, including Sanchez, who missed time.
“A couple of people went down the first three weeks, including myself,” Sanchez said. “Last week everybody came back, we’re all connected as a team now to turn this around.”
The Falcons have one game remaining on the schedule and Sanchez has goals for that game.
“Just got to win honestly, we don’t know what’s up with the league standings right now,” Sanchez said. “We just got to play our hearts out next week because that’s probably the last guaranteed week we’ve got left.”
Sanchez takes his academics seriously as well, carrying a 3.4 grade point average. Math is his favorite subject in school. After graduating with the class of 2027, Sanchez would like to attend college, continue to play football and further his studies.
