Sentimental Finale
Published 11:51 pm Wednesday, June 27, 2007
EVERETT – Sometimes, even football players show a sensitive side.
Take Anthony Kubin, for example. The linebacker is known for hunting ballcarriers and smashing them to the turf.
He’s not afraid to admit that he gets a little emotionally overwhelmed now and then, though.
Kubin said there’s a good chance he’ll get choked up Saturday, when he and his teammates on the West squad play the East competitors in the annual East-West All-Star Football Game at Everett Memorial Stadium. The West team is the home squad for the contest, but more than any other athletes on the field Kubin and West teammate Ben Kendo, both of Cascade High School, will enjoy a true home-field advantage.
Kubin and Kendo starred for Cascade the past two seasons and played their home games at Everett Memorial. They’re grateful for a chance to compete one more time in a venue they associate with countless gridiron memories.
“It’s cool to come back and play at our home stadium one more time,” said Kendo, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound offensive guard/defensive lineman. “Just having one more game and one more opportunity to do something good at that stadium is probably the best part (of being selected for the game).”
Kubin, a 5-9, 205-pound linebacker who has taken snaps at fullback this week, feels the same way.
“It’s sentimental to me,” he said. “I showed up to this school not knowing anyone freshman year, not knowing absolutely anyone at Cascade.”
But Kubin made dozens of long-term friends through football and became a team captain along with Kendo.
Before he leaves to play football for Feather River College (Quincy, Calif.), Kubin will savor his final outing at Everett Memorial.
“I get to play one last game in it and then I’m moving to California. That’s gonna be a little bit of a tearjerker,” he said. “I’m a little bit of a softy.”
What’s this? A hard-nosed, helmet-rattling linebacker expressing a sensitive side? Kubin, though, quickly returned to tough-guy mode.
“When that game starts, I’m gonna be jacked up,” he said. “I’m gonna be ready to go. I’m gonna rip somebody’s head off.”
One person who can’t wait to watch the Cascade graduates play is Jake Huizinga, Cascade’s head football coach. Huizinga said he’ll be in the stands to watch Kendo and Kubin compete “in a very prestigious game. It’s a feather in their cap and an honor to their hard work.”
“They’re great kids,” Huizinga added, “and we’re gonna miss them on our (Cascade) team. They left behind a great legacy.”
Kubin and Kendo could enhance that legacy with strong performances Saturday. They became two of the state’s best players through unfaltering commitment, sheer desire and fearlessness, Huizinga said.
They’re not as tall or as bulky as many of their East-West peers, but it’s unwise to write them off as undersized pests.
“They don’t let a bigger guy intimidate them,” Huizinga said. “They play much bigger than they are.”
Both Kendo and Kubin hope to come up big for local fans one last time.
