Little, big man

Published 12:01 am Friday, October 21, 2011

Spencer Cynkar has heard them all.

Mighty Mouse. The Gnat. Midget on steroids.

But after their teams play against him, most coaches often use a different word to describe the Marysville Pilchuck defensive lineman: unblockable.

“I think at first they think it’s a joke,” teammate Demar Stell said. “They don’t take him seriously. But after a little while they realize there’s nothing to laugh at.”

At 5-feet-4 inches and 150 pounds, Cynkar is a Prius among all of the SUVs crashing in the trenches on every whistle. But just like a hybrid has an edge over gas-guzzling behemoths, Cynkar has used his advantages to become one of the best defensive lineman in the area.

“Most linemen aren’t that quick, so it’s an adjustment for them to try to keep up with him,” said Dick Abrams, head coach of Monroe, which hosts MP tonight at 7 p.m. in a key Wesco North game.

For most of his football career, Cynkar has been offensive minded, usually playing halfback or returning kicks in junior high and the first two years of high school. But two years ago, MP head coach Brandon Carson had an idea. Acknowledging that Cynkar was too slow to play defensive back and too small to play linebacker, Carson thought just maybe he could stick him where his relentless pursuit could come in most handy.

“We were trying to find a place for him to play because he’s got a high motor and he plays tough and he’s a hard-nosed kid,” Carson said after a recent practice. “So we lined him up at nose guard a few times and it was like the first one or two plays and he was in the backfield before they even knew it, and I thought, ‘I think we found a spot for him to play,'”

In contrast with his on-field persona, Cynkar was rather nonchalant about the whole thing. “Coach came up to me and said, ‘Hey we need a D-tackle and I want to see how you do,'”Cynkar said. “So I was like ‘OK, that works.'”

Cynkar has been a revelation at the position. Last year, he was chosen All-Wesco second-team defense after his first year on that side of the ball and this year he’s recorded 47 tackles, 6.5 for loss, and has 4.5 sacks, which ranks among the leaders on the Tomahawks defense.

“It’s my favorite position,” Cynkar said of playing D-line. “Sometimes I think about (playing a different position), but I don’t think I’d have as much success.”

Most of Cynkar’s success lies not only with his speed but the leverage he can get at his size. (He’s listed at 5-6, 165 pounds on the MP football roster, but wrestles at 145 in the winter). Instead of blockers engaging another player of equal size, they’re met with a player half their size dipping, ducking, juking and often times slipping past them.

“Because his pad level is so low and his feet are so much better than the guys he’s going up against, he’s quick enough to get around and spin off a block or swim off a block,” Carson said. “And then on pass plays, it’s hard for players to lock in on him for a long period of time because he can juke them.”

Cynkar, who has the body of a wrestler and has grappled for the same amount of time he’s played football, believes many of the skills he’s learned on the mat have transferred over to playing defensive line. He employs similar techniques in both sports.

Cynkar compared a double-leg takedown move in wrestling to certain tackling techniques. The all-out, snap-to-whistle determination he puts forth on the gridiron is not unlike the energy burst wrestlers must maintain during rounds.

“Wrestling is all about stamina and strength and that has helped me in football,” Cynkar said. “Also, the discipline I get from wrestling helps. On certain plays you have to know what you’re doing, just like in certain situations in wrestling.”

Cynkar’s contributions aren’t just on the field. His never-give-up attitude and tireless performance lends itself to an unspoken type of leadership, a big reason Carson made him a captain on this year’s team and an easy example for his coach to point to.

“He’s truly a snap-to-whistle guy. If the play goes away he may be chasing it down from the backside,” Carson said. “When you watch film you just point out and say if we had 11 guys going as hard as him we could have made this play or that play.”

Other coaches have taken notice too.

“It’s fun to watch those kind of athletes because they may not have all the tools in the world,” Lake Stevens football coach Tom Tri said. “But, boy they make up for it with their heart and their effort and their motivation, and you can tell he is that kind of player.”