Pioneer Athlete Spotlight on Carlos Gonzalez

Grade: Senior. School: Concord High. Sport: Football.

Gonzalez only played two years of football at Concord High, yet in his senior year he was voted a team captain. Head coach Paul Reynaud quickly nominated Gonzalez for the Athlete Spotlight and said, “Carlos has started every game at center and played practically every snap there. He has also anchored our defensive line and been an incredible leader for us this season.” The Minutemen had an outside chance for a berth in their new NCS Division IV.

The team practiced last week when they had no assurance of making the playoffs, which they didn’t do. The team started and finished their schedule with victories but only had one win in between. Gonzalez didn’t play his freshman year at Concord because there wasn’t a frosh football team. Instead, he had a final season with the Concord Cobras youth football program, where he first started playing as a seven-year-old.

He was on varsity as a sophomore but had to sit out last season because he was academically ineligible. During the years he didn’t play at CHS he did “plenty of lifting” which helped give him the strength and stamina to remain on the field for almost every play this season. When he was back on the team this fall, he was also excelling in the classroom with a 3.5 GPA. The 6-0, 225-pound Gonzalez has thoughts of playing football next year at Diablo Valley College too.

The Pioneer congratulates Carlos and thanks Athlete Spotlight sponsors Dr. Laura Lacey & Dr. Christopher Ruzicka who have been serving the Clayton and Concord area for 25 years at Family Vision Care Optometry. www.laceyandruzicka.com

Do you know a young athlete who should be recognized? Perhaps he or she has shown exceptional sportsmanship, remarkable improvement or great heart for the sport. Send your nomination for the Pioneer Athlete Spotlight today to sports@pioneerpublishers.com.