O.C. All-Star Game postgame: Q&A with Sean Kurtz
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The linebacker talks about holding the South to one TD and the heroics of his Canyon teammate, Christian Daniel.
OCVarsity.com followed Canyon linebacker Sean Kurtz through the days of practice with his North teammates for the O.C. All-Star Game.
Kurtz predicted the North would win big, but that didn’t happen.
The North had to rally for a 12-10 victory. Kurtz, who unofficially recorded five tackles in the game, shared his thoughts on what was an amazing ride for him.
Q: Talk about the defensive effort against the South. You guys only allowed one touchdown.
Sean Kurtz: We were playing our guts out on defense. You can only make so many plays. It was a defensive game. It has been that way the last couple of years that I’ve watched it (the all-star game). It wasn’t getting frustrating, but we were getting to a point where we needed to make plays. We went to the kids that we could count on. That’s why they’re here. They made the plays and we came out with the victory.
Q: The offense moved quickly on that final drive. One of the key plays was the 15-yard pass to Nolan Sheldon (El Dorado) to move the ball from your own 3-yard line. What are your thoughts on that play?
Kurtz: That’s a kid (Nolan Sheldon) that surprised me a lot. I’ve played against him in league every year, but I never knew how good he was. When he came out here, I saw that the kid had hands. I’ve never seen hands like that on a tight end.
Q: The offense followed that with the big 61-yard pass from Chris Morales to Josh Swaney to move you guys into the red zone.
Kurtz: I was sitting on the bench. ... I was thinking we’re still on the 20 with a 1:10 to go. Then Swaney came up and did what he was supposed to do. Throw it up to him and he’s going to go get it. He showed everyone why he’s an all-star. He broke a couple of tackles and kept going. ... that was pretty impressive.
Q: Talk about the night that your Canyon teammate Christian Daniel had. He caught the winning touchdown and later sealed the game with an interception with 43 seconds remaining.
Kurtz: I think that Christian is one of the amazing wide receivers that I’ve ever seen. I played with him and just watching that kid grow up. He used to be that lanky kid who wasn’t physical enough, now he’s a guy who will take you one-on-one. He catches everything, he has great hands. He makes big plays. The coaches knew what to do when they got close to the end zone, they knew who to go to.
Q: Can you sum up what this entire experience has been like for you?
Kurtz: It was an amazing experience. I’m really happy to have been chosen. It was a great honor.
Q: What’s next for you?
Kurtz: Junior college. I have a great program that I’m headed to at Santa Ana. I’m really excited. I can’t wait to get pads on over there. I already have one game under my belt, so hopefully that will put me over my competition a little bit.
Q: How do you feel to not have received that Division I scholarship? Is that something that’s going to motivate you in the future?
Kurtz: It was kind of frustrating (on signing day). I was sitting there on signing day and things kind of went downhill. Everything that I had been planning for. ... I had schools calling me and I was thinking that I’m going to go somewhere eventually and someone is going to offer me. It didn’t happen. I sat there kind of depressed for a day and I was in a bad mood, but I decided that this (playing football) is what I want to do. ... What I want is to go to a great college and play for them, and I’m working everyday at that.
Related:
• Pre-game interviews with Sean Kurtz
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
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