Rey Ramirez, Wellington football, senior
On the field: In Class 2A, especially three rounds into the playoffs, the iron man nature of football comes to the forefront, and Ramirez is the best example of that for the Skyrockets. Playing on both the offensive and defensive lines, Ramirez was a major physical force for Wellington in a 26-7 win over Vega in a Class 2A Division II region semifinal, the third straight season the Skyrockets have eliminated Vega. Despite being only 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, Ramirez dominated at defensive tackle, as he recorded 14 tackles, including four for losses, and was a constant presence in Vega’s backfield with one sack and two quarterback hurries. Playing offensive guard, Ramirez, a three-year two-way starter, graded out at 96 percent and recorded five pancake blocks. The 12-1 Skyrockets are playing in the state quarterfinals against New Home on Friday.
Coach Greg Proffitt: “Rey just has a motor that doesn’t stop, and he plays as hard as he possibly can every time that balls snapped. You have to give him some breaks every once in a while, because he goes so hard. With what Vega does we tried to match him up in their pull game to try to chase them down. Rey’s a good athlete and he’s extremely quick and we tried to use that to our advantage. He chases plays down all over the field. He’s gotten so much better as he’s grown up, matured and gotten more physical. He’s just a great athlete and he’s also our punter. He’s a great offensive lineman, but he’d also be a great skill kid if we chose to put him there. He leads by example, and he goes hard in practice. He’s not afraid to call our kids out when they’re not playing hard and getting after it when he needs to. Our seniors as a whole have done a good job this year leading us that way in games and practices.”
Ramirez: “I felt really great about it going into the game. The first (defensive) possession was kind of bumpy and from there it was just uphill. I knew (Vega) wanted to beat us bad. We beat them the last two years and they wanted revenge on us. We knew they were going to come out punching so we had to fight back. If you’re going to be playing both sides of the ball you’d better be well-conditioned. Us as a team we condition, but on the weekends I do a little bit of my own work by myself with a lot of drills, footwork and weight room. There’s that little side of it where I’m (tired) but I’m not. We really want to make it all the way this year. It feels great. It makes you really look at how far you’ve come and how good you are. I do feel like we’ve earned this. We had a lot of people who doubted us but we’re playing December football.”
About Ramirez
Favorite band or musician: Moneybagg Yo
Favorite social media platform: Instagram
Favorite athlete: Michael Vick
Bet you didn’t know: Likes to ride quads
Parents: Rubicela Ramirez and Candelario Soto