Bennett Silvyn is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Shadow Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com.

The center position in football is not only in charge of snapping the ball to the quarterback, but also must anchor the offensive line. Centers are typically players who have played football for a long time and have extensive experience learning the game. 

Shadow Mountain’s starting center is sophomore Samu (Sam) Na’a. He has been with the program for two years, playing JV his freshman year and now starting on varsity. 

Na’a had not only never played football before his freshman year, but he had also never played any sports until last year. He talked about how his father pushed him to try playing football. 

“My dad is a very athletic person, and he was itching for me to try and play football,” said Na’a. “I chose football because of my size and tried it out, now I love it.”

At 5 feet 10 inches tall and 305 pounds, Na’a had to learn all the basics of football in a very short time. He says one of the most difficult parts of playing center is just snapping the ball, but he was able to get good at it with a lot of practice in the offseason. 

Another difficult part about learning the game is understanding the playbook. Na’a took a lot of pride in being able to learn during practice. 

“Practice was the main thing that helped me understand the plays,” said Na’a. “Learning your assignments and how to block were the main things that I learned to improve in practice.”

For someone who never played team sports, most would think it would be difficult to step up as a leader of the Matadors. According to senior Chase Maruffo, Na’a had no such difficulties. 

“[Sam] took drastic steps to become the man he is today,” said Maruffo. “He came in as a bigger kid who had never played football before and all he did was stay in the weight room all summer long. He put in the work during the offseason, doing all the drills correctly and showing up to everything. Sam has been an inspiration to both the offensive line and upperclassmen.”

Matadors head coach Ron Fagan loves the energy that Na’a brings to the team. 

“Sam is a quiet kid but when he gets going and gets excited, so does everyone else. He leads by example and once he joined this offensive line group; he makes sure they all give the team everything they have,” said Fagan.

One of the biggest upsides to playing football is Na’a has gained a new family. He said it was awkward at first, never having played a team sport, but once he got to know the guys, the team now feels like a family. Every practice and fundraising event with the team feels like a “family gathering” to Na’a. 

While Na’a is very intense and focused on the field, he does like to have fun off the field, especially at McDonald’s where he has a legendary order. 

“His order is as follows: three McDoubles, a large drink, a large fry, and a McFlurry on occasion,” said Maruffo with a grin.

For now, Na’a looks forward to finishing off his sophomore year strong and continuing to improve for his junior year.