Perez leading teammates on, off field

By Brent Hinckley

Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 | midnight

Two games into his junior season, Bonanza defensive end Deanti Perez knows his success this year can be parlayed into a college scholarship.

"There is a lot more pressure this year, because it is a lot more important," Perez said.

To help prepare for this season, Perez attended a football camp at Notre Dame, which he said refined his skills.

"It's a lot of the things we do here. It helped me get a better stance and better technique. I learned better forms for weight lifting and running," he said.

One of Perez's other strengths is weight lifting. The 5-foot-11, 210-pounder has participated in the National Powerclean Competition the last two years and lifted 265 pounds to finish sixth nationally in his weight group of 231 pounds last May.

"It's really cool because you're going against kids from across the country," Perez said.

Despite the competitions, Perez has no intentions of becoming a serious competitor.

"Too much lifting slows you down," Perez said. "I'll take speed over strength any day."

Despite his defensive prowess, the Bengals have started 0-2 on the season with a 23-14 loss to Legacy on Sept. 5 and a 14-13 loss to Green Valley High on Aug. 29. He recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter against Legacy, but the Bengals could not capitalize.

Bonanza coach Shawn Dupris said Perez is one of the hardest working players on the field and expects him to play at the college level.

"He's a great kid and had an outstanding camp at Notre Dame. He's really pushing himself and his teammates," Dupris said.

Bonanza's coaches wanted to bring Perez up to the varsity level when he as a freshman, but his father resisted the idea. Perez said he wanted to be moved up, but was glad he took his dad's advice.

"I would have moved up and probably sat on the bench. So, it's probably better that I stayed, because I got more playing time on the freshmen team," Perez said.

He's already receiving letters from colleges — he declined to say which ones — and thinks a strong junior season will help him achieve a dream he never thought would happen.

"When I was a freshman I didn't think I'd ever play," Perez said. "Now there's a chance I can play in college."

Brent Hinckley can be reached at 990-2687 or [email protected].