Medeiros plays impressive football at Eastbay Youth All-American Bowl in Florida
Published 10:03 am Thursday, January 29, 2015
Jason Medeiros knows exactly how he’s performing in the weight room. He lists the numbers off as quickly as it takes him to snap the ball to the quarterback and deliver a block on an opponent: he can bench 235 pounds, squat 295 pounds and power clean 165 pounds.
At age 14, he stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 225 pounds and last month the Redmond resident, an eighth-grader at Eastside Catholic Middle School, competed in the Eastbay Youth All-American Bowl in Naples, Fla. The game was broadcast on ESPN3.
The offensive and defensive lineman was an anchor for the undefeated Northwest Junior Football League champion Eastside Crusaders football team this year. He was also selected and played on the FBUNC Team Seattle eighth-grade select team that made it to the sweet 16 in the national championship tournament in Utah.
When he returned to Redmond from Utah, he received a big surprise via a phone call.
“I was actually taking a nap, and my dad said, ‘Hey, you got invited to the All-American Bowl.’ I just jumped out of my bed and called my mom and my brother,” Jason said. “I felt proud, accomplished to play with impressive and talented players.”
Dad Eric Medeiros said his son played the entire game in Naples at center for the West team and “stepped into his role, not a bad snap all game. His coach said, ‘I was very impressed with your boy.'”
In the West team’s 40-21 loss to the East (which trailed 21-20 after three quarters), Jason was the smallest offensive lineman in the game while identifying the opponent’s defensive schemes and issuing all his team’s blocking assignments.
“It was very exciting. Kind of emotional, kind of cool to watch my kid play,” said Eric, noting that there were some players standing 6-3 and 6-4 and weighing 290 pounds in the game. He feels there wasn’t only future high-school players on the field, but future NCAA Division I guys present, as well.
Jason said participating in the big-time contest made him a better player, but he knows he still needs to work extra hard to step up his game even more.
The former Redmond Junior Mustang, who has been playing football since the fourth grade, is a straight-A student and takes some high-school courses.
He follows in the footsteps of his older brother, Ricky Medeiros, a linebacker for the 2014 Eastside Catholic High 3A state-champion squad, which snapped Bellevue High’s 67-game winning streak with a 35-13 victory in the final last month.
PHOTO: Jason Medeiros, middle in white uniform, blocks an opponent at the Eastbay Youth All-American Bowl. Courtesy of Sheryl Medeiros
