“An absolute wall” — Sehome lineman Gavin Ortega wins respect on both sides of the ball
Sehome football coach Kevin Beason says that as good as three-sport starter Gavin Ortega is on the field, in the gym and on the diamond, that only begins to show the senior’s character.
“Gavin shows his real character off the field,” the coach said. “He has gained so much respect from everyone. And he feels he plays to glorify Christ.”
Ortega, a young man of obvious faith, has coped with Type I diabetes so well that he became a three-sport starter as a junior. (COVID-19 deprived him of his sophomore baseball season after he played varsity football and basketball.)
“I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes (the worst of the two types) toward the end of my freshman year,” he said. “I dropped from 210 pounds to 170. But I was treated at Children’s Hospital (in Seattle) and was shown what to do.”
He uses an injector pump and the latest in medical computer technology to monitor his body’s needs. He has coped so well that he is now 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds and has not missed a varsity game.
“I told myself that no matter how hard it gets, no matter what it takes to manage, I would beat it,” he said of diabetes. “And I would love to talk about it to others to help them.”
In other words, Ortega — who said he overcame a bout with COVID in 2020 long before Sehome sports resumed in late winter 2021 —is always willing to help others to cope with diabetes.
Beason firmly believes Ortega “is the best lineman in the Northwest Conference 2A League.”
It’s been a tough season for Sehome, which won one of its first six games and could not play in another because of Burlington-Edison’s COVID exposure.
But the two-way lineman has impressed everyone. After Squalicum’s 27-0 win over the Mariners Oct. 1, Storm coach Nick Lucey praised Ortega as “an absolute wall.”
Ortega has received at least three Division I football scholarship offers.
“I’m planning to wait until after basketball season to make my decision,” said Ortega, who plays post and first base in his other sports.
Ortega will play anywhere he’s needed. “But I would like to play on the offensive line in college,” he says.
When told that offensive linemen generally are regarded as the most organized and sharp-witted among football players, the honor student said, “I think everything has a place.”
Ortega is a fan of Taylor Rapp, a former Sehome and University of Washington star who starts at cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams.
“Taylor gives us hope,” he says of the dreams of several Sehome standouts Ortega has played with to continue playing football.
Ortega, who was recently honored with Sehome’s “Sportsmanship Award,“ quickly answered when asked what he likes best about football on the field: “The chance to hit people legally. I love to compete.”
Ortega is the son of B.J. Ortega, a former Sehome football and baseball player, and Marjorie Ortega, a Meridian graduate.
“My parents have taught me what hard work means,” he said.
Even though the football season has been tough with an inexperienced team, Ortega says “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” That’s how strongly he feels about the job Beason, defensive coordinator Jordan Chalfant and the entire coaching staff is doing.
“But the one I want to thank the most is the Man Above,” he said.
WEEK EIGHT
Thursday’s game
Concrete at Lummi, 7 p.m.
Friday’s games
Archbishop Murphy at Lynden, 4:30 p.m.
Mount Baker at Lynden Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Nooksack Valley vs. Squalicum at Civic Stadium, 5 p.m.
Cedarcrest vs. Bellingham at Civic Stadium, 8 p.m.
Marysville-Getchell vs. Ferndale at Blaine, 7 p.m.
Blaine at Meridian, 7 p.m.
Sehome at Lakewood, 7 p.m.
