Senior tackle is 'pocket dynamite' for Capital defense

Jaguars play host to city rival Santa Fe High today

James Barron | The New Mexican

10/3/2008 - 10/4/08

Steve Castille calls it "pocket dynamite," and the Pojoaque Elks learned right from the start what Capital High's head football coach meant.

It was just the first play of the game last week, but Jaguars defensive tackle Nate Garcia didn't just slip between the center and guard — he was a flash of lightning they barely saw.

Before Elks quarterback Michael Garcia could decide whether to hand the ball off or set up to pass, Garcia chose for him. A 7-yard sack was the result, and the Pojoaque offensive line was perplexed.

"You could see those Pojoaque kids going, 'Whoa,' " Castille says. "They had never seen anything like that from a D-tackle. The center and the guard just looked at each other like, 'We better buckle up our chinstraps a little tighter.' "

It was the first of three sacks from the 5-foot-11, 165-pound senior, who also is the Jaguars starting running back, in a 48-0 homecoming win for Capital, but it wasn't the first story about him.

And with five games left this season, including today's city rivalry game against Santa Fe High at Jaguar Field at 1:30 p.m., it won't be the last.

There was the time Garcia crawled under a Santa Teresa lineman to record a sack during last year's Class AAAA state playoffs.

Castille recalls telling officials before last year's 50-30 win over Los Alamos to be careful when flagging Garcia for an offsides penalty because of how well he anticipates the snap.

There are film sessions where they point out that Garcia was the farthest away from the ball but ended up making the tackle.

The first tale, though, came in his sophomore year. Garcia was an over-eager linebacker whose coverage skills were nonexistent. The coaching staff hatched a plan against city rival Santa Fe High to utilize his best asset.

"The coaches said, 'Every time you see the quarterback, you kill him,' " Garcia says.

For almost three quarters, Garcia tried in vain to carry out those orders, but then-Demons quarterback Derrick Nuñez was just quick enough to get rid of the ball before Garcia could grab him. After a while, Garcia wondered if Nuñez was toying with him.

"I was pretty annoyed," Garcia says with a laugh. "I was thinking it had to be planned."

Finally, as Santa Fe High drove into Capital territory, determination won. Garcia lit into Nuñez just as he was about to throw, and the ball popped into the air. Fellow Capital 'backer Dominic Medrano snared it and ran 70-plus yards for a touchdown that led to a 27-12 win for the Jaguars.

"I was happy as hell when I finally got him," Garcia says.

Still, Garcia's problem was that he was too aggressive for his position, so he floated between linebacker and defensive end. The idea of moving him to a spot where size is more paramount than speed didn't come until his junior year. And it was met with resistance that matched his intensity.

"I was like, 'What? A 150-pound guy playing tackle?' " Garcia says. "I was like, 'No,' at the time."

Castille felt Garcia was perfect for the aggressive defensive scheme Capital ran. His quickness negated whatever advantage a heavier center or guard would have, and Garcia is among the strongest players on the team.

"We run it as a little bit of a renegade position, where his job is to blow things up," Castille says.

His first start came against Kirtland-Central and he had four sacks. Castille counted at least nine fumbles by the Hilltoppers that he attributed to Garcia's charges through the line.

Garcia was particularly fond of his sack against the Desert Warriors, as he shot under the lineman's legs and bear-crawled his way to quarterback Jose Sanchez.

Garcia spent most of the afternoon trying to slip between the center and guard to no avail, and often found himself crawling after the ball carrier anyway.

"I figured, 'Why don't I just cut out the middle part and get down?' " Garcia says. "Once the ball was snapped I was already through his legs."

But even after the play starts and the ball is downfield, Garcia seems to find his way into the middle of those scrums. Castille says the defense has struggled with giving up big plays this year, but those moments reveal Garcia's relentless nature.

"We've given up some big plays, and Nate's the closest one to them when the guy crosses the (goal) line," Castille says. "You're sitting there wondering how the heck did he do that. You rewind the tape and, good Lord, he's over here and then he's over there and it's 50 yards away."

And it's why he describes Garcia's combustible style as "pocket dynamite."

Notes: St. Michael's saw its record fall to 2-3 on Thursday as the Horsemen lost to Albuquerque St. Pius X 21-14 at Milne Stadium in the two school's first meeting since 1996.

Los Alamos played its game against Albuquerque Academy on Friday without starting quarterback Zach Mang and wideouts Bradley Picard and Corey Clark, who were issued minor in possession of alcohol and possession of drug paraphernalia citations over the weekend.

None of the three were seen on the Hilltoppers sideline during a 18-2 loss at Richard Harper Memorial Field.