THORNDIKE — It was a play early in Mount View’s 46-7 win over Medomak Valley on Saturday. Medomak Valley tried to run a toss play to the right, but running back Cole Ashmore was taken down after a minimal gain. Mount View senior linebacker Ethan Sewell-Berry wasn’t the Mustang to make the tackle, but he was right there to congratulate his teammate.
“That was a perfect read!” Sewell-Berry said.
The thing is, Sewell-Berry doesn’t remember which teammate he said that to. It could’ve been anybody.
“I remember saying it. I said it more than once,” Sewell-Berry said. “High school kids, myself included, you need that feeling of the achievement so you’ll keep doing it. You’ll keep going at them every play.”
“He’s smart. He’s good in the classroom, and he understands what we want to get done,” Mount View coach Haggie Pratt added of Sewell-Berry, a two-year captain for the Mustangs. “It wouldn’t surprise me that he’d say that and keep his teammates pumped up.”
At linebacker and offensive guard, a position new to him last season, Sewell-Berry has become one of the top players in the Little Ten Conference. Through five games, Sewell-Berry leads the Mustangs in tackles, and his blocking ability is a key reason Mount View has run for more than 1,800 yards. Saturday’s win over Medomak Valley improved Mount View to 3-2, and among playoff eligible teams in the LTC, the Mustangs are in fourth place, with the goal of hosting a playoff game, and possibly matching the school record of six wins in a season.
“We could be 6-2. It’s all about our attitude,” Sewell-Berry said. “If we keep our head up, we do what we’ve got to do, keep our mind in the present, we’ll be good.”
Sewell-Berry entered his junior season as a fullback, but Mount View was thin on the offensive line. When Pratt and his coaching staff thought of players they could convert to lineman, Sewell-Berry was an obvious choice, despite being just 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds.
“He’s very dedicated in the weight room. He was probably one of the strongest kids we had on the team. He was playing behind Jack Axsom at fullback. We thought he’d make a good person to put on the line, if he was willing to do it,” Pratt said. “He’s very athletic, and with his strength, that gives him a mismatch with many matchups on the line. He’s quick. He’s a good trapping guard, a good pulling guard.”
Sewell-Berry took to the position change with the right attitude. As a fullback, he was used to blocking. This would be more of the same.
“It was hard, but I had to do what it takes for the team. (Pratt) basically came up to me and asked me to be a man about it. It’s what the team needed, and we’d be better for it,” Sewell-Berry said. “It was just the size of people that was the difference. I’ve always been kind of confident in what I do, so I came into it like I’m going to be the best and do the best I can.”
Sewell-Berry proved he could play guard in his first game, a 58-44 loss at Orono.
“The first game was at Orono, and we started to run trap with him, and we knew it was the right decision. He was making a lot of good blocks,” Pratt said. “He had to learn a few of the techniques and the finer points of the guard position.”
Although he was squatting 500 pounds, Sewell-Berry questioned whether or not he’d be strong enough to play guard, until he actually did it.
“I started pushing (opponents) around, and I was ‘hey, I’m strong enough to actually do this,'” Sewell-Berry said.
Now, Sewell-Berry’s favorite thing about the position is “pancaking those 300-pound dudes out there.” When the Little Ten Conference announced its all-conference team following the 2014 season, Sewell-Berry was named second team at guard.
“I think that really speaks a lot to his ability, because we finished 2-6 last year. A lot of times you’ll go to those (awards meetings), and you’ll see a senior off of a championship team would hold down those spots,” Pratt said.
This season, Pratt moved Sewell-Berry from inside to outside linebacker in the Mustangs’ 4-3 defense. Sewell-Berry has 72 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and against Medomak Valley, picked off his first interception of the season.
“He’s our leading tackler, usually. He’s quick enough to play good pass defense. We tweaked things a little bit to get him a few more opportunities to get into the pass coverage, and it paid off. He’s got good hands,” Pratt said.
Added Sewell-Berry: “I love playing linebacker. It’s the feeling of hitting people, of defeating the block and getting there, blowing people up, reading the play perfectly. Everything about it is a good time.”
Sewell-Berry is one of four two-year captains for the Mustangs, joining classmates Axsom, Cole Hannan and Tyler Ripley. With only two seniors on the team last season, Sewell-Berry and his teammates had to step up and fill the leadership void.
“We only had two seniors on the team, but it was interesting having to lead people who were older than me. But I definitely wanted to be a captain,” Sewell-Berry said.
Sewell-Berry said he hopes to play football in college and study business.
“I’d like to own my own business eventually,” he said.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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