Eric SorensonWhether in the classroom or on the field Max Seifer has proven to be a quick learner.
In fact his coaches and teammates speak almost matter-of-factly about the accomplishments of Paradise Valley’s 5’11”, 190-pound sophomore linebacker who leads the Trojans (12-0) with 107 tackles.
“Max is an awesome kid,” P.V. head coach Greg Davis told Sports360AZ.com. “I think he’s over a 4.0 GPA. He has definitely come along. We were wondering what we were going to do at that [linebacker] spot going into the season. When the pads came on and we saw what [Max] was doing we knew he was going to be a special kid.”
While Seifer prefers to focus more on the success of the team instead of himself, he knew last summer he had the opportunity to make an impact this fall after playing on the freshman team last year.
“The big thing was just putting on weight and getting to know the defense,” Seifer explained. “Just molding into a better linebacker.”
Helping Seifer’s molding process has been senior linebacker Grayson Fattaleh, a stalwart on P.V.’s defense who ranks second with 103 stops in a dozen games this fall.
“The good chemistry shows up on the field,” Fattaleh said. “Our linebacker coach always says two inside linebackers should be on a string which looks like we’re doing the same thing every play. I think we do a good job of that.”
Seifer has slowly become a leader for Paradise Valley but prefers to let his play, not his mouth do the talking. Some may consider it a contrast to the linebacker he patterns his game after.
“I like James Harrison a lot,” the honor student said.
His maturity has benefitted his play and enabled him to average nearly nine tackles a game for Division III’s top seed.
“He’s an even-keeled guy.” Davis explained. “Doesn’t get real high or real low which makes him a great football player.”
Seifer and the Trojans will look to keep their perfect season going when they take on 4th-seeded Sunnyslope (11-1) Friday night in the D-III semifinals at North Canyon High School. The Trojans handed the Vikings their only loss of the season back in September.
