Northeast High School senior Carlos Devila was one of the top receivers in the Public League last year, but this year he’s taken on more roles on the team.
A lot of high school football players dream of being a quarterback.
That wasn’t the case for Carlos Davila.
Davila, a senior on the Northeast High School football team, was one of the top receivers in the Public League last year. But when the season began, his responsibility was getting the ball to the receivers, not catching passes.
“Our quarterback, Jaye McNeil, was hurt and we needed someone to go back there, so I did it,” Davila said. “I’m definitely more of a receiver, but we needed someone and I throw pretty good. It’s not something I’ve worked on a lot, it’s just something that comes naturally. But when Jaye got back, I was happy to move back outside.”
Whether Davila was catching passes or throwing them, the Vikings were winning, and the result was a Public League Class AAAAAA championship, the school’s second in two years.
On Saturday, one week after winning the Public League crown, Northeast fell to St. Joe’s Prep 31–0 in the Class AAAAAA city championship, but it was much closer than it appeared.
Northeast trailed 15–0 at the half, and both Prep touchdowns were scored on short fields.
Losing to Prep is something most teams do when they play the Hawks. Prep finished 14–0 a season ago when it won a state championship and thus far this year, the Hawks have yet to lose in 11 games.
“I’m really proud of the way we played tonight,” Davila said. “It was a good game. Our defense held them for the most part. Once we got down, it was hard because they have a great defense, but I think they know we played well. We played them tough.”
Davila helped out offensively, but his primary responsibility is at cornerback, his favorite position.
He’s done extremely well at defensive back this year. According to unofficial stats, he’s surrendered just four passes this season and just one touchdown.
When quarterbacks throw at him, he has more success than the receivers.
He’s picked off five passes and returned two of the interceptions for touchdowns.
He would probably have more, but when teams play the Vikings, they tend to look away from Davila.
“I just try and lock in on them,” Davila said. “I love when I’m able to take my receiver completely out of the game. I know how that can get hard for an offense because when they can’t throw to one side of the field, it takes away so much of what they do.”
Davila looks like a veteran who has been playing cornerback his entire life, but he never played the position until he got to Northeast.
It wasn’t even the first defensive position he picked up at the school.
“I’ve always been a receiver, but when I got here I was actually playing defensive line because I was fast getting off the ball,” said Davila, who stands 6 feet 3 and weighs about 205 pounds. “They saw how fast I was and we needed some help at corner, so they moved me. I’m happy they did because I’ve learned so much about playing there.
“The biggest person who helped me was Jaquan Amos. He was a year older than me and he’s now at Villanova. I learned a lot, learned about technique from watching him, but he was really helpful, too. Whenever I had questions, he was there.”
Amos was in attendance when the Vikings met the Hawks. What he saw was Northeast’s defense keep Prep at bay for most of the first half, and for long portions of the second half.
Prep did run off two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
“We made some mistakes and they took advantage of it,” Davila said. “And since our offense runs so much, it’s hard to come back when we get down. But we did hang with them and they’re a really good team. They’re the best in the city.
“I’m really proud of the way we hung with them on defense. If you can play with those guys, you can play with anyone.”
Davila has heard from some colleges, but he’s leaning toward going to junior college next year in hopes of then landing with a school.
“I’m going to talk to my family and see what’s best for me,” said Davila, who lives close to his school. “I’m thinking about doing something with my hands, maybe being a carpenter, but my main goal is to someday play in the league. That’s my ultimate goal.”
Well, making the NFL and beating Central on Thanksgiving.
“I’m glad we have another game,” Davila said. “We can go out with a win, and it gives us one more chance to play together. I’m happy we have that.” ••
