McCanta Finds the Power in Preparation : Football: Servite defensive lineman doesn’t frighten anyone with size or quickness, but he beats opponents with guile.

Servite defensive lineman Tony McCanta’s 5-foot-11, 195-pound frame isn’t going to scare many offensive lineman. His quickness isn’t going to remind anyone of Michael Dean Perry or even William Perry, and his strength doesn’t afford him the luxury of bull-rushing many offensive linemen.

But ask McCanta if any of that matters once he steps on the football field, and he’ll tell you what matters is what he does before he steps on the field.

“I know I’m not the biggest or strongest guy,” he said. “That’s why I put in the extra time in the film room. That’s why I spent the off-season in the weight room and that’s why I concentrate so hard on little things like staying low, so I can get as much leverage as possible.”

Sound like a coach’s dream?

“He’s like having another coach on the field,” Servite defensive line coach Bob Salerno said. “He doesn’t make a mental mistake--ever. If he ever makes a mistake, it’s a physical error because some guy is just bigger and stronger than he is.”

In Servite’s 34-19 victory over El Toro last week in the Division V semifinals, McCanta had an almost error-free game as he spent much of the night in the Chargers’ offensive backfield.

The key?

“We had them scouted very well and we knew exactly what they were going to do,” McCanta said.

For McCanta and the rest of the defensive line, the scouting begins in the film room at 7 a.m., three mornings a week.

“For us, that’s one of the big things that helps us,” he said. “I know we wouldn’t be in the finals without the extra time studying film. We didn’t do this as intensely last year and we went 3-7. By watching film you can pick up what a team will do in certain formations, and you can find out what your (individual) opponent’s weakness is.”

Does he see any weaknesses in Newport Harbor, tonight’s opponent in the Division V title game?

“They have excellent technique and they’re low and quick off the ball,” McCanta said. “They’re very tenacious and they stay with their blocks. We’re going to have to be at our best to beat them.”

McCanta will likely line up tonight over one of Newport Harbor’s guards. Then again, he could line up over the center, or he could even play some inside linebacker. He’s done it all this year, and then some.

“I’m sure he could play defensive end if we asked him to,” Salerno said. “I call him our Iron Man. Wherever you put him, he’ll play his heart out. He understands the concept of what we’re trying to do, so it really doesn’t matter where you play him.

“Sometimes, he’s at nose guard and he loops and slants and slips his way to the quarterback. From the linebacker spot, he has really good control of his body and he can really deliver a lick. Then, you put him at defensive tackle and he’s a real hell-raiser.”

And if you put McCanta in the classroom, you’ll get a student with a 4.28 grade-point average who wants to be a pediatrician. Put in him in politics, he’s the school’s student body president.

Because of his size, McCanta probably will never play Division I football. But Servite Coach Larry Toner said he’s not worried about McCanta’s future.

“He can go play at an Ivy (League) school or Villanova if he wants to do that,” Toner said. “But even if he doesn’t continue to play football, he’ll do plenty with his life. I always tell the staff, he’ll be richer than we are by the time he’s 25. He’s got a lot going for him.”

Newport Harbor’s offensive linemen might get first-hand knowledge of that tonight.