Playoff Profiles : Zentil Enjoys Hectic Pace

Centers can be difficult to locate, but finding Nick Zentil on Monday night was a real chore.

Another day of maintaining straight A’s and practicing with the Newbury Park High football team was over, and the senior captain still wasn’t home at 9 p.m.

Several phone calls finally chased him down.

Ring . . . Ring . . . “Little Caesar’s, Newbury Park. This is Nick. Can I help you? “

With seven two-way starters, the unbeaten Panthers have earned a reputation for being indefatigable. And by punching a time clock after a full day of school and football, Zentil proves as tireless all week as he is leading the team out of the huddle.

“Other teams have guys with fresh legs, and we are beat and battered and we go the full 48 minutes,” he said. “I take pride in that. I think it shows heart.”

Newbury Park (13-0) plays Diamond Bar on Saturday at Moorpark College for the Southern Section Division III title.

Zentil, 6 feet 1 and 210 pounds, plays defensive tackle in addition to center and is the team sack leader with 10. On defense, he is the right tackle in a five-man front and lines up on the short side of the field in a four-man front.

Offense has been less predictable. Zentil has played tackle and guard in addition to center this season because of injuries. A starting guard last season, he began this year at that position only to move to tackle early on when Jim Newton was injured.

Newton returned but Zentil then went to center because Brant Diediker was moved from receiver to guard. All the while, Zentil exhibited leadership as well as consistent blocking.

“I’m the person who makes sure everyone does their job,” he said. “For a while, we had three sophomores on the line and I was telling them, ‘You are doing this, you are doing this, you are doing this.’

“As a captain, I’ll tell them what to do and also show them.”

His teammates appreciate his leadership and his play. Every team has an under-publicized hero who gets the job done with little fanfare. For Newbury Park, it’s Zentil.

“He’s intelligent, a nice guy and he works really hard,” teammate Brock Diediker said. “Nick is a great lineman.”