By Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
Two days before Christmas, Alma senior David Castillo spent his time on the gridiron rather than doing some last-minute holiday shopping.
Castillo participated in the Legacy All-Star Game at the Legacy Center in Brighton on Dec. 23. He was part of the winning squad as his Legacy Team beat the Legends Team by a score of 20-12 in a contest that featured 80 standout prep players invited from Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
Castillo, a Tri-Valley Conference Central first team selection this past fall, was nominated to play in the game a month or so earlier. Out of 400 nominations, Castillo made the cut as one of 80 players invited to play in the Legacy All-Star Game and he quickly accepted.
As for the game, Castillo says he had a blast.
“It was great,” Castillo said. “Everything they said was going to go down, it happened the way they explained it. It was a great experience to play with the talented guys that were there and it was cool getting to meet everyone who also has the heart for the game.”
Castillo has his sights set on playing college football somewhere and he currently has interest from Olivet College. Around 30 colleges were present at the game, which could help widen his exposure.
“I liked having all the coaches there being able to watch me and it allowed me to show what I could do,” Castillo remarked. “I’d love to play at the next level if I have the opportunity.”
Castillo was part of three Alma squads that qualified for the postseason and he added that he thoroughly enjoyed his time playing football for the Panthers.
“I lived it up for sure,” Castillo added. “Going back-to-back-to-back to the playoffs and playing in two district finals, it was so much fun. We went 0-9 our freshman year and we went on to win nine games our junior year plus another eight our senior year. It was great watching our team improve so much.”