Brentaro Yamane

WPIAL & City League Football Player Preview: Montour's Mclaurin has worked hard for a senior season

Montour football player Cameron Mclaurin stands on the field during a football game in 2019.

One in a series on motivated high school football players in the WPIAL and City League.

At the beginning of the last season, in 2019, Montour's football team got a wakeup call as they realized that they started off with a record of 1-4 in their first five games. What was interesting about Montour's first four losses was that three of those games were losses by eight points or less. After the first five games, the Spartans flipped the switch as they won four of their last five games. The last game of the season the Spartans lost by seven points to South Fayette. As the Spartans finished the regular season with a 5-5 record, they would head into the postseason but unfortunately lost to the soon to be 2019 WPIAL and PIAA 4A football champions, Thomas Jefferson Jaguars, by a score of 49-7.

In summary, in 2019, Montour started off not so good, then they played so well, and then at the end they just got whooped. There is no question though that Montour can play some quality football and this upcoming football season in 2020, they are looking to do well from the beginning to the end.

One of the players on Montour's football team that will return for the upcoming season is senior Cameron Mclaurin, who plays both offensive guard and defensive tackle. Mclaurin has started on both sides of the ball for the Spartans since his sophomore year in 2018 and is excited for his senior year of high school football. He has worked really hard to get up to this point in his football career.

"I started playing football when I was eight years-old and I fell in love with the game. I wasn’t very good until I started to grow in middle school and then I started to notice progress in my game," said Mclaurin, who was named All-Conference as a guard. "When I got to high school, I was really skinny, so I had to gain around 50 pounds. I got an opportunity my sophomore year and I’ve started since then and now I’m gearing up for a big senior season."

Mclaurin is considered a good defensive lineman due to his ability to be able to sack the quarterback and tackle running backs for loss of yardage. During a game against Blackhawk last season, former Blackhawk running back Marques Watson-Trent tried to block Mclaurin so he wouldn't sack his quarterback and as a result Mclaurin pushed Watson-Trent so hard that he flew to the ground. However, what makes Mclaurin really stand out is the way that he plays on the offensive line. The way he is able to shove and push defensive lineman to the ground without holding is remarkable. That is what makes him special. The work ethic that he has to become better each and every day is not surprising, and he shows teams each and every week of why they should look out for him.

"To stay in the best shape to compete, I lift all year round and work on agility and technique closer to the season," said Mclaurin, who has a 3.1 grade point average. "My diet isn’t anything crazy, I eat my body weight in grams of protein every day and I try to eat around 5000 calories."

One of Mclaurin's workout buddies is George Padezanin, who will play NCAA Division I football at Lehigh in the upcoming school year. Those two had played next to each other on both the offensive and defensive line for the past two seasons for the Spartans. As Padezanin has now graduated from high school, Mclaurin will have to step up on both the offensive and defensive line. Mclaurin has a strong relationship with Padezanin as both of them push each other to become better players.

"George was a great mentor for me and showed me almost everything I know; I learned a lot about football from playing next to him for two years. My relationship with him is that we always wanted to push each other to make one another better. We always wanted to compete and be the best." said Mclaurin, who works at Dick's Sporting Goods in Robinson Township, PA.

When Mclaurin is not working out for football, completing schoolwork, or working at Dick's Sporting Goods, he is watching film on himself and other teams to become better. He even studies film on NFL offensive and defensive linemen. One of the NFL offensive guards that Mclaurin loves watching film on is Indianapolis Colts offensive guard Quenton Nelson.

"I love watching Quenton Nelson’s tape, he’s such an aggressive blocker whether it’s run or pass, and he is one of the most sound linemen when it’s comes to technique. There is so much to learn from his game," said Mclaurin.

Mclaurin's style of play has earned him NCAA football offers from schools in Notre Dame College, Saint Francis, Clarion, and Lake Erie. It was a surreal moment for Mclaurin and he is happy to have an opportunity to play at the next level. Some other schools that he has been talking to recently are Dayton, New Hampshire, Navy, and Walsh.

Mclaurin and his Spartans will stay in 4A for the upcoming season as Aliquippa, Ambridge, Beaver, Blackhawk and Chartiers Valley will be in their section for the upcoming season. The expectations will be high for Montour for the upcoming season, but the worry right now for him and all WPIAL & City League football players is whether or not there will be a season. For Mclaurin, he does not care when they play, as long as they will have the opportunity to play.

"I think that football should be played in the fall, but I would be fine playing in the spring," said Mclaurin. "If there was no season, I would be devastated. My teammates and I have been working so hard and I wouldn’t want to see it go to waste."

As of now, all Mclaurin will do is continue to improve his game. And, at the end of the day all he wants to do his help his team win and have one more ride with his teammates.

Brentaro Yamane: bkyamane@gmail.com and Twitter/Instagram @BYHilton13