Frosh-Soph standout Sami Makaafi was pulled up to varsity to bolster their roster for the important Homecoming game.
“Makaafi will definitely get playing time. I would never pull anyone up if they weren’t going to play,” said varsity coach, Marcus Farhad when asked if Makaafi will play in the game.
Farhad was the Frosh-Soph coach last year when he first noticed Makaafi’s talent. He said, “Makaafi brings dynamic to the varsity team.”
Maakaafi was pulled up to varsity for multiple reasons. Coach Farhad asked Makaafi to join the varsity team, along with Nico Ferrario, due to injuries to some of the varsity players. Sami was an obvious choice to be pulled up, scoring 15 touchdowns for the Frosh-Soph team this year. Makaafi’s combination of speed and allusiveness earned him the varsity spot.
One quality Coach Farhad is impressed with is Makaafi’s composure on the field. He compares him to NFL running back Barry Sanders: “After he runs in for a touchdown he doesn’t spike down the ball, he just hands the ball back to the referee. He doesn’t do a celebratory dance, and that is just how Barry Sanders acted. The way he plays the game and his humbleness to the referee reminds me of Barry Sanders,” said Coach Farhad.
Makaafi is also similar to Sanders, according to Coach Farhad, because he is shifty, has good balance, is allusive, and does not let people get a good hit on him.” When asked, Sami also feels he has a similar style to Sanders, but adds, “My inspiration comes from my uncle who plays in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars.”
When Makaafi was asked to go up to varsity he said he was “terrified at first, but thought it was cool. The varsity players treat me with respect during practices.”
Makaafi is needed on the varsity team but Coach Farhad said that he would never pull up a player if it had a negative impact on the Frosh-Soph team. He is confident that Frosh-Soph will continue to perform well and that this gives someone else an opportunity to step up and get some playing time.
Shanil Patel who is the starting outside linebacker on the Frosh-Soph football team said that Makaafi was a big part of the team: “We now have to change our offensive scheme. We used to focus on speed and now we have to focus on power.”
When Makaafi was asked what his favorite Frosh-Soph game was this year he said, “Hillsdale, but I also enjoyed Capuchino because it was a challenging game, they are a good team, and even though we lost we got to learn from our mistakes and improve.”
Makaafi contributes his success to always having a positive attitude and said he is, “Always training to be the best.”
