Some may say Ryan Poindexter does more with less.
He doesn’t see it that way.
In fact, he never has because he doesn’t know any different.
The Centennial senior defensive end is busy this Thanksgiving week helping the third-seeded Coyotes prepare for their Division II Championship showdown with cross-town rival Liberty Saturday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium.
As is the case each and every holiday season the 6’2, 195-pound senior has plenty to be thankful for. When he was five his family was traveling with his family when a severe car accident causing him to lose his right arm.
“We were on our way to Texas to visit my grandparents,” Poindexter explained to Sports360AZ.com before Centennial’s Tuesday workout. “[My mom] fell asleep at the wheel, we went down into a ditch.”
The decision to sever his arm was made by his family after Ryan was airlifted to a nearby hospital.
Despite the hardship the popular student-athlete has excelled on the football field during his four years on campus. Last Friday in the semi-finals it may have hit the crescendo when Poindexter came off the edge, beat the block and not only sacked Chaparral quarterback Grayson Barry but stripped the ball and recovered the fumble.
A defensive player’s perfect trifecta.
“I knew I just had to get around this guy as fast as possible,” he said “I saw [Barry] just cutback so I just reached in to get the sack. Got the ball, [too].”
Poindexter’s head coach Richard Taylor wasn’t quite as modest describing the feat calling it “one of the greatest plays I’ve seen all year.”
It wasn’t the first time Poindexter has become an unwelcome guest in opposing team’s backfields. He’s used his speed and skill to collect a handful of sacks this season for the 11-2 Coyotes.
Now it’s time to turn the page and brace for the 12-1 Lions who are looking to erase their single blemish-a closely contested 17-14 loss to Centennial in late September.
“We definitely have a big game ahead of us,” he calmly explained. “[Liberty] may try to change things up but we’ll see how that goes. We’re going to go into this game pretty hyped.”
Living in the present.
Ryan Poindexter doesn’t know any other way.
