“I just like hitting people. I like, you know, aggression,” Henry Minturn, Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) Defensive Player of the Year, said.

Channeling this attitude, Minturn had a breakout season after changing position from linebacker to defensive end. While at linebacker last year, Minturn made the MCAL first team. He made an even larger impact this year at defensive end, racking up 20.5 sacks according to Hudl, and winning the MCAL Defensive Player of the Year accolade.

According to Minturn, something that has helped him tremendously is making sure he is in the right mindset before game time and staying focused throughout.

“I really try to be loose but focused at the same time,” Minturn said. “My mentality, especially this year, was just to get to the ball; no matter what, get to the ball.”

According to junior teammate Damon Gerstein, who played alongside Minturn as an outside linebacker, Minturn’s constant presence in the opponents’ backfields had a ripple effect on the entire defense. 

“When there’s someone getting to the quarterback in such a quick amount of time, it helps the defense so much because it [causes mistakes] by the quarterback,” Gerstein said.

On top of leading a stout defense by shedding blocks and getting in the backfield, Gerstein also credits Minturn as being a great leader and role model through his intensity and work ethic.

“He was a great teammate because he led by example and he made sure everyone was on their stuff. You couldn’t really be messing around with Henry,” Gerstein said. “Even though we are good friends he would still hit me like I was an enemy [in practice].”

This year, although his teammates say he didn’t mention it a lot, Minturn battled a torn meniscus and wore a knee brace every game to support his injury. According to senior teammate and linebacker Joe Calzaretta, his ability to play through the injury, and at such a high level, is a testament to his mental toughness and dedication to the game.

“He didn’t really say anything about it. But he’s one of my best friends and I could tell he was in a lot of pain,” Calzaretta said. “But he just stuck through it. His mentality was, ‘We only have ten games left,’ and for him, ten games left [in] his career, it’s not worth missing a single one.”

Minturn did not miss a single game and finished off his career strong. While he will not continue his football career in college, and will instead pursue academics at the University of Mississippi, he’s glad he finished it off with a team that was so unique.

“I think this year it was such a team effort,” Minturn said. “Last year [the standout player] was Aguero, and the year before it was Nick [Calzaretta]. But I think this year everyone contributed and that’s why we were able to win so much.”