LAWRENCE — Mike Yameen remembers the game and the play like it was yesterday.
"Turkey Day when he was a freshman, we brought Harvey (Blanco) up for the game with Greater Lawrence. He's out there returning a kick, lowers his shoulder, runs somebody over and bulls up the field," Yameen recalled. "Now Harvey's got braces. He comes to the sideline, busted helmet, blood everywhere, doesn't say a word, grabs some water and buckles up to get back in there.
"At that moment, I knew we had something special."
Tonight against Malden Catholic, that something comes to an end as Blanco "buckles up" one last time as a Lancer.
"For four years, he's played every single down like his last," said Yameen. "I expect exactly the same tonight."
Blanco, a 5-foot-6, 160-pound fullback-linebacker, has set the mold for future Lancers.
First in the weight room or to practice, last one out.
"I can't even tell when he's playing hurt. Pound for pound, he's the best defensive football player I've ever had,'' said Yameen, who has been in coaching nearly 20 years, the last five years as Lawrence's head coach. "He's 5-6, but he plays like he's 6-foot-2."
Offensive coordinator Kevin Fielding said at a recent practice, "They still haven't found a way to measure heart, and that's all Harvey."
Blanco enters tonight's contest with more than just your typical senior emotions.
His thoughts, both during the game, through the family holiday meal and throughout the entire weekend, will be centered halfway across the world with his brother Diogenes.
"He's in Iraq right now as a firefighter in the Marines," said Harvey of the ex-middle linebacker and 2003 LHS grad. "It's his second tour over there."
If you've been to any Lawrence High game over the last four years, you know Harvey gets plenty of support from his mom in the stands.
This fall has been tougher, though, without big brother watching over his shoulder.
"He calls me, and I e-mail him after every game," said Harvey. "Still, it's real tough. He's one of the people that has always been there for me. One thing is that I know how strong he is. I don't have to worry about him that much."
On the field, Blanco lives up to the reputation he built on the freshman team.
"Back then, the older guys used to tell me, we were the guys who were going to get the ring," said Blanco.
At 3-7, Lawrence isn't going to get a ring, but, with a win tonight, the Lancers would enjoy their winningest season since 1995.
The Lancers' leading tackler with an average of nine a game, the all-conference candidate has been invaluable on offense as well, serving as a ferocious blocker for Francis Nova and Devin Montanez or playing the role of lead rusher when they've been out.
He enters tonight with 422 yards rushing on 66 carries (6.4 average) and four touchdowns.
"He's one of my favorite players in the league, the kind of kid you really enjoy watching play," said Central Catholic coach Chuck Adamopoulos. "He never stops on defense and he's a tough runner and blocker. He's clearly one of the better players in the league."
And football is his No. 2 sport.
An Eagle-Tribune All-Star shortstop in the spring, he hit .369 with 21 RBIs for the MVC small division champs.
Baseball is his future, so this may be his last football game.
"It's going to be real emotional," said Blanco. "We've been through it all for four years. It might be the last time I ever put pads on again. I definitely want to go out with a bang."
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