Offensive football player of the year
Name: Ka'Deem Carey
School: Canyon del Oro
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Football
From the archives: I'm not a fan of goodbyes. Never have been, never will be.
To this day, when I have to leave my mom and dad, I usually just mumble something and act like I'm tough.
With that in mind, I'm going to say goodbye to Canyon del Oro's Ka'Deem Carey.
It won't be easy.
This is my first year in Tucson, so how can it be so tough to say goodbye to someone I barely know?
Easy. You appreciate players you may never see again.
And Tucson, we may never see another football player like Ka'Deem Carey, our pick for the Southern Arizona offensive player of the year.
He really is that good.
Even when he was at 70 percent, which he was for most of this past season, Ka'Deem dominated opposing teams with his speed, smarts and toughness.
The senior did it all in his four years at Canyon del Oro.
Carey didn't have the blinding speed that a lot of elite high school running backs have, but no one ever caught him when he was healthy. He was steps ahead of the defenders mentally, knowing when to make cuts and how to get around them.
And if that didn't work? He'd run right over you.
He's also a clutch performer: With his team trailing by two touchdowns and just over two minutes left against Cienega in the state semifinals, it was Carey's time to shine.
Boy, did he ever. The Dream scored two touchdowns and CDO won by four points to advance to another state title game.
He finished his career with 5,702 rushing yards, the most ever by a Southern Arizona player.
He had 82 career rushing touchdowns and a few more courtesy of kick returns.
"He's the best football player I've ever been around," CDO coach Dusty Peace said.
"The things he does on the field are things people dream about being able to do.
"He's amazing."
It's time for Carey to move on. He's committed to Arizona, but has official visits set up for Arizona State and USC.
Carey won't dominate the prep gridiron next year.
That responsibility will shift to one of his teammates, junior Blake Martinez.
The Star's defensive player of the year, Martinez will take over for Carey next year as the dominant player in Southern Arizona.
From the middle linebacker position, Martinez totaled 129 total tackles and nine sacks in 2010. He had eight solo tackles in the first half of the state championship game against Scottsdale Saguaro.
He was also the Dorados' go-to receiver with team-highs in catches (24), yards (555) and touchdowns (10).
If he continues to get better and improves during his senior season, he and Carey could cross paths again in college.
At 6 feet 2 inches and 233 pounds, Martinez already has the size to play at the next level. But he's not just a big body. He's an athlete.
He uses that big frame to make plays on both sides of the ball.
He also has a nonstop motor. Despite playing both ways, the guy never looks tired.
He'll be the attraction at CDO and all over Southern Arizona next season, which means I get to watch him for one more season and appreciate his abilities, the same way I did with Carey.
That leads me to what I've been avoiding.
Goodbye, Ka'Deem. Good luck. — Daniel Berk, 2010
