The Star is counting down the top football players in Southern Arizona in the weeks leading up to the season. Next up: Douglas senior Christian Estrella.
Christian Estrella
The rundown: Estrella is a 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound senior at Douglas High School.
Who he is: After winning their first five games of the 2018 season, it seemed the Bulldogs were making a statement — and drastic improvement — from their winless 2017 season. But when they were 6-2, the school self-reported more than 30 violations to the Arizona Interscholastic Association that included players on the team not having proper paperwork after transferring to Douglas. The Bulldogs were forced to forfeit their six wins, but went on to close the season on a two-game winning streak. Now, Estrella wants to put last year behind him. Douglas graduated 20 players from last year’s roster, putting Estrella and the seven other seniors in leadership positions.
“Last year doesn’t really define us as a team,” Estrella said. “We’ve got a lot new players out here. We’ve got new coaches, new faces. It’s just a different feeling, a different characteristic to this team.”
Proof he’s good: Estrella has yet to receive any official offers, but has been receiving letters of recommendation from multiple different colleges. Last season, Estrella had a total of 1,164 all-purpose yards in nine games. He had 919 rushing yards on 116 carries, 169 yards on 12 receptions and 76 yards on two interceptions.
He said it: “He’s a great athlete. He’s got all the raw materials that you want — size, strength, speed. If he puts all that together, he’s going to be a dominant force on the field. He is (a leader) and he does by example. He’s one of the hardest workers. He’s always wanting more and pushes the other guys to want more. He’s kind of set the standard. Being in a smaller town, he’s definitely a big fish, but the other guys definitely look up to him and kind of want to emulate his game.” — Douglas coach Hunter Long
