SAUGUS PLAYER FOLLOWS IN FOOTSTEPS FOOTBALL A TRADITION FOR FATHER AND SONS.

Byline: IVAN OROZCO Staff Writer

SAUGUS -- While playing on the same youth football team, Kyle Monson repeatedly tried to hit and run over his brother.

During practice, the younger and smaller Kyle kept losing the battle against his older brother, Justin Monson.

``I remember watching him getting run over and getting up all mad, sometimes with tears in his eyes,'' said Scott Monson, who coached his sons. ``But he never gave up. He wanted to knock down his brother so bad he continued to try.''

Kyle was about 8 when he first strapped on shoulder pads and helmet and went after his 10-year-old brother. A two-year age difference might be a disadvantage in Pop Warner football. But being considered an underdog because of size helped Kyle become aggressive and fueled his competitiveness.

``He's a little fireball,'' his father said. ``He's not the biggest kid out there, but he's a leader with a lot of emotion.''

Now the Saugus High starting strong safety is one of the Foothill League's top defensive backs.

The 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior still does not back down from larger opponents. That's because he's also one of the team's strongest players. He bench presses 275 pounds and can squat 385 pounds.

``It doesn't matter who I go against,'' Monson said. ``It doesn't scare me to go against taller receivers. I can use my speed to beat the bigger guys.''

The speedy safety can blanket receivers, has the quickness to break up a jump ball pass and is quick to fill in as a run stopper. He can also play wide receiver. Monson caught three passes for 32 yards during a 20-6 win against Antelope Valley in the Centurions' season opener last Friday night.

Monson is quick to credit his father, who is also the Centurions defensive coordinator, for his talent and understanding of the game.

He pays tribute by wearing his dad's old pink headband on game days until it's time to suit up. His father also wore the same headband in high school.

``There's a lot of extra pressure having my dad as a coach because I know he expects me to know what I am doing,'' Monson said. ``He's been coaching me for a long time and his teachings I have to show on the field.''

Almost everything the 17-year-old does with his father is related to football.

The Monsons' videocassette player doesn't get much of a break. After practice at Saugus, the pair continues to study opponents' game film at home. In the off season, father and son go over defensive back fundamentals at local parks. Justin, the older brother and former Saugus defensive back also coached by his father, sometimes joins in.

If the two brothers are not competing in football, they are challenging each other in snowboarding, hunting and pillow tossing.

``Sometimes we sit at home and see how many times we can hit our younger brother (Peyton) while tossing pillows at him,'' Monson said. ``We're always competitive.''

But the defensive back's competitiveness is not the only thing that impressed Saugus head coach Jason Bornn.

``It's almost like having another coach on the field with Kyle out there,'' Bornn said. ``He has a nice calmness and knows what he has to do. He puts himself and others in positions to make plays. He's a smart kid.''

Monson hopes to continue playing football in college, maybe at Oregon State where his father played defensive back in 1985 and 1986.

But if football is not in the Saugus senior's future, he is certain he wants to become a mechanical engineer, just like his father. Maybe even a rocket scientist.

Scott Monson is a chief engineer for a company that manufactures and designs rocket engines.

For now, Monson will focus on flying around on the football field, knocking down his opponent.

ivan.orozco(at)dailynews.com

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