Santa Margarita Catholic High School

 

Both Palmer and Sanchez played football for SMCHS and USC, Sanchez following in Palmer’s footsteps. Sanchez, whose brother Brandon was Carson’s teammate in high school, served as the ball boy for the Eagles when Carson was a high school star. Sanchez was just 9 years old when he was fetching balls and water for Palmer. Now he faces him on the field in the NFL playoffs – both starting quarterbacks.

“He was a good ball boy,” Palmer said of Sanchez in a recent press conference. “Anything you asked him to do, he’d do. He’s still the same guy to this day -- a very giving guy, very open. He’ll do whatever his coaches and teammates ask of him. That’s why he was drafted where he was drafted.”

 

Sanchez told reporters he has always looked up to Palmer and still calls him for advice.

 

“He was huge in high school,” Sanchez told the New York Daily News. “So they won back-to-back [California Interscholastic] titles and I got to be the ball boy for all of those and see them celebrate after the game. It was awesome."

 

On Saturday, Jan. 9 at 8 a.m. ESPN aired a feature on the high school standouts turned NFL pros. Crews with ESPN visited SMCHS to talk to coaches that worked with the both of them and get footage of the field where both of them established their roots and worked on their game.

 

We are very proud of their accomplishments and enjoyed tuning in to the game. The Jets beat the Bengals 24-14.

 

Click here for the article in the OC Register.