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Fil-Salvadorian Caleb Sanchez plays quarterback for St. John Bosco

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Steve Angeles | TFC News Carson

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qxsKobbMMlA?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>Standing 6&#x27;4 and weighing 225 pounds, Caleb Panis Sanchez has the size and skills of an NFL quarterback.But his roots are rare when it comes to American football’s premier position.Asian and Latino quarterbacks aren’t very common and he proudly represents both on and off the field, as he breaks the huddle for St. John Bosco, the reigning national high school champions.&quot;When I first got into it, I didn’t think about it at all,&quot; said Sanchez. &quot;When I started getting the videos and people talking about me, then I really started to embrace it.&quot;The 18-year-old is the child of Maridel Panis, who was born in Zambales in the Philippines, and of Armando Sanchez from Chalatenango in El Salvador.&quot;I’m just so grateful I have two countries behind me,&quot; the quarterback added. &quot;That’s an amazing feeling.&quot;Sanchez&#x27;s mother works in the medical field while his father is in education. Armando Sanchez coached and encouraged his son from a young age, but never imagined that he would become the talk of the prep sports world.&quot;I didn’t expect him to be at Bosco high level like this,&quot; said Armando. &quot;I just wanted him to be healthy going into high school.&quot;From a young age, Sanchez, who grew up in the Filipino hub of Carson in California, had always been playing sports. When it was time to play football, he knew he would be the quarterback.&quot;Growing up, I played baseball, basketball, football, out here in the parks in Carson,&quot; he recalled. &quot;Probably the first time I started was around 5 years old. It was flag football, but my dad always had me playing quarterback. I was playing against older kids all the time. &quot;Sanchez, who carried a 4.42 grade point average into the school year, has been patiently waiting for this moment.St. John Bosco is considered a top football high school. It won the national championship last year and has remained highly ranked.While playing sparingly in his junior year, Sanchez has come out firing in his senior year. In his first six games this season, he has amassed over 1,500 passing yards with eight touchdowns, completing 76% of his passes. And as the season progresses, colleges are expected to take a deeper look into the honor roll student athlete. &quot;They know who I’ve been behind,&quot; said Sanchez. &quot;I’ve been behind great quarterbacks who I’ve learned a lot from and I feel like its made me who I am today.&quot;His rise to starting quarterback in the nation&#x27;s top high school has even caught the attention of NFL players, sports fans and even Filipino-American NBA champion coach Erik Spoelstra.&quot;I checked Twitter, I opened it up, I saw Erik Spoelstra I’m like wow,&quot; Sanchez added. &quot;It was crazy because this guy is one of the top coaches in the NBA.&quot;Sanchez said he is now focused on getting Bosco another championship.&quot;If we can focus on what we can do, we could just eliminate mistakes and play and execute efficiently [and] no one can beat us,&quot; he added.

The Fil-Salvadorian is determined to help St. John Bosco defend its title as the reigning U.S. high school football champions.