Saugus High School football head coach Jason Bornn said he could see Dario Sandoval’s future when he was just a high school freshman in 2019.
A starter for the Centurions’ freshman team at the time, Bornn said Sandoval was “one of the dominant players” on that squad playing as a defensive end, and there was no doubt in Bornn’s mind that Sandoval would be playing for the varsity team as a sophomore.
The COVID-19 pandemic threw somewhat of a wrench into those plans, as most teams only played a few games during the spring of 2021 after the fall 2020 season was postponed.
But once football came back in full force for the fall 2021 season, Sandoval made his presence felt for the Centurions, finishing with five sacks as a junior and 8.5 tackles for loss, both top-five marks for the team.
As a senior, Sandoval was tied for the team lead with nine sacks to go along with seven tackles for loss.

“Very, very physical. Very aggressive,” Bornn said in a recent phone interview. “His effort is nonstop. He’s very methodical in his approach to the game. He tries to exploit the weaknesses of the defender that he’s going against, and, you know, he just played with relentless effort and tenacity.”
Sandoval’s efforts got him a spot on the Glendale Community College football team. After playing in a platoon his freshman year, Sandoval earned the starting job at defensive end for his sophomore season, and he did not disappoint.
In 10 games, Sandoval recorded 48 total tackles, 13.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss. His sack total led the state, while he broke the single-season school record for tackles for loss.
Those numbers led to Sandoval being named the Defensive Player of the Year for the Pacific League as well as being named to the All-State Region IV team.
“It was nice, because I’ve been working hard ever since a little kid to be good at the game, so I think all that hard work paid off finally,” Sandoval said in a recent phone interview. “It was a nice feeling.”


Playing both sides of the ball in high school, Sandoval said defensive end became his favored spot.
“I like hunting a quarterback,” Sandoval said. “It’s probably one of my favorite things because the quarterback is a core of the offense, so if you take out the quarterback, they can’t throw the ball or a play can’t happen. So, I always like taking out the core.”
Sandoval’s love for the game of football can be seen in who he looks up to and tries to model his game after.
“Lawrence Taylor,” Sandoval said. “I love watching Lawrence Taylor.”
Taylor played 13 seasons for the New York Giants in the 1980s and 1990s, earning Defensive Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors right away. He eventually went on to win two Super Bowls and two more Defensive Player of the Year awards.


Now looking to continue his college career at a four-year university, Sandoval has heard from a few schools that are interested, but is still waiting to see who officially gives him an offer.
Not just a football player, though, Sandoval is setting up a career path for when he hangs up his cleats. Sandoval has been working as a ranch hand at Gilchrist Farm in Saugus along with a job at Planet Fitness.
But with a plan to get into law enforcement, Sandoval is seeking to major in criminal justice and recently became a California Highway Patrol Explorer — a program designed for people 15 to 20 years of age who want to learn more about a potential career in law enforcement, according to the CHP website.


“I would love to continue football for as long as I can, and then eventually go into what my life plan would be,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval’s career path may not be as traditional as what some hopeful pro stars may look like, but Bornn said that, with the transfer portal and college players being given extra years of eligibility at a higher rate, starring at a junior college before taking the next leap may be the best option.
“The bottom line is this: getting a college scholarship to play football, or any sport for that matter, is extremely difficult. And in today’s climate with (name, image and likeness) money and the transfer portal and everything else, it has become exponentially more difficult for a high school kid to get a scholarship out of high school. So Dario, you know, laid a roadmap that many other kids should look at and use as an example to follow because this is going to be the path of those players who are not ‘five-stars this’ or ‘five-stars that.’”