Page 2 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, JAnuARy 5, 2024 FOOTBALL | FROM PAGE 1 nia, in overtime, 27-20, on New Year’s Night. As a team, the Wolverines are now 14-0 heading into the Houston showdown against the University of Washington Monday night. Even though current Tide football coach Justin Flores never coached these two players, he still knew much about them. “I remember watching Mike and Josaiah when I’d come to Everett games to recruit for the University of Maine,” Flores said. “You could see how good they were at a young age, and the ceiling they had.” “This is big for our program, and the city as a whole to see that two local kids can make it to the pinnacle of college football,” added Flores. “Seeing them make big plays in the semifinal game [against Alabama] was something to watch. It allows for other kids and teenagers around here to continue to dream, while aspiring to be the best, because they have seen others do it from their area. Both these players are continuing the program’s rich history and legacy. We want to develop our players to be like them on and off the field. They have already displayed that guys from a city right outside Boston can play with the best in the nation and win.” Sainristil graduated from Everett High School in 2019 after helping lead the Crimson Tide to a 12-1 record in the fall of 2018 under the direction of coach Theluxon Pierre. In 2016 and 2017, he also helped the Tide to consecutive Division 1 Super Bowl state championships. His Tide teams made the playoffs three straight years, while he individually was chosen to the Boston Herald and Boston Globe All-Scholastic teams twice during his scholastic career. Sainristil, son of Carlot and Raymonde, was born on Oct. 3, 2000, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Away from the gridiron, he’s an accomplished musician who plays the violin, piano and drums. He’s a member of the Boston Missionary Baptist Church choir. In the classroom, Mike, who also speaks Creole, is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in social work. The 5-foot-10, 182-pound defensive back has had career collegiate highs in tackles (8, vs. Maryland on Sept. 24, 2022); solos (6, twice, last one at Ohio State on Nov. 26, 2022); assists (3, four times, last one vs. UNLV on Sept. 9, 2023); tackles for losses (twice, last one vs. Bowling Green on Sept. 16, 2023); sacks (4, last one vs. Iowa on Dec. 2, 2023); tackles (8, vs. Maryland on Sept. 24, 2022); and interceptions (2 at Maryland on Nov. 18, 2023). Career highs on offense are: catches (four, twice, last one vs. Northwestern on Oct. 23, 2021); yards (73, vs. Notre Dame on Oct. 26, 2019); touchdowns (1, five times, last one at Maryland on Nov. 20, 2021); and longest touchdown (51 yards, vs. Rutgers on Sept. 25, 2021). Sainristil has accumulated 1,740 receiving yards and scored 28 receiving touchdowns while also tacking on 56 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns during his collegiate career. He also had four defensive touchdowns and two special teams scores. He recorded six interceptions as a senior last fall while adding 32 catches for 792 yards and 12 touchdowns in addition to 290 rushing yards and five touchdowns on offense. He was creditFormer Everett High School Crimson Tide football player Mike Sainristil received congratulations from the Michigan Wolverine fans after another win this fall. Sainristil and his Michigan teammates will be playing for the CFP Division 1 national football championship against the University of Washington in Houston on Monday night. (Courtesy photo / University of Michigan website) ed with 33 tackles and four interceptions as a junior while coming up with 13 touchdowns on offense. At EHS, Sainristil was the 201819 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year and was rated the No. 64 best cornerback in the nation while being the No. 1 player in Massachusetts. He was an ESPN four-star recruit and was its 25th best athlete in the nation $3.64 $3.98 The E Club of Everett is holding it’s Annual Meeting January 9th at Everett High School at 6 pm. and No. 1 in the state. He was a Rivals three-star recruit – rated second in the state. He was also a 247.com three-star prospect – ranked third in the state. He was the recipient of the Bouvier and Suite Sports Showtime Awards. At Michigan, Sainristil was named a first-team All-American by ESPN, Fox Sports and the Sporting News, and he made Sports Illustrated’s second team. He was an All-Big Ten selection (second team, coaches, 2023; first team, media, 2023; honorable mention, coaches and media, 2022). He won both the Offensive (2021, co-) and Defensive (2022) Skill Player of the Year Awards. He was a four-year letterman (2019-2022) after appearing in 60 games at wide receiver, defensive back and on special teams. He had a total of 33 career starts (nine on offense, 23 on defense) and has also worked as a punt returner. He changed his jersey to No. 5 from 19 prior to the 2021 season and then changed it to 0 from 5 before the start of the 2022 season. Though he played on both sides of the ball in high school, he began his Michigan career on offense, before switching primarily to defense in 2022. So far this year, Sainristil was a CBS Sports All-American (second team), an All-Big Ten selection (second team, coaches; first team, media), a Reese’s Senior Bowl Midseason All-American, a Pro Football Focus Honorable Mention Midseason All-American, an East-West Shrine Bowl Breakout Defensive Player of the Week following his game at Maryland, a Reese’s Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week – also following the Maryland game – and a four-time Defensive Player of the Week for his performances against Rutgers, Michigan State, Maryland and Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game, where he was also named the Griffin-Grange MVP after forcing two fumbles, breaking up a pass and delivering a sack. Stewart reunites with high school teammate to help propel Wolverines to title game Stewart, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound junior, was an edge rusher on defense for the Wolverines this season. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., his parents, Carmen Diaz and Andre Stewart, came to Everett shortly after his birth. He graduated from EHS in 2020 and then went on to play for Coastal Carolina, before transferring to Michigan this fall after three years there. At Everett, he was a two-way contributor at tight end and defensive end. The team was 9-3 in his senior year and a perfect 3-0 in the Greater Boston League. He was a part of the 12-1 2018 Crimson Tide team. At Michigan this year, he recorded five tackles at Nebraska on Sept. 30, three of them solo, to go along with two sacks. He assisted on two tackles four times, the last one at Minnesota on Oct. 7. He’s a 2023 All-Big Ten selection (honorable mention, coaches) after appearing in 13 games. He shared Defensive Player of the Week honors three times for his performances against Nebraska, Minnesota and Michigan State. During his Michigan debut against ECU (Sept. 2), he made two assisted tackles playing off the edge. He tallied four tackles, including one for a loss against Bowling Green on Sept. 16. On the road against Nebraska on Sept. 30, he registered his first sack as a Wolverine. He was also credited with five tackles in that game. At Michigan State on Oct. 21, he had a nine-yard sack to go along with two other tackles. He made three tackles against Purdue on Nov. 4 and then delivered two tackles at Penn State the following week. He was credited with two more tackles against Ohio State on Nov. 25, before registering two pass breakups against Iowa in the Big Ten Championship on Dec. 2. In one and a half varsity seasons at EHS, he recorded 35 tackles to go along with 19 combined quarterback hits and hurries, 18 of them for losses that also included nine sacks and two recovered fumbles. As a junior, he recorded 30 tackles and 15 combined hits and hurries, which included 14 tackles for losses, seven sacks and one fumble recovery. He also had one block punt and one extra point block. His senior season was canceled because of the pandemic. Stewart was the No. 748– ranked player nationally and was fifth in the state in 2020. He was chosen to the 2019 Boston Herald All-Scholastic team and earned an ESPN Elite Underclassmen Camp invite. He was on the 2020 Sports Illustrated All-American Massachusetts watch list. Away from the gridiron, he’s currently enrolled in the School of Literature, Science and the Arts while majoring in General Studies at Michigan. On Monday night, all eyes in Everett will be watching Mike and Josaiah play for the national championship after seeing them grow as athletes throughout the past decade in the local venues around here from Pop Warner to high school. The dream has certainly come true for them.
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