Hard-working Tolbert main cog for 4A champs

Adam Candee

Friday, Dec. 20, 2002 | 10:15 a.m.

Stop if you have already heard this well-worn statement about a great defensive lineman: He has got a great motor.

Charles Tolbert most certainly owns one of those high-powered motors. In the scope of the 4A state champion McQueen defense in 2002, Tolbert not only cranked the motor -- he drove the bus, changed the oil and probably rotated the tires as well.

For his consistently outstanding performance in the middle of the McQueen defensive line, Tolbert is the 2002 Sun Defensive Player of the Year.

"All we did every game was just come out and play," Tolbert said. "I tried to make plays and clog up the middle."

Few players start for three years at McQueen, where senior leadership and commitment to the program are placed on a pedestal. Yet Tolbert did just that, and he saw amazing success during that stint -- three appearances in the 4A state title game and two state championships.

"I'm just glad it was my time to go to McQueen," Tolbert said with a laugh.

McQueen coach Ken Dalton raves about his powerful and driven 6-foot, 232-pound senior lineman, who also served as a second tight end on offense.

"He has great intensity," Dalton said of the young man who began the season as a 16-year-old. "He has the ability to focus and just be single-minded, and that's to get to the ball carrier."

Get to the ball carrier is exactly what the Northern Region Defensive Player of the Year did.

The undefeated Lancers ripped through Northern Region opponents before overwhelming Southern entries Palo Verde and Desert Pines in the 4A state playoffs, thanks to stellar defensive work. The Lancers allowed just 35 points over their 14-game schedule -- that works out to a meager 2.5 points per game average.

Most of this McQueen senior class worked together for four years, as the Lancers' program continues its reputation as a football machine.

"If we were doing it over our other three years, why couldn't we do it this year?' Tolbert said.

Dalton said that Tolbert, who is receiving recruiting attention from Fresno State, spearheaded that defensive effort, blowing through offensive linemen to disrupt opposing attacks.

"He demanded double- and triple-teaming all season," Dalton said. "He was quite a contributor."

The coach also paid his player what amounts to the ultimate compliment in the McQueen program.

"He's very committed to McQueen football," Dalton said.