Sports teams have three tiers: freshman, junior varsity and varsity. A freshman making a varsity team is unusual, but not unheard of. Even rarer are sophomores who make the jump from the freshman team to the varsity team–an impressive feat that demonstrates tremendous improvement.

Sophomore Jonathan Cartwright accomplished that this fall, completing his first varsity season on the football field. During the season, Cartwright often started as a safety on defense and a running back on offense.

According to Cartwright, both the team’s offensive and defensive lines had high expectations coming into this season. The varsity team ended 4-4-6, improving upon the past year’s record of 1-9.

“We came in this year with a different mindset of winning and putting in the work to maintain a streak and not giving up,” Cartwright said.

With six varsity players having graduated last year, Cartwright said the team used the offseason to help newer players gain experience and get into shape. He said that it was one of the hardest parts of the season.

“We do weightlifting for most of winter because we can’t go outside,” Cartwright said. “Then during the spring and summer we start doing more conditioning, running and also start to get into 7 on 7 scrimmages.”

As a three-sport athlete who is a member of the junior varsity boys basketball and varsity outdoor track teams, Cartwright said he can’t always commit to these off-season workouts. However, he said his training in these other sports correlates with the strength and stamina that football requires.

“Basketball helps me as a safety because I’m shuffling as a defender and being really physical, like when I cover guys in football. Also, a lot of football is speed because that means you can stay on the field for longer without getting tired,” Cartwright said.

Cartwright was recognized as a member of the Bay State All-Conference first team when the conference coaches voted him as one of the top 26 players across the Bay State Conference. Cartwright’s teammates, senior Max Bajic and juniors Will Cavalier, Daniel Zilberberg and Nadav Grinstien, also made the first team. However, Cartwright was the only sophomore to win the award.

According to Chad Hunte, head coach of boys varsity football, this was largely due to Cartwright’s coachability and positive attitude.

“He has some natural abilities, but he’s also willing to learn. He will stay later in practice and get extra reps,” Hunte said. “His laughter and energy are so infectious to the team. He just wants [his teammates] to have a great day.”

Cartwright’s teammate, sophomore Sean Clingingsmith has only been playing alongside Cartwright for a year but said that Cartwright was very good at seeing opportunities during games and using them to his advantage, even when up against bigger guys.

“Jonathan was nominated because he was able to come off the freshman team to [play] varsity very well, getting involved in runs and tackling, in addition to his regular safety [responsibilities],” Clingingsmith said.

Looking towards next season, Hunte said he is hopeful about Cartwright potentially winning the league MVP award and that even though he shined on defense this year, Hunte is excited to play him more on both sides of the ball. He said he wants the team to continue to enjoy football, something that Cartwright has demonstrated is more valuable than personal success.

“Jonathan always remembers that [even though] this is a game and as bad as we all want to win, as bad as we each want to be great, it’s important to have fun with it,” Hunte said.

Hunte also said he would be interested and excited to see Cartwright take on more of a leadership role and push the team to train harder and play stronger.

“He’s a phenomenal player, but a better person. Next year you’re going to see him being more vocal around his team, being a real leader,” Hunte said. “He’s proud of all the success, but he knows he’s not going to be complacent. He will get us all to work harder and get better.”

As a future upperclassman, Cartwright said that he can still remember what it feels like to be new to high school and new on the football team. He hopes to do his best to be an encouraging role model.

“As a junior, I want to go to more workouts and also help engage the younger guys out there who don’t know what’s going on. I want to be that person that they look up to,” Cartwright said.

Looking to the future, Cartwright said that he will likely continue to play football in college, as it has been a fundamental part of his life for as long as he can remember.

“I was introduced to it when I was eight by my mom because she loved watching football and I had a lot of family members that played with me,” Cartwright said. “Since I was small, I’ve had a football in my hand, and I have been loving football ever since.”