Sports is full of clichés and one of the clichés you often hear, associated with football, is, “That guy would play for free in the parking lot,” and it is definitely true of Damonte graduate Evan Defer. Defer graduated from Damonte Ranch in 2014 and was a standout for the Mustangs. After graduation he went to Santa Barbara City College before landing at Concordia University (MN). Defer used all five of his eligible years playing football for the Vaqueros in Santa Barbara and the Cobbers in Minnesota. Defer came back to Reno and got involved with the Reno Express.
The Reno Express is a team in the American West Football Conference (AWFC), which is a professional indoor league, created in 2018 by Platinum Events & Security, LLC, the owners of the Idaho Horseman. The league's played their inaugural season in 2019. Let’s catch-up with Evan Defer, number 88 (wore number 10 last season for the Express) of the Reno Express.
Battle Born Preps (BBP): What year did you graduate from Damonte?
Evan: 2014
BBP: What sport or sports did you play at Damonte?
Evan: Football
BBP: What did you do after graduation?
Evan: After graduation I went to college for five years, I played football all five years and also majored in psychology while in school.
BBP: What are you doing now?
Evan: I work for "Beaverfit", we build portable weightlifting rigs for the military and other companies. I also play professional arena football for the Reno Express
BBP: How did you hear about Reno Express?
Evan: I was at Thanksgiving dinner stuffing my face when my uncle started telling me about it.
BBP: Are there other local guys playing for the Express, or in the league?
Evan: Yeah! Lots of local guys on our team, Kenny Viser who played for Manogue a long time ago and Jordan Deleon who graduated the same year as me from Reed high school.
BBP: What did your time at DRHS teach you?
Evan: My time a DRHS taught me how to prepare for my goals and conquer them.
BBP: What message do you have for the student-athletes at DRHS now?
Evan: Don’t be a “what if” person.. go on that date, ask that girl or guy to prom. You don’t want to be 30 asking yourself what could’ve been.. these [years] and college are gonna be some of the best years enjoy them!
The Reno Express will be coming back for a second season in the AWFC. Last season the team was one game and 21 points away from being AWFC Champions. It will be exciting to see how the squad looks in the second year, especially number 88, Evan Defer. The team has some openings, Team Photographer, Sales and Marketing team members, Videographer, Team Writer, Equipment Manager, and a Graphic Artist. If you would like more information, please send a resume to info@gorenoexpress.com