When Dallas Gonzales lines up at tight end, he says he often goes against defensive linemen who are a couple inches taller and several pounds heavier; but the seventh-grader likes the challenge of blocking bigger boys.

“It felt good moving the big ol’ dudes out of the way,” said the 12-year-old. “It’s like you conquered something.”

He barrels toward defensive linemen much like he attacks his academics, said Erin Helm, Gonzales’ language arts and AVID teacher at Rio Vista Middle School.

“He’s very motivated academically,” Helm said. “He’s always trying to push himself to do more.”

Gonzales propelled himself onto the Principal’s Honor Roll after earning straight A’s last semester and was the Titan of the Month this spring, helping him earn his Academic All-Star honor.

And while Gonzales strives to succeed on dry land, whether it be in school, on the football field, baseball field, basketball court or wrestling mat, his career goal is to stretch his sea legs and become an oceanographer. He said he’d like to explore the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

“I like the beach a lot and when you’re an oceanographer you get to be on the beach and study ocean maps and scuba dive,” he said. “A lot of times they’re in submarines mapping. … It would be scary at first, but once I got some experience it would be OK.”

Gonzales has thrived academically and athletically while coping with three family deaths in the past five years. He said the losses have focused him. “It makes me try harder and want to succeed more,” he said.