ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Marquez Valdes-Scantling is coming off his biggest game of the season, but now, he's gearing up for a game that even some of the greatest players ever never got to play in, the Super Bowl.
The St. Petersburg native wide receiver caught six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship to help send the Kansas Chiefs to the big game.
“I was known as a deep threat. I do that very well,” Valdes-Scantling said. “Coming here, I’ve been able to do a lot more things, get the ball in a lot more positions, move around a bit. Definitely showcase that I am more than just a deep threat guy.”
“It was great to see him get involved a lot more,” Cory Moore, Valdes-Scantling’s high school coach at Lakewood, said. “From that, I think the whole world got to see how good he is.”
Valdes-Scantling will play in his first Super Bowl on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s on football’s biggest stage now, but it was humble beginnings for this 2013 Lakewood High School graduate.
“It means everything, from not making my team as a freshman to playing in the Super Bowl,” he said. “It’s a dream come true. I want it to motivate kids out there who were in the same position as me, not making it or not good enough, being doubted. I love that.”
There’s no doubting ‘MVS’ now. The Green Bay Packers drafted him in 2018 before signing a three-year $30 million contract with Kansas City this season.
“He played college ball also at [the University of South Florida] and get a chance to be part of us. He’s still touchable,” Moore said. “He still comes out a lot. He’ll help out in the concession stand or in the community. Him being homegrown, everyone gets a chance to see positive people. This can happen if you do the right thing. It’s amazing.”
Valdes-Scanting’s 2011 Lakewood football team was loaded. He’s the third member of that Spartans’ squad to reach a Super Bowl, joining Isaiah Wynn (Patriots, Super Bowl 53) and Dante Fowler (Rams, Super Bowl 53).
“It’s special. You get a chance to look at that roster, great guys that were on that team,” Moore said. “You also see a select few that’s gone on and still playing football even to the highest level. It makes you scratch your head and say, ‘Wow, that was an amazing football team that year.'"
Valdes-Scantling is the sixth Lakewood player overall to play in the big game.
