"That's more of my dad's field," Brennen Carvalho laughed. "I like doing the right thing, but I don't want to be so involved and in front of everybody. My dad loves that. He loves the shine and the fame and all that stuff. It's not my style. I'm an offensive lineman. It's the only thing I've known since I was little."
Carvalho played at Portland State and was in the Packers camp in 2008. He ripped up his knee playing basketball the following season, ending his NFL hopes.
His football career was revived when he joined the Arena League last year. He was second-team all-AFL for Arizona and may have been even better this year, though amazingly no Soul lineman made all-league.
"He's been so dependable and so consistent," coach Doug Plank said. "When you start talking about the lineman of the year, you have to look to see what team has given up the fewest sacks. I don't think it's out of line to pick any of [our] guys."
Christian Johnson, Devin Clark and Zipp Duncan joined Carvalho up front as the Soul set an AFL record with 1,228 points. Ross earned first-team honors and wide receiver Tiger Jones was named to the second team in voting done by league coaches and PR people.
"Robbery [for] the offensive line to allow the fewest sacks and not get at least one guy on the second team," said irate Soul general manager Tom Goodhines.
Despite the snub, Carvalho will try to ensure 2012 ends better for him than 2011 when his Arizona team lost to Jacksonville in the championship game. Carvalho (and Clark) can get a measure of revenge Friday by beating the Sharks to advance to the title game.
"It's not like I hold any grudges toward the Jacksonville team, but they did beat us in an important game last year," Carvalho said. "This year, we get another chance. They're a great team and we'll see if we can come out ahead of them this time."
Contact Ed Barkowitz at barkowe@phillynews.com
