Portsmouth's Sebastian Altamar voted football Defensive Preseason Player of Year

PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth High School senior safety Sebastian Altamar was voted by the community as 2026 Seacoast high school Football Defensive Preseason Player of the Year.

Altamar won the online poll by receiving 52.7% of the 7,018 votes cast. St. Thomas Aquinas senior end Jack Brennan placed second with 33.5%. Dover junior linebacker Ryan Hebert (6%) was third, and Winnacunnet senior linebacker Thomas Lyons and Traip Academy senior defensive back Mason Irwin tied for fourth with 2.1%.

"Well deserved," Portsmouth head coach Brian Pafford said. "He's the most intelligent football player I've seen in years. He's a student of the game and leads our defense and makes the calls from the safety position. I know a lot of people say that a player is a coach on the field, but he truly is a coach on the field. He has worked extremely hard to get where he's at and that's not just physically but also mentally and emotionally."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth's Sebastian Altamar voted football Defensive Preseason Player of Year