PITTSBURG – It’s not hard to spot Marley Alcantara on the football field.
The Pittsburg quarterback’s long touchdown passes and elusive scrambles makes him easy to point out to anyone sitting in the stands. The dark tribal tattoos he has on both arms stand out as he walks the sidelines cheering on his teammates. Even his on-field swag is striking from the white Nike armbands to his crystal clear visor.
But what most people will notice when he takes off his helmet is his ethnicity.
Alcantara is a Filipino-American playing a sport that only a handful with that background have played collegiately or professionally. The 5-foot-8 star quarterback proudly displays his Filipino heritage through his tattoos, his deep appreciation for the culture and his advocacy for Pinoy athletes.
Alcantara is already cemented in the record books as he recently established a new ceiling for most passing touchdowns in a career at Pittsburg, but he’s playing for something bigger than himself or stats.
His hope is to one day inspire more Filipinos to play the sport he loves.
“Not many Filipinos play football like that for real,” Alcantara said. “Just being here and paving the way, especially with my accomplishments and what I’ve done for this team, it’s just been spectacular. My dad always told me to be different, do what you want to do and strive for your goals. I feel like I’m just paving the way for the future.”
Pittsburg quarterback Marley Alcantara (12) leads his teammates in pregame stretching before a home game against Los Gatos on Oct. 4, 2024. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group)
Alcantara has not only earned the respect of his teammates and coaches, but they now revere him as one of the top quarterbacks they have seen don a Pittsburg jersey.
“I think he’s one of the best, if not the best, quarterback we’ve had probably since I played in 1991,” Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez said. “I tell these college coaches, ‘You’re going to be working for Marley Alcantara one of these days.’ That’s how elite he is, not just as a football player or even his knowledge of the game, but just his charisma and his leadership skills are second to none.”
Alcantara’s Pinoy heritage is deeply rooted in his great-grandfather, Jose Alcantara. Jose was a famous artist in the Philippines, widely known as one of the greatest sculptors the country ever produced. His art has been showcased in museums from New York to the Philippines, and most notably in the Alcantara household.
Marley’s dad, Andrew Alcantara, is a first-generation Filipino-American who played football at James Logan High in the early 1990s – a time when even Asian Americans playing any American-based sport was almost unheard of.
“It was difficult because you really had to shine back in those days,” Andrew said. “We were immigrants, so English wasn’t our first language. Communication was hard, but we just had a love for the game.”
Early on, Andrew tried to sway Marley away from football, instead trying to push him into competing in Muay Thai – a combat sport that involves stand-up striking, sweeps and clinch combat.
Marley had potential to be a great fighter even in elementary school with the family making trips to Thailand to help him train and compete. But Marley could never stay away from football.
“I didn’t want him to play because our whole family played and loved the game, and I knew there was going to be a lot of pressure on the kid and I didn’t want him to feel that,” Andrew said. “But he was always throwing a football. He was always doing something whether that was throwing the Nerf ball through the house or asking me to race. He was just one of those kids.”
For Filipino-Americans who played or watched football, there were very few players in the NFL that resembled them – especially at quarterback. But in the 1960s and ‘70s, one player opened the door to that possibility.
Roman Gabriel was a Filipino-American quarterback who was most notable for winning the NFL MVP with Rams in 1969. He was the son of a Filipino immigrant in North Carolina and is the first Filipino-American quarterback to play in the NFL.
Gabriel was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the first overall pick in the 1962 AFL Draft, but opted to sign with the Rams after being selected second overall in NFL Draft that same year.
“A lot of Filipinos followed him and he was a role model and someone they looked up to,” said Gabriel’s son, Roman Gabriel III. “The Filipino population in Los Angeles has grown and he had a huge impact on the Filipino community.”
Marley was not even close to being born when Gabriel played, but found himself idolizing another Asian American quarterback in Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray – a Korean-American who’s best known for his spectacular arm talent and scrambling ability.
Coming up through youth football is where Alcantara first started to make a name for himself. According to Andrew, there were games where he would account for 10 or more touchdowns in a single contest.
But even Alcantara knew becoming the man at Pittsburg was going to take some time. Alcantara played behind five-star QB Jaden Rashada for his freshman and sophomore years, watching as the eventual Division I player put up video game-type numbers for the Pirates.
“I learned all about the ups and downs,” Marley said about being Rashada’s backup for two seasons. “He was a highly recruited dude so he had a lot of stress on him, and I saw how he was able to manage it from all the attention he got everywhere. He taught me a lot of life lessons, which I appreciate.”
Pittsburg quarterback Marley Alcantara (12) looks to pass against Archbishop Riordan on Sept. 13, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Being the starting quarterback at Pittsburg is always a big deal to the fans and the local community, so much so that there is a certain folklore centered around anyone taking snaps under center. Alcantara’s cannon moment at Pittsburg happened his sophomore year.
With Rashada sidelined, Alcantara had his first start as a sophomore against Antioch in a rivalry game. With a dislocated finger on his throwing hand, Alcantara threw for 322 yards and five touchdowns to lead Pittsburg to a blowout win.
From there, Alcantara was officially put on the map.
He would become the full-time starter last season as a junior and became Pittsburg’s unquestioned leader. In 2023, he threw for 2,675 yards and 37 TDs en route to winning Bay Valley Athletic League Player of the Year while garnering all-Bay Area News Group first-team honors.
“You need a team who can throw and run and it’s easy to trust my quarterback,” Pittsburg running back Jamar Searcy said. “We can always fake it and I’ll block for him or he can throw us the ball.”
But even though he has been a record-breaking player and arguably the top quarterback in the Bay Area statistically, Alcantara still gets overlooked. According to 247Sports, he doesn’t hold a single Division I offer and has not received a “star rating” from any of the big recruiting websites.
Pittsburg quarterback Marley Alcantara raises the first-place plaque after the Pirates defeated San Ramon Valley for the North Coast Section Division I championship on Nov. 24, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
His smaller frame might have something to do with why he hasn’t connected with Division I schools, but his teammates believe the tape doesn’t lie.
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“He’s a special dude,” UCLA-bound linebacker Juju Walls told SI.com last year. “A lot of people look down on him because of his culture, size and length, but he’s got that dog in him. Don’t ever underestimate him.”
“That’s kind of been like my whole career, even now that I have a big name,” Alcantara said. “It’s cool and all, but I still get overlooked by everybody and it’s something where I gotta just prove them wrong, and prove myself right.”
This season, Alcantara can care less about the individual accolades. Pittsburg currently sits at the top of the Bay Valley Athletic League and is on a collision course to challenge De La Salle in the North Coast Section open championship game.
Regardless of how Pittsburg fairs by the end of the season, Alcantara’s impact on the next generation of Filipino athletes coming after him will already be cemented as he hopes that the next great Pinoy quarterback in the Bay Area could look at him as inspiration.
“I’m doing my best to show them that it could be done,” he said.