Week 1 Top Defenders – 8-Player, A, 1A

Zarren Egesdal

August 31, 2020 @ 02:43 PM

Week 1 of the high school football season is in the books, and we are going to take a look at the top performances on defense in both small and big schools. We start with small schools, 8-player, Class A, and Class 1A. Look for the larger schools Class 2A, Class 3A, and Class 4A tomorrow. Like the legendary coach Bear Bryant once said, “defense wins champions” - so likes dive right in. 8-player There were some spectacular games and many upsets. Who were the all-star defensive performers? The top all-around defensive performer was Woodbine’s, [player_tooltip player_id="23843" first="Layne" last="Pryor"]. The senior tallied 13.5 tackles, ten solo, three sacks, and four tackles for a loss. Tanner Oswald Coon Rapids Bayard - Three, yes, three interceptions for the junior in week 1. He was the only 8-player defender to rack up more than two. Cole Watts, Montezuma - The senior corner was all over the field, leading Class 8-player with 18 total tackles. Tanner Cormeny, Moravia - From the same district as Watts, Cormeny was one of the best linebackers in 8-player Friday night. He recorded 17.5 tackles, 12 solo and two tackles for a loss. Aaron McAlister, Coon Rapids Bayard, Evan Reuter, Iowa Valley, and Alex Goetzinger, Kee, all recorded 4.5 tackles for loss. Alex Goetzinger also racked up three sacks, which tied Pryor for the most in 8-player in week 1. Class A No argument had the best all-around performance in Class A on defense Friday night. Tucker Tepoel of Southwest Valley was impossible to stop. The senior had 11 total tackles, eight solo tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, and 4.5 sacks. Alex Ausdemore, Tri-Center - the big man racked up the most tackles in the Class on Friday night with 15 total tackles - two for a loss. The only other defender with more than 12 tackles was corner Tucker Bright from Columbus. The senior recorded 13 tackles, eight solo, and 2 for a loss. Dallas Kluender, Woodbury Central - Tied with Tepoel for the most sacks (4.5) in the first week. Kluender also racked up 8.5 total tackles, eight solo tackles, and 5.5 tackles for a loss. Just as in 8-player, Nodaway Valley’s Jon Gebbie was a ball hawk recording three interceptions. Class 1A Again three interceptions were a common number; Panorama’s Lucas Leiferman also picked off Grundy Center three times. What makes it more impressive is he did it against a quarterback that only threw four interceptions all season last year. Noah O’Malley, Osage - The junior showed up in a big game on Friday night. He recorded 21.5 tackles, 14 of which were solo. Those two have to be the best performers in Class 1A in week 1. Mason Knipp, Columbus Catholic - 2024, yes college coaches, 2024 defender racked up a class high 4.5 tackles for a loss. He also added eight total tackles, six solo, and 2.5 tackles for a loss. He is someone to have on your radar in the future.