Defending Champion Derby Dominates in Win Over Lawrence

Friday night saw two 6A powerhouses collide in the Derby panthers and Lawrence Lions in the sectional round of the 6A playoffs.  The 6A defending champion Derby jumped out t a 33-6 halftime lead and never looked back as they ended up winning 40-20.  Derby plays Junction City in the semi-final round on Friday at 7:00.  Here are five of the several players from Derby who looked impressive against Lawrence. [player_tooltip player_id="35398" first="Luke" last="Stewart"] LB The 6’0 210 Senior LB came up big against Lawrence as he totaled 3 sacks, a forced fumble, 11 tackles with 2 TFL.  In 2020, he has 57 tackles, 11 TFL, 5 sacks and a forced fumble.  He plays on the ball and shows good quickness with very good waist bend at the apex with good ankle flexion as he beats the TE as well as the OT with leverage and quickly penetrates into the backfield in pursuit of the RB or QB.  He uses his play speed to catch the QB and RB and uses his very good play strength to bring down all ball carriers with force. <strong>Jack Hileman</strong> LB The 5’9 200 lb Senior played awesome against Lawrence on Friday night as he had 12 tackles with a TFL and 2 sacks.  In 2020, Hileman had 84 tackles with 9 TFL, 3 sacks and 2 INT.  He plays as a MLB and uses his good football intelligence to quickly key and diagnose the play.  He uses his very good play speed and play strength to bring the RB down with force.  In coverage, he patrols his zone effectively with his athletic ability and instincts while using his closing speed to quickly get to the WR or TE and brings him down preventing a first down or a big gain. <strong>Dylan Edwards</strong> RB The 5’8 155 lb Sophomore had a huge game against the excellent Lawrence defense as he he rushed for 158 yards and 2 TD while catching a pass for 14 yards as well.  Friday night was the 6th time this season that Dylan had at least 150 yards on the ground.  In 2020, he has rushed for 1,411 yards on 153 carries and 21 TD (17 TD in the last 6 games) with 13 receptions for 171 yards and a TD.  Although he is a Sophomore, Dylan Edwards has quickly developed into being one of the top RB in the state in any class and it will be exciting to see how he improves over the next two years. [player_tooltip player_id="35352" first="Lem" last="Wash"] QB The 6’0 205 lb Senior signal caller was perfect in the playoff game against Lawrence completing all 4 of his passes for 52 yards and a TD while contributing 62 rushing yards on 16 carries and 2 TD on the ground.  He is an accurate passer as he has completed 70.3% of his passes this season (71 for 101) for 954 yards and 13 TD while providing 917 rushing yards and 13 TD.  [player_tooltip player_id="35352" first="Lem" last="Wash"] has really improved in the 2nd half of the 2020 season going 24 for 27 for 376 yards and 7 TD without an INT in the last 4 games and Derby won all four of those games. <strong>Andon Carpenter</strong> DL The 6’2 245 lb Junior DT made some big plays on Friday night.  He finished the game with 3 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  In 2020, he made 42 tackles with 8 TFL, 3 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.  When rushing the QB, he shows good burst off the ball, shoots his hands quickly delivering a powerful punch winning battles with his hands inside.  He then uses his play strength in his upper and lower body to bullrush his man backwards into the QB.  He sheds the block and brings down the QB easily with force for the sack.  On running plays, he keeps his eyes on the RB while using his burst, quickness and play strength to penetrate into the backfield and stops the RB behind the line of scrimmage for a TFL. &nbsp;