Jordan’s Road Trip: Week 2 Defensive Standouts

This week Jordan's Road Trip traveled to Bishop McNamara to watch them take on Coal City. It was one heck of a matchup between these two teams that went down to the final wire. Coal City ended up winning this contest 14 to 6 against Bishop McNamara. Here are your Week 2 Jordan's Road Trip Defensive Standouts. <hr /> <em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bishop McNamara</span></strong></em> <img class=" wp-image-196630 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/IMG_5327-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="142" height="190" /> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="163030" first="Deuce" last="Allaway"] 5’10 175 23’ DB <a href="https://twitter.com/AllawayDeuce">Twitter</a></strong></em> Mr. Allaway gets off blocks to make the tackle by filling holes in run support. He did this on many occasions as Bishop McNamara brought its secondary closer to the line of scrimmage to help stop the run. This young man has the closing speed to cover sideline to sideline limiting the ball carrier to turn the corner and makes open-field tackles. <em><strong>Alex Willis 5’11 185 22’ LB <a href="https://twitter.com/thenxtw">Twitter</a></strong></em> Mr. Willis is involved in the linebacker core for Bishop McNamara. He fills holes in run support and can get pressure on the quarterback off the edge with the C gap pressure. This young man plays through the whistle where he utilizes his closing speed to cover sideline to sideline. Mr. Willis has a knack for the ball being involved in some capacity in most plays during Friday night's contest. <em><strong>Mel Hay 5’11 210 22’ LB <a href="https://twitter.com/Mel_hay00">Twitter</a></strong></em> Mr. Hay is another young man involved in the linebacker core. He fills holes in run support where he occasionally met the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage resulting in no gain. This young man also holds his gap responsibility where he would take on the blocker head-on to plug up the running lane. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Coal City</strong></em></span> <img class="wp-image-196624 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/IMG_5322-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="137" height="183" /> <em><strong>Aydan Murphey 22’ DL </strong></em> Mr. Murphey had himself a night on the defensive side of the ball for the Coalers. He was able to consistently penetrate the backfield disrupting the play. This young man is quick off the ball, pair this with his use of hands at the point of attack and you create problems for the opposing offense. &nbsp; <em><strong>Michael Gonzalez 23’ DL </strong></em> Mr. Gonzalez is the big man up front where he fills gaps in run support and holds his gap responsibilities for his team. This young man uses his hands at the point of attack which resulted in him getting off of blocks to make the tackle at the line of scrimmage. On passing downs, he fires off the ball mixing it up between a bull rush and a swim move to get past the offensive lineman bringing pressure on the opposing quarterback. <img class=" wp-image-196622 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/IMG_5320-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="144" height="193" /> <em><strong>Brady Best 22' LB</strong></em> Mr. Best has the closing speed to cover sideline to sideline extending plays horizontally giving his teammates time to rally to the ball. We also got glimpses of his ability to time his blitzes as there were a few times when he does this resulting in a loss on the play. Overall, his attacking playstyle is one to keep an eye on for the remainder of the season as the best is yet to come for Mr. Best. &nbsp; <hr /> <em>Be sure to follow @jamaskane regarding news &amp; information for Illinois High School Football,  @PrepRedzoneIL, and @PrepRedzone.</em>