Butler v. Rolesville Defensive Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was on the sideline on Friday night for the matchup between two ranked teams. The epic battle featured two of the top 2025 quarterback prospects. Rolesville stood up to the challenge and edged Butler, 21 - 19 for the statement win. The standouts listed caught my attention with their performances on the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Rolesville</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='817342' first='Russ' last='Sykes'] - DL</strong>, displayed good technique and good use of hands to control blockers while moving past them to make stops. He was quick out of his stance which gave him an advantage to go unblocked and pressure the quarterback on several plays. Russ is the leader of the defensive line which kept steady pressure on the quarterback throughout the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Isaiah Brown - DL</strong>, displayed good technique and use of hands to control blockers while moving past them for stops. He moved well in tight spaces to stop inside running plays on key sustained drives.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='662372' first='Zavion' last='Griffin-Haynes'] - DL</strong>, displayed quickness out of his stance and good use of hands to control blockers while moving past them for stops. His quickness and good technique gave him an advantage to go unblocked and pressure the quarterback on a few plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265089' first='Aidan' last='Pounds'] - LB</strong>, displayed patience to let the play develop before reacting quickly to close in on the ball carrier for stops. He displayed good lateral movement and speed to cover ground quickly to make stops. Aidan is linebacker unit which did a good job of containing the ball carrier from big gains.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='947144' first='Jovon' last='Wright'] - DB</strong>, displayed good change of directions and did a good job of tracking the ball while covering receivers. He displayed speed to contain receivers and good use of arms, making it difficult to complete a pass. He displayed very good technique along with follow through on tackles made in the open field. Javon plays with physicality and makes a highlight tackle of the game on the quarterback. He had several key interceptions throughout the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='345341' first='Kam' last='Manley'] - DB</strong>, displayed good change of directions and tracking the ball while covering receivers. He displayed good recovery speed while defending receivers, which led to a few interceptions. Kam and Javon were dominant players in the defensive secondary throughout the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Butler</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='693067' first='Jadyn' last='Farmer'] - DL</strong>, displayed good technique and good use of hands to control blockers while moving past them to make stops. He was quick out of his stance to make contact with blockers and pressuring the quarterback on a few plays. He displayed speed to close in quickly on the ball carrier for stops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='911166' first='Janoah' last='Mack'] - DL</strong>, displayed good technique and good use of hands to control blockers while moving past them for stops. He moved well in tight spaces to shut down inside running plays. Janoah is an agile defensive lineman for his size and is quick out of his stance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='693045' first='Ian' last='Coleman'] - LB</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='351828' first='Isaiah' last='Houston']</strong> <strong>- LB</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='664529' first='Nick' last='Darling']</strong> <strong>- LB</strong> displayed good lateral movement and speed to close quickly on the ball carrier for stops. They did a good job of containing Rolesville high-powered running attack throughout the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jeremy Nixon - DB</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='895827' first='Phillip' last='Harris'] - DB</strong>, displayed good change of directions and speed while covering receivers throughout the game. They displayed good technique on tackles made in the open field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->