2023 Championships – Saturdays Best Defensive Performances

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Championship Saturday featured four incredible games that all came down to the 4th quarter. Amongst these games came a lot of offensive points, but between the lines there were some great individual defensive performances. This article will outline 8 defenders that stood out to me during Saturday's four games! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>DB/LB | Kolby Masserant | Whiteford | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14777189/Kolby-Masserant/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STATS: 13 Tackles</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At his defensive back position, Kolby was a force in attempting to stop a high-powered Wing-T offense. While I was on the field during the first half, I noticed Kolby being a vocal leader. He was a reactive defender all game, finished his tackles, and recorded an impressive 13 tackles while getting involved on offense. There was one play in particular where I saw him pop a big defensive lineman on a lead block- this kid is fearless. Whiteford may have lost, but Kolby should keep his head up with the day he had on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LB | Ayden Ferqueron | Almont |<a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15013131/Ayden-Ferqueron">&nbsp;Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STATS: 15 tackles (9solo)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The below segment is taken from my <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/offensive-explosion-sees-kingsley-defeat-almont-in-d6-final/">Kingsley vs. Almont article</a>. Refer there for more standouts! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even though Almont got beat at the line of scrimmage, the linebackers got some work done. First off, Ayden passes the eye test as a muscular 6'1 195lb linebacker. He's as physical as they come and he flew to the football. Definitely not afraid to hit! His hudl shows what I'm talking about- he's a physical player and a good tackler. He can improve with his athleticism and size, but there's no doubt he was a key player in this championship run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LB/RB |&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='899539' first='Chase' last='Battani']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/chase-battani/"></a>&nbsp;| Almont |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16445033/Chase-Battani">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STATS: 13 Tackles (8solo)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The below segment is taken from my <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/offensive-explosion-sees-kingsley-defeat-almont-in-d6-final/">Kingsley vs. Almont article</a>. Refer there for more standouts! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He's another one of those small school gritty players who has a higher workload than almost all big school players. Defensively, he was another LB that was flying to the ball. Although Kingsley put up a lot of points, they didn't have many explosive plays, and that's because of Chase and this linebacker group. If he were to attend some camps this offseason, he could get some D3 attention if he tests well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LB | [player_tooltip player_id='602239' first='Darekeo' last='Speech'] | Muskegon | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17370944/Darekeo-Speech/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STATS: 8 Tackles</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Big Red defense had an incredible day, holding a De La Salle team that averaged 38PPG to just 21. A big part of that effort came down to the work of linebacker Darkeo Speech. Speech totaled 8 tackles on the day, but the stats don't measure the focus and effort I saw in him. Speech was flying to the football and he was delivering massive hits. De La Salle simply was not able to establish any run game whatsoever, and DLS Head Coach Dan Rohn said that was because of excellent linebacker play from guys like Speech. This was the best game I've ever seen Speech play (and I've seen him quite a few times). The best part is he'll be back with the Big Reds next season! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LB | Da'Shaun Wallace-Oaks | Muskegon | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17370886/DaShaun-WallaceOakes/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STATS: 8 Tackles</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Everything that I said about Speech can be said about Wallace-Oaks. The best game I've ever seen him play, and he was flying to the football all night long. He totaled 8 tackles, and also accounted for 1 sack. He was another big reason why De La Salle could not establish any sort of run game. Truly hats off to Wallace-Oaks and Speech for helping shut down arguably the best offense in Michigan.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>DT | [player_tooltip player_id='253308' first='Chris' last='Jones'] | Muskegon | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16138166/Chris-Jones/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='253308' first='Chris' last='Jones'] is worth shouting out here. Chris is a high-upside interior defensive lineman who is bound to make a few big plays every game. I honestly didn't watch him as closely as I would have liked, I know I heard his name quite a bit. He totaled 5 tackles and 1 forced fumble; a pretty good day considering he's an interior D-Lineman facing a very pass-heavy offense! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>--</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>The Muskegon DBs also played pretty dang well. I didn't watch them too closely, but I remember <strong>Da'Carion Taylor</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1290446' first='Mhakai' last='Lenox-Brooks']</strong> being in on some good </em><i>coverage</i>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1096276,"width":"431px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/MG_4743-crop-1537x1009-1701009637.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1096276" style="width:431px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='1290446' first='Mhakai' last='Lenox-Brooks'] celebrating an incomplete pass</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>--</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LB/DL | DeWayne Williams | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16384271/Dewayne-Williams-III/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STATS: 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 TFL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a day it was for DeWayne, especially in the first half. I can't tell you how many times DeWayne got into the Muskegon backfield during the opening stages. De La Salle used him in several stunt and blitz packages, and they worked to perfection early on. His speed was enough to rush around blockers and get himself in the backfield a ton. 10 tackles obviously indicates that he was a force in the run game as well. There were several plays where DeWayne got blown back quite a bit by Muskegon's elite O-Line, so he needs to work a bit on anchoring himself. Still, with a great offseason, we could be looking at another great D2/D1 college prospect from De La Salle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LB | Sam Wakula | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15063741/Sam-Wakula/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like DeWayne, Sam was a force early on in this game. Credit Sam's IQ, effort, and the defensive scheme. Sam was flying to the football early on and attacked Muskegon's ballcarriers before they could get a step in. Sam could further improve on some athleticism, but overall I think he's a very well-rounded linebacker. I remember thinking the same thing about Sam during week 2 when De La Salle defeated Muskegon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sam currently holds several D3 offers. My gut tells me he's a D2 guy! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->