Top Single-Game Senior Defensive Performances

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defense wins Championships, and four of the five losing NYSPHAA State Champion teams scored 14 points or less in the Championship game, including a year of semifinal games in which most losing teams scored in the single digits. There were several standout performers this season, and while defensive stats can sometimes be hard to come by, through some digging, these guys stood out as top individual game performances this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DL [player_tooltip player_id='521427' first='Jazier' last='Fluker'] vs Niagara Falls</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fluker was consistent all season on a strong Bennett defense; his standout performance came against Niagara Falls, where he posted 8 Tackles, 5 TFLs, 3 Sacks, and 3 Hurries. Fluker was in the backfield consistently through the year, and his performance against Niagara Falls was one of his six multi-sack games. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/18206588/651042c6da5c0f06102efe61">Fluker's Highlights vs. Niagara Falls</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DL [player_tooltip player_id='528722' first='Ryan' last='Cole'] vs. Niskayuna</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cole finished his career for Somers with major career accolades; in his final season, he was named Class A POY and had his second straight double-digit sack season. Cole's top performance came against one of the most talented teams he faced last season in Niskayuna, where he had 7 Tackles, 4 TFLs, and 4 Sacks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15832376/6564ab6f06614005242f181b">Cole's Highlights vs. Niksayuna</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='521448' first='Perrion' last='Williams'] vs. Canandaigua</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='521448' first='Perrion' last='Williams'], who currently is one of the most dominant runners in T&amp;F in New York, also had a strong season for East. Williams was named 2nd Team All-Greater Rochester and had several performances that filled up the stat sheet. Williams had 16 Total Tackles, 9 Solo, 4 TFL, and 1 Sack. Williams had 8 games of double-digit tackles all season, consistently filling up the state sheet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/18190513/651a407e0c536509a4246651">Williams Mid-Szn Highlights </a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='528480' first='Matthew' last='Risley'] vs. Yonkers Force</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Risley, a model of consistency for powerhouse Carmel, was the heart of their 2023 defense. Against Yonkers Force, Risley had 13 Solo Tackles, 5 TFLs, 2 Sacks, and a FF. Creating negative plays and turnovers gets you noticed, and not many did that better than Risley throughout the fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='521426' first='Kahmari' last='Cook'] vs. McQuaid</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='521426' first='Kahmari' last='Cook'], the heart of the Bennett defense, had a strong senior season and several standout games; the one that stood out the most to me was against McQuaid, where he had 15 Solo Tackles, 3 TFLs, and 1 Sack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/18219922/651eeeb990f9420b0c33af3a">Cook's Midseason Highlights</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='515009' first='Branden' last='Raines'] vs. Xaverian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Raines had a really strong season with 19 TFL and 12 Sacks, and his best game came against Xaverian, where he ended up in the backfield plenty. 5 Tackles, 5 TFL, 3 Sacks, and 5 Hurries is an efficient day in the backfield and showcased that Raines was one of the best pass rushers in the NYCHSFL. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15186882/65351be6a6765707989ba535">Raines Highlights vs. Xaverian</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB [player_tooltip player_id='521452' first='Luke' last='Lavello'] vs. Suffern</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='521452' first='Luke' last='Lavello'] had one of the more unique stat lines in this article when he had 2 Tackles and 3 INTs against Suffern. It's not often a player has more INTs than Tackles, but Lavello collected 3 of his 7 total INTs in one game. Those 7 INTs tied him for third in NYS on Maxpreps. This past fall was a noteworthy performance from Lavello, who had just committed to RPI. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14473099/653707a3ab9d4605581ebe76">Lavello Highlights vs. Suffern</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB [player_tooltip player_id='528478' first='Damien' last='Santiago'] vs. Shenendehowa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Santiago had a couple of standout games as a talented two-way player for Carmel. His best game defensively came against Shenendehowa, where he had 3 INTs and 176 return yards to go along with them. His performance also included one of the most impressive Pick 6s we saw all season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15845563/657337a95ca8f40588da7f07">Santiago INT return vs Shenendehowa</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Best Defensive Performance of the Season</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SAF Deonte Douglas vs. St. Anthony's</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Deonte Douglas had a great season and was named NYCHSFL DPOY; it makes sense that the DPOY in the toughest league in New York also had some performances that would be considered the best defensive performances of the year. In an all-time shootout between Stepinac and St. Anthony's, Douglas had 21 Tackles, 13 Solo Tackles, 1 INT, and 2 PBUs, an all-around performance for the best safety in New York. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12874077/653d3cd82ab1070a883b3283">Douglas' Highlights vs. St. Anthony's</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->