De Smet vs. Cardinal Ritter: Defensive Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we get deeper into the month of October, we have had a very exciting season of high school football in Missouri so far. This past Friday, I had the opportunity to head out to De Smet for their highly anticipated matchup against Cardinal Ritter. While both teams showed promise, Cardinal Ritter was able to pull away in for a very impressive 28-3 win. Although there was a ton of talent on display on both teams, some players stood out above the rest. After already covering the offensive side of the ball, here are my defensive top performers from Friday's game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["328114"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671aa249e5e41"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='328114' first='Charles' last='Brooks III'] is a player who has been high on my radar for a while now and continued to impress on Friday. He lined up at defensive end where he was very disruptive against the run. Brooks showed the ability to read the play quickly then fight through blocks to get to the ball carrier in a hurry to make the tackle. He finished Friday's game with six tackles. Brooks also showed the ability to rush the passer, coming away with one sack. Charles is committed to Northern Illinois where I can see him finding a key role on their defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jayden McGhee","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2406","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Cardinal Ritter","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671aa45b8f6ec"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Another Cardinal Ritter defensive lineman who stood out on Friday was Jayden McGhee. McGhee lined up at defensive tackle where he was very disruptive as a pass rusher. He exploded out of his stance and was able to use his strength and pass rush moves to drive right through opposing offensive linemen on his way to the quarterback. McGhee finished the game with two sacks. He also showed the ability to stop the run, finishing the game with five tackles. Jayden doesn't currently hold any offers but he should be a player to keep an eye on this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1118571"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671aa818c5c17"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1118571' first='Vi'Naz' last='Cobb'] is a player who has been on my radar for a while now and continued to make an impact on Friday. He lined up at strong safety where he showed the ability to rush the passer as a blitzer, timing the snap count perfectly to get into the backfield untouched. Cobb finished the game with one sack. He also showed the ability to run with receivers in man coverage and was impressive against the run, finishing the game with seven tackles. Cobb is committed to UNLV where I can see him making a big impact in their secondary. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["188605"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671aaea44b9cf"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Another Cardinal Ritter defensive back who stood out on Friday was Tyron Steed. Steed lined up at free safety where he was very reliable in coverage. He did a great job of reading the quarterback and flowing through the secondary to put himself in a position to make a play. Steed finished the game with one interception. He also showed the ability to fill the lane and provide support against the run, finishing the game with six tackles. Tyron is committed to Ball State where I can see him making a big impact at the next level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1112565"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671aaea44ba4e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1112565' first='Titan' last='Davis'] continued to show that he is one of the most talented players in the state during Friday's game. Despite the loss, Davis was very disruptive against the run from the defensive end spot. He showed the ability to read the play then shed blocks quickly and get to the ball carrier in a hurry to make the tackle. Davis also proved to be reliable as a pass rusher, using his speed and strength to blow by opposing offensive tackles on his way to the quarterback. Titan currently holds several Power 4 offers and I expect more to come his way as he is a high-caliber defensive end prospect. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Bryant Pool Jr","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"195","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"De Smet","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671aaea44bb4c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">My final defensive top performer from Friday's game is Bryant Pool Jr. Pool lined up at outside linebacker where he was very reliable against the run. He did a great job of reading the play quickly then using his speed to flow to the ball carrier in a hurry to make the tackle. Bryant finished Friday's game with 12 tackles. He also showed the ability to make plays in pass coverage, coming away with an interception. Pool currently holds offers from Benedictine College, Lincoln, Mid America Nazarene, Missouri Western, and Truman State, and I expect more to come his way as he has the talent to play at the next level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->