Week 5 Top Performers: Defense

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Take a look at some of the top defensive performances from week 5.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>William Simpson, 2026, LB, Deer Valley – </strong>Recorded 7 tackles (6 solo), including 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 pass breakup in a 14–27 loss to Thunderbird.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Abraham Ortega, 2026, DL, Scottsdale Christian – </strong>Eight total tackles with four tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and recovered a fumble in the 62-6 win over Chino Valley.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603428' first='Jayvion' last='Gilbert']-Rojas, 2027, ATH, Sahuaro – </strong>Gilbert-Rojas has been a big time defensive playmaker for Sahuaro through the first half of the season. In the 44-6 win over Sabino he totaled 11 tackles (7 solo), two tackles for loss, and one interception.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trace Overton, 2026, DB, Prescott – </strong>In the 48-0 win over Mingus, Overton filled the stat sheet with eight total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Manny Gomezllanos, 2027, DB, Tolleson – </strong>Gomezllanos picked off two balls and had five tackles in the 43-14 win over Willow Canyon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='883325' first='Anitoni' last='Tahi'], 2027, DL, Basha – </strong>Was a constant disruption to the Queen Creek offense making four tackles for loss and adding a sack while totaling five tackles in the 35-13 win over Queen Creek.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Michael Raner, 2028, LB, Hamilton – </strong>The sophomore is having a breakout year in the strong Hamilton defense. In the win over Centennial he had 11 total tackles (six solo) with two tackles for loss, one sack, and a fumble recovery. In five games, he's got 51 tackles, nine TFL, one sack, and two interceptions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/RanerMitch/status/1972054389138641008","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/RanerMitch/status/1972054389138641008 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dax White, 2027, LB, Higley – </strong>10 total tackles (six solo) with two tackles for loss, and two sacks in the loss to Mountain View.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Isaac Spendlove, 2026, DE, Arizona College Prep – </strong>Best game of the season for the Arizona College Prep DE finishing with 10 total tackles, four tackles for loss, and a sack in the 44-21 win over Gilbert. Also had two PBU.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/I_Spendlove80/status/1972752464605851829","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/I_Spendlove80/status/1972752464605851829 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1682199' first='Cooper' last='Kraus'], 2026, LB, Buena – </strong>Another massive game for the Kraus finishing with 18 total tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack in the loss to Marana.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/cooperkraus52/status/1972888787077505233","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/cooperkraus52/status/1972888787077505233 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='884456' first='Ryder' last='Noche'], 2027, DB, Brophy – </strong>Two picks for the junior DB adding four tackles and a tackle for loss in the 27-10 win over Red Mountain. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BrophyAthletics/status/1972023811563487474","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BrophyAthletics/status/1972023811563487474 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->