Which Defenders Were Stat Monsters in Week 8?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What players across the state put up big numbers in week 8?&nbsp; Here are your Offensive Stat Monsters!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='1956032' first='Jonas' last='Owens'] (Huntley – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The egde rusher racked up 2 sacks, 1 TFL, and a strip sack along with several other tackles against McHenry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB Darrell McCullough (Lockport – 2027)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Big game for the front seven junior defender who had a pair of sacks, 2 TFLs, and more pressures on the QB.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB Jaxson Soliz (Moline – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Moline linebacker racked up 7 tackles, 1 interception, and a TFL in week 8.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB Drew Phelps (Moline – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Phelps had 10 tackles, 4 TFLs, and 1 sack on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='1689728' first='Isaac' last='Beenders'] (Morton – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Morton linebacker returned from injury to record 2 sacks and 5 TFLs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='1670352' first='Omari' last='Taylor'] (Bradley Bourbonnais – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taylor was a beast on defense with 2 sacks, 3 TFL, and 2 PBUs vs Lincoln Way West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB Jayden Jones (Bremen – 2028)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2028 defensive back had 4 tackles and a pass deflection.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB Cortlen Blake (Champaign Centennial – 2028)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blake had 4 tackles and 1 PBU in the secondary on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB [player_tooltip player_id='811647' first='Jake' last='Thies'] (Fenwick – 2027)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Fenwick defensive back had 11 tackles, 1 interception, 3 TFL, 2 PBUs on defense.&nbsp; Then on offense he notched 100 yards and a score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB Javonte Williams (Wheaton St. Francis – 2027)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams racked up 2 interceptions on Friday for Wheaton St. Francis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB Jaiden Blunt (St. Rita – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blunt had a pair of interceptions along with 2 other pass break ups and a pair of TFLs vs St. Pats in a win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ATH David Khamoo (Niles West – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Productive game on both sides of the ball as defensively he had two forced fumbles, 3 TFL, 8 tackles, 1 punt block, and a QB pressure.&nbsp; Offensively he caught 6 passes for 57 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1926155' first='Silas' last='Steffen'] (Morton - 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Steffen had an interception, 5 tackles, and several big runs while holding down Alabama commit Sutter to 0 catches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->