West Mecklenburg at Garinger: Defensive Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Mecklenburg picked up their first win of the season, defeating Garinger 24-7 in a pivotal game for playoff seeding. There were some standout defensive players on both sides in this one, and we'll take a look at them in this article.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1687735"],"_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-690789033877c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Antonio was impressive in this game - he has some incredible burst off the line of scrimmage, and ties that with some nice hand usage in order to instantly shed blocks at the snap. Antonio had a fumble recovery and several tackles for loss - showing how impactful he was for his team's defense. Antonio has great athleticism and speed for his size as well, and he played offensive line for his team in this game on top of that. I spoke with Antonio after the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/pepman704/status/1984108657437765839","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/pepman704/status/1984108657437765839 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1259949"],"_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-6907890338880"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Marcus is the lone Queen City Senior Bowl selection for the Hawks, and he didn't get a ton of opportunities to defend the pass in this game, since Garinger was heavily ground-oriented in their attack. However, Marcus did a very good job coming up consistently in run support and making a couple of nice solo tackles. Marcus has committed to Concord University and has grown physically - now at 6'0 and 185 pounds, so he is preparing for the next level already. I'll be excited to see Marcus in an All-Star game setting in a few weeks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1788242"],"_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-690789033891c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Tyson showed in this game that he's ready to move into our next Class of 2027 Rankings update. From his middle linebacker position, it seemed like Tyson was in on almost every play for the Hawks. Tyson easily had double-digit tackles in this one, along with a nice sack on a blitz from depth in the 2nd half. Tyson has kept the Hawks in some close losses against playoff teams earlier this season with his consistent play. I spoke with Tyson after the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/pepman704/status/1984109118563471575","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/pepman704/status/1984109118563471575 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- /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":"Delorence Henderson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"160","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2495","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Garinger","_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-6907890338a82"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">One of the bright spots for the Wildcats in this one was Henderson, who had a nice Pick 6 in the 3rd quarter to help the Wildcats get back into the game, cutting the lead to 16-7 at the time. On the play, Delorence played disciplined in zone coverage, kept his eyes on the quarterback when he rolled out of the pocket, and made a nice catch, high-pointing the football. On the return, his teammates did a good job blocking for him, and Henderson showed some nice speed and agility getting the ball into the end zone. </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":"Mashon Daniels","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"160","_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":"Garinger","_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-6907890338bb6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Mashon was the leading tackler per the stats from the Wildcats, with 9 total tackles and 2 tackles for loss. I was impressed with how Mashon got to the football - he was scraping well on the off-tackle runs that West Meck was employing in their offense. Mashon also did a good job overall of getting to the football with good speed and effort. I'll be interested to see how he continues to develop in the offseason. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->