First Round Playoff Game Balls: Catawba River

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defense took center stage as the linebackers were all over the field making plays for their team in the first round of the playoffs in the Catawba River Region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jayce Joseph </strong>| LB | Northwestern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojans' defense was stout in a 57-0 shutout win over Laurens in the first round on Friday. They held the Raiders to -5 yards of offense for the entire game and held them to six first downs. Joseph led the team in tackles as he had 6.5 tackles for loss along with 2 sacks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605531' first='Will' last='Massey'] </strong>had 3 tackles for loss while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360156' first='Andre' last='Pickett'] </strong>had 3.5 tackles for a loss, as they were second and third on the team on the night – as has been a recurring theme all season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1271263' first='KJ' last='Burg'] </strong>| LB | South Pointe&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Class of 2027 prospect got the chance to get snaps in the Stallions' first round 49-7 win over Riverside. He forced a fumble while finishing with 9 total tackles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/kj_burg/status/1720923155814871486?s=20","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/kj_burg/status/1720923155814871486?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trey Wanger </strong>| LB | York</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wanger is going to be a tough matchup for opposing offensive linemen, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/10-under-the-radar-2024s-to-watch-this-postseason/">as we mentioned in our 2024 Under The Radar prospects to watch.</a> The way he is able to rush and defeat blocks with an impressive combination of speed and power is fun to watch and that was on display in the Cougars' 26-17 win over Riverside on Friday. His motor is always running and he won't stop until he gets to the quarterback. He is quick off the line once the ball is snapped.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/TreyWanger/status/1720813747223028097?s=20","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/TreyWanger/status/1720813747223028097?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589053' first='DeMaurion' last='Stewart'] </strong>| LB | York</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stewart (pictured above) made some impressive tackles out in space in the Cougars' first round playoff win on Friday. He made full form tackles to bring the ball carrier down. He also rushed the quarterback well as there were two throws on his film that he affected the throw, forcing an incompletion. His counterpart, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142644' first='Najib' last='Yunusah'] </strong>did an excellent job in coverage as well, staying stride for stride with the receivers to force an incompletion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13321911/654640220dbff90aacec850e' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-654851e07c49a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='995603' first='Brody' last='Rowan'] </strong>| DE | Clover</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rowan's ability to stop the run from his defensive end spot is fun to watch. He can plug the running lanes quickly and fights quickly to be able to get into the backfield once the ball is snapped. He even ran down a ball carrier from behind, which is a credit to his hustle and a motor that is running at all times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16007183/65478cfdb3d3030adcc9c03d' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-654851e07c4ca"} /-->