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<p>Defense has always been my favorite side of the ball.</p>
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<p>Some of my favorite football players of all time played on the defensive side of the ball. Immediately, these names come to mind, as those who inspired me during my young years as a football fan: Mike Singletary, Reggie White, Ronnie Lott, Joey Browner, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Karl Mecklenburg, Chris Doleman, Bruce Smith, Randy White, Jack Del Rio, and on and on.</p>
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<p>For the remainder of this prep football season, I will be featuring players on the defensive side regularly.</p>
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<p>We are halfway through the season, and four games are enough time to begin collecting enough statistical information to really start assessing who is on their way to a great season.</p>
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<p>This week, I will have multiple reports featuring athletes who have reached at least 50 tackles in four games and thus are at least halfway to reaching 100 total tackles for the season.</p>
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<p>I will start with the Class of 2026. This is not an all-inclusive list, as not all teams post public stats. Tackle totals for this report were located on MaxPreps.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229100' first='Ashton' last='Wynn']</strong>, DB, 5'10”, 140, Trego, ‘26</p>
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<p>Wynn unofficially leads all Kansas seniors in tackles with 72 in four games. Wynn is ranked No. 462 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026. He has also recorded three fumbles and made two interceptions.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248312' first='Cass' last='Smith']</strong>, LB, 5'10”, 165, Trego, ‘26</p>
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<p>A second Trego Golden Eagle is on this list. Smith has registered 66 total tackles through four games. He also has two quarterback sacks and two fumble recoveries. He is ranked No. 387 overall in the class of 2026.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1515810' first='Carson' last='Schartz']</strong>, LB, 5'10”, 165, Ellis, '26</p>
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<p>Schartz leads Ellis in tackles with 57 through four games. He is ranked No. 450 overall by Prep Redzone Kansas. He has also registered four tackles for lost yards and 2.5 quarterback sacks.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1515799' first='Max' last='Bottorff']</strong>, LB, 6'0”, 180, Atchison County, ‘26</p>
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<p>Bottorff leads the Atchison County Tigers in tackles with 53. He has also tallied five TFLs and two quarterback sacks. He is ranked No. 435 overall by Prep Redzone Kansas.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1658264' first='Gage' last='Koenigs']</strong>, LB, 5'11”, 210, Goddard, ‘26</p>
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<p>Koenigs is the first big-school athlete to appear on the list. Through four games, he has recorded 50 total tackles, seven TFLs, and two fumble recoveries. He is ranked No. 373 in the Kansas Class of 2026.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1452348' first='Andre' last='Johnson']</strong>, LB, 6'0”, 205, Rossville, ‘26</p>
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<p>Johnson is ranked No. 239 overall by Prep Redzone Kansas. He leads Rossville with 50 tackles in four games. He has one TFL and one quarterback sack through four games.</p>
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Defense has always been my favorite side of the ball.
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