H.S. FOOTBALL: Brandon’s Beasts for Week 8
While there were a lot of big games this past week that had big effects on the winning and losing teams’ seasons, there were players in those games who played big roles who probably didn’t get to see their names in Saturday’s or Sunday’s editions of The Jackson Sun sports section.
That doesn’t make their contribution to the team any less important.
In fact, it could be more important because a running back can’t gain the first positive yard on a play if there’s not an offensive line there blocking the defense for him. It’s hard for a quarterback to make a pass if he’s spending every second after the snap running for his life because no one’s there to block the defensive line and linebackers.
And the offense can score all the points it wants to all night long, but if there’s not a defense on the team there to stop the opposing offense, then football would be a lot less fun to watch. It would be a constant track meet with helmets and a ball to see which team can run to the goal line the most times within a 48-minute time period.
So here are a few of those top performers from this past week. They are this week’s Brandon’s Beasts.
Reco Buchanan, Peabody: The Golden Tide had a big win this week, and Buchanan had a solo tackle, two assists, a tackle for a loss of six yards, two interceptions and one returned for a touchdown to help Peabody win.
Crockett County’s offensive line: The Cavaliers gained more than 500 yards of offense to stay unbeaten and clinch a top-two finish in District 13-AA. The guys up front who did most of the heavy lifting were Cody Richardson, Quinton White, Zach Sellars, Andy Steele and Landon Kail.
Jeremy Harris, McNairy Central: The defensive lineman had five solo tackles, all of which were for a loss, with two sacks, three assists, three quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a blocked field goal, and he caused the offensive lineman charged with blocking him to be flagged three times for holding.
Haywood’s senior linemen: Blake Moore, Zadderius Taylor and Breon Shaw were the main guys up front who paved the way for the Tomcats to gain 400 yards of offense in a victory over a traditional rival and kept the Tomcats in the running for a Class 4A playoff spot.
Blake Sweat, Adamsville: The junior defensive lineman had 14 tackles, with four coming for loss, and a pair of quarterback hurries. On the offensive side, he stacked up a couple of pancakes as well.
D.J. Wilkes, Liberty: The linebacker had 10 tackles in a big win for the Crusaders to clinch a district title on the road.
Brandon Shields, 425-9751
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