And the bobblehead goes to...

You'll never guess who had the most tackles in last Friday's victory over Patton. Surprise! It was Michael Shook, again. For the record, Shook had 18 total tackles, half of which were solos. Second on the list was sophomore Tyshon Chisholm with nine total tackles, including three tackles-for-loss and a sack. There was a tie for third place between juniors Alex Martin and Tyler Barnette.

Even though Shook had the most tackles I'm going to award the Terrible Terry Tate Defensive MVP Award this week to Alex Martin. It was a close call between Alex and Tyshon. But I have been disappointed this season by the overall performance of the defensive line. So I was thrilled to see major improvement on Friday night. This is a very good indicator of the D-Line's potential. In addition to his eight tackles Alex also recovered a fumble and even broke up a pass attempt. Excellent work.

I would also like to recognize the efforts of some players who made the most of their opportunities against Patton. It was good to see sophomore Alex Williams get some quality playing time in a varsity game. He wound up with four tackles, three of which were solos. Williams, of course, has been a stalwart of the JV defense all season. I really appreciate his approach to the game and the intensity he brings to the field. It was also good to see Branden Andersen, Greylan Steele, Dalton Hudson and Jordan Thompson getting a chance to hit 'em some licks out there. Reggie Robinson had a solo tackle, too.

Although I was pleased by the effort put forth I am still troubled by the difficulty we had stopping Patton's Winfield Johnson. Yes, the freshman fullback is a load at 212 pounds but still - he is a freshman. If tackling a freshman is a problem then it could be a very long night when Quin Smith hits town this Friday night. Clearly this would be a good time to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Hibriten's relentless rushing attack. Pressure will have to be applied in order to disrupt the triple option. That's the mission. Impossible? Show up at the stadium on Friday night and find out for yourself!