Alan Dell: Battle to be area's Mr. Sack Master heating up
There is a spirited battle going on to win the area's mythical yet coveted Mr. Sack Master Award.
Palmetto's DeAndre Washington and Zach Wyatt have recorded seven sacks apiece to stay a shade ahead of Dequan Williams of Southeast (6.5).
All three have a daunting task Friday night.
Washington and Wyatt are going against Braden River's Jacob Huesman, who was the least sacked quarterback in the area last year, gets rid of the ball quickly, and operates behind a stout offensive line.
Williams has a different dilemma. He is facing a Hardee team that prefers to run the ball and is averaging 39 rushing attempts per game compared to 13 passes.
Southeast has 75.5 TFL and has recorded 20 sacks. Williams has 16 TFL and Teriq Houston has recorded 12.5 TFL.
Palmetto quarterback Jack Allison is facing one of his toughest tests of the season against Braden River, which has nine sacks and 64.5 tackles for loss.
The Pirates have one of the most disruptive players in the area in linebacker Chase Balliette who has 17 TFL, three sacks and two interceptions. The Pirates lead the area with 18 interceptions
Palmetto has more than 50 TFL and 30 sacks and David Belvin has 15 TFL
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Manatee tops the area with 87 tackles for loss led by Mahlik Mills, who has 17 TFL and five sacks, and Emilio Gonzalez, who has 15 TFL, though he didn't start until midseason.
The Hurricanes defense is dealing with a dilemma that might leave coaches in a quandary. Manatee has gone to a running clock the last three games and seem destined to do it again for the next two. If you play defense, that cuts into your ability to accumulate stats. Last week, the Canes played basically a half-game.
But what can you do? You can't tell the offense to slow down, so you better get your sacks and TFL as quick as you can. Now that's motivation.
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Bradenton Christian has one of the most porous defenses in the area, giving up a whopping 316 points in seven games (45.1 avg), but linebacker Brett Gerber leads the area with 135 tackles. He is a good player, but you've got to believe his dad, BCS head coach Allen Gerber, would like to see others help with the tackles even if his son's numbers go down.
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Jett (perfect football name if there ever was one) leads Saint Stephen's with 60 tackles and has five sacks. Alex Virgilio, son of popular Lakewood Ranch girls soccer coach Guy Virgilio, leads Saint Stephen's with 10 TFL.
Braden Pyne tops IMG
with 7 TFL and 60 tackles. For the Ascenders, Ryan Bowman and Jack Camper each have five TFL. Chris McCarthy tops Out-Of-Door-Academy with seven TFL and and six sacks and Todd Humphrey has 5 TFL.
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Some Palmetto fans are upset that their team has to go on the road to play back-to-back games against Braden River and Venice, especially since the Tigers played those same teams on the road last year.
But Tigers head coach Dave Marino is taking the Aaron Rodgers approach and telling everyone to relax.
"It's a new two-year deal and we drew numbers out of a hat," Marino said. "That's how we got the matchups. It will balance out next year when we get those two games at home."
Alan Dell, Herald Sports writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056 or on Twitter @ADellSports.
This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Alan Dell: Battle to be area's Mr. Sack Master heating up ."