Vote: Who should be SBLive's Tampa Bay Florida high school football defensive player of the week (10/2/2023)?
High school football is back in the Sunshine State and so begins our Player of the Week polls for areas all around the state. Teams started off the regular season with some great individual performances in Week 6.
As such, we have 12 athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s Tampa Bay Defensive Football Player of the Week award from September 28-29, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected. Voting will conclude on Saturday, October 7 at 11:59 p.m. The winner will be announced in next week's poll.
Here are this week's nominations.
Clifton Stone, DL, St. Petersburg: The defensive lineman made plays everywhere, totaling seven tackles, three for loss, a sack and an interception in a 31-7 win over Northeast.
Sean Sevillano, DL, Clearwater Academy International: The Notre Dame commitment led the way against Brentwood Academy, notching 13 tackles, eight for loss and two sacks.
Dylan Freese, LB, Osceola: In the big win over rival Seminole, Freese had a team-high 18 tackles and three for loss.
Chase Jarrett, LB, Plant: The Panthers cruised by Strawberry Crest behind a strong defensive effort led by Jarrett, who made 10 tackles, an interception and blocked a field goal.
Tyrique Harris, LB, Clearwater Central Catholic: The linebacker led the defensive effort for the Marauders and had 2.5 sacks versus Carrollwood Day.
Manasseh Alexis, LB, Northeast: Alexis was all over the field in the Vikings' loss, notching 16 tackles and a sack.
William Miller, LB, Steinbrenner: Miller had a team-high 16 tackles in the Warriors' 37-36 loss to East Lake.
Brant Bovee, LB, Durant: Bovee notched a team-high 13 tackles, two for a loss and a sack in the Cougars' 28-27 win over Sumner.
Matthew Wilson, LB, Middleton: Mr. Wilson led the Tigers' defense in Middleton's 29-28 win over Chamberlain, notching three tackles for loss.
Cyler Ward, DE, Tampa Bay Tech: The defensive end totaled three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the Titans' 45-0 rout of Tampa Freedom.
Roymarr Thomas, DE, Armwood: Thomas was in Wharton's backfield a lot last week, nabbing a team-high three sacks in a 27-13 win.
Brady Messick, DL, Palm Harbor University: The defensive lineman had a big game in a 24-7 win over Sickles, totaling five tackles for loss and three sacks.
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
