Vote: Who should be the South Florida Defensive Player of the Week (10/23/2023)?
It’s only fitting that the biggest game last week was a defensive tussle.
In the GMAC (Greater Miami Athletic Conference) championship game, Miami Norland held off Columbus, 16-3, in a game where yards and points were hard to come by.
Defense, as they say, wins championships. Both these Miami-Dade powers promise to compete for state titles.
But strong defense was not just confined to Norland-Columbus at Nathaniel Traz Powell Stadium. Big time defensive plays were on display throughout South Florida.
Now it’s time to recognize the top performers in our SBLive Sports South Florida Defensive Player of the Week poll.
Vote as often as you’d like, and spread the word! Voting ends Saturday, October 28th at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced in next week's poll.
(Reminder: Players, coaches and schools are encouraged to submit their nominees to @JoeFrisaro on X).
Congratulations to last week's winner: Ezekiel "EJ" Marceling of Miami-Central.
This week’s candidates are below:
Michael Harbeck, DL, Pembroke Pines Charter: After losing three straight games, the Jaguars got back to their winning ways, defeating Nova, 27-8. Defensively, several players were worthy of consideration. We’re going with Harbeck, who had four tackles for losses, and recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
Brendan Leal, LB, Western: In another defensive struggle, Western held off Miramar, 14-6. Leal factored into the scoring. The linebacker blocked a punt that was recovered by Zyon Pressley in the end zone for a touchdown.
Belal “Juju” Logan, DB, NSU University: For the second straight week, Logan is up for our top weekly honor. In University School’s 42-0 win over Dr. Joaquin Garcia, Logan returned a punt for a touchdown.
Willis McGahee IV, LB, Columbus: Son of former NFL player, Willis McGahee, McGahee IV made his presence felt all night for the Explorers against Norland. Committed to Nebraska, McGahee’s biggest impact came in the final minute of the first half. Norland was up by nine points and driving deep into Columbus territory. At that point, McGahee made three straight sacks to close out the half.
Kymani Morales, DE, American Heritage: The Patriots stayed hot with a 38-17 victory over Naples. Morales recorded seven tackles, with two for losses and a sack.
Max Mustell, DB, St. Thomas Aquinas: In the third quarter, with Monarch driving and attempting a comeback, Mustell had a key interception in a 35-19 win.
Ivan Pagan, LB, Cardinal Gibbons: In the Chiefs’ 31-19 win against Boca Raton, Pagan had a pick-six of 20 yards.
Louisdens Paul, LB, Miami Springs: Credit goes to Paul for pulling off something you don’t see often, a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in a loss to Hialeah American. The sophomore has close to 100 tackles on the season.
Kaleb Stewart, LB, Chaminade-Madonna: The senior, who is committed to Connecticut, was all over the field for the Lions in a 64-0 shutout of Avant Garde Academy, making 10 tackles, with three for losses.
Larry Tarver, DB, Miami Norland: As impressive as the Vikings defense is, we actually could list several players. This week, Tarver gets the nod for his six tackles and interception that iced the Vikings’ victory over Columbus. After Norland built a 13-point lead late in the fourth quarter, the Explorers were driving to near midfield when Tarver made the game-clinching pick.
