Vote: Who should be the South Florida Defensive Player of the Week (11/6/2023)?
With the playoffs upon us, the teams that are most likely to advance are those who can wrap up on defense.
It’s no secret that strong defense increases a team's chance of winning a championship.
South Florida, as always, is filled with standouts on the defensive side of the ball. We just witnessed it again last week, with pick sixes and high tackle totals.
SBLive Sports Florida now asks you to decide who is the South Florida Defensive Player of the Week in our regular season finale poll.
Vote as often as you’d like and spread the word! Voting will end on Saturday, November 11th at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced in next week's poll.
(Reminder: Players, coaches, schools are encouraged to send their nominees to @JoeFrisaro on X)
Congratulations to last week's winner: Camden Franklin of Piper.
Here are this week’s nominees are:
Gabriel Birnbaum, LB, Monarch: One of the top defenders in Broward County, Birnbaum closed out his regular season with three sacks and four tackles for losses in Monarch’s 14-0 win over Deerfield Beach. Birnbaum is committed to Florida Atlantic University.
Germaine Carter, DL, Miami Norland: A dominant interior lineman, Carter had two sacks in the Vikings’ 54-0 shutout of Killian.
Amari Deer, DB, Westminster Academy: On the second play of the game, Westminster Academy set the tone by creating a turnover. Deer’s interception set up the Lions’ first touchdown enroute to a 41-20 victory over NSU University. Deer also made a big return on special teams, setting up another touchdown. The Lions now advance to the independent conference state championship on Nov. 11.
Denzel Johnson, S, Chaminade-Madonna: The Lions closed out their regular season with a 57-0 blowout at Lakewood (St. Petersburg). Johnson had 11 tackles as well as an interception.
Julian Mendez, LB, Western: The Wildcats took care of business by beating Plantation, 36-14. Mendez had two sacks, six tackles and three tackles for a loss.
Carlos Morales, LB, West Broward: The Bobcats held off Everglades, 23-14, and Morales was a stalwart on defense, recording 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops, and a sack.
Eric Rodriguez, DB, Archbishop Carroll: In Class 1M action, Archbishop Carroll dominated Palmer Trinity, 42-7. The Bulldogs received a defensive touchdown from Rodriguez, who returned an interception 16 yards for a score.
Evan Tempro, LB, Westminster Academy: The senior is drawing plenty of interest from Division 1 colleges as a receiver and linebacker. In Westminster Academy’s 41-20 win over NSU University, Tempro had 11 tackles, including one for a loss.
Bryce Webb, LB, Cardinal Gibbons: The Class 2M Chiefs had a rough time in its season finale, losing 34-14 to Clearwater Central Catholic, one of the top teams in Class 1M. In the setback, Webb was a standout for Cardinal Gibbons with 11 tackles.
Jaheim Williams, CB, Miramar: In all three phases, Miramar impressed in a 53-23 road win against South Broward. The Patriots have locked up a Class 3M playoff spot, and defensively in their latest win, Williams got into the scoring with an interception for a touchdown.
