Vote: Who should be SBLive's North Suncoast Florida high school football defensive player of the week (11/13/2023)?
The Florida High School Football Playoffs have begun and we continue our Player of the Week polls for areas all around the state. Teams started off the regular season with some great individual performances in the region quarterfinals.
As such, we have eight athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s North Suncoast Florida high school football defensive player of the week award from November 9-10, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected. Voting will conclude on Saturday, November 18th at 11:59 p.m. The winner will be announced in next week's poll.
Congratulations to last week's winner: Colton Ashwood of Hernando.
Here are this week's nominations:
Jaiden Barron, LB, Wiregrass Ranch: Leading the way on defense was Barron on the night. The linebacker tallied a team-high 14 tackles in a 45-27 win over Springstead.
Emil Drake, DB, Wiregrass Ranch: The defensive back made his presence known, racking up seven tackles and an interception against the Eagles.
Lukas Colella, LB, Zephyrhills: Colella came up to make tackles in the Bulldogs' 27-17 win over Cypress Creek. The linebacker made a team-high 13 tackles.
Shawn Smith, DB, Cypress Creek: Smith plays both sides of the ball, but made a big impact on defense and notched a team-high eight tackles in the loss to Zephyrhills.
Wedje Schoeppe, DB, River Ridge: The Royal Knights' defensive back stepped up in run support, making a team-high 13 tackles in a 36-0 loss to Vanguard.
Samuel Walls, LB, River Ridge: Walls closed out a solid high school football career by making 10 tackles and three for a loss in the loss to Vanguard.
Edwin Gonzales, DB, Gulf: The defensive back led the Buccaneers in tackles with eight in a 56-20 loss to Lake Wales.
Keaton Rhem, LB, Hudson: Rhem was Hudson's leading tackler in a 28-6 loss to Dunnellon, notching a team-high 10 takedowns.
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
