Video: Anthony Hines III's highlights vs. Plano High School
See the Plano East standout who was second in the nation in total tackles.
The Texas football season is in to the state finals. The players who are still playing are continuing to rack up big numbers this season. Below are the defensive leaders in the state and where they rank nationally in individual categories.
TOTAL TACKLESLandry Kershaw, Sr., Bishop Lynch (Dallas) No. 1Kershaw was the ring leader of the defense that helped the Friars win a TAPPS state title. He leads the nation by a wide margin with 270 tackles, averaging 19.3 per game. He never had less than 11 in a game and had eight games in the 20s, including a 27-tackle performance midseason.
Bishop Lynch's Landry Kershaw leads the nation in total tackles with 270.
Photo by Kyle Dantzler
Hines is tops in the country by averaging 22.3 tackles per game. He finished his final high school season with 245 in just 11 contests. He added 38 tackles for loss and six sacks. He had an amazing 31-tackle performance late in the year.
Isaias Gonzalez, Sr., Banquete No. 3Gonzalez closed out his career with 241 tackles in 11 games. Amazingly, he amassed 39 tackles (20 solo, 19 assists) in a season-ending loss to Nixon-Smiley. He had a minimum of 13 in every game.
Holton Hufstedler, Sr., Canadian No. 4Canadian lost in the state finals, but Hufstedler was a big reason his team got to that point. He had 230 tackles, including a 31-tackle game early in the season.
Sloan Rodberg, Sr., Wills Point No. 8Rodberg averaged 18.1 tackles per game and finished with 217. In his final two games of the season, he had 51 combined stops.
SACKSMiguel Garcia, Jr., Coronado (Lubbock) No. 8Garcia had a breakout season for Coronado. After tallying two sacks as a sophomore, Garcia had 26 this year. He had a stretch of four games where he pulled down opposing quarterbacks 14 times. Garcia had a sack in every game expect one.
Joshua Wells, Sr., Parkland (El Paso) No. 10The 6-foot-7 Wells was quite the presence on the edge for the Matadors. He closed out his final season with 25 sacks.
Cody Roscoe, Sr., Houston Heights (Houston) No. 21Roscoe had just 59 tackles, 22 were sacks. He had a sack in every game, including four in a midseason contest. Roscoe also added 15 quarterback hurries.
Mike Munoz, Sr., Americas (El Paso) No. 26Munoz had 21 sacks with a high game of five. He also added a pair of games with three sacks apiece for the Trail Blazers.
Roger Adame III, Jr., Mercedes No. 33The outside linebacker tallied 131 tackles to go with 20 sacks and 32 tackles for loss. He had a remarkable 6 ½-sack performance in the fifth game of the season.
INTERCEPTIONSPoppie Balfour, Sr., Wharton No. 11Balfour played in just seven games and hauled in 11 interceptions to lead the state. He had four in a 40-0 win over Sinton in mid-October.
Christian Waller, Jr., Clear Springs (League City) No. 24Waller had 10 picks and two in three games this year. He also had 188 return yards on the interceptions.
Joseph Cruz, Sr., Bruni No. 24The free safety started the season with back-to-back three-interception games; he closed out his senior year with 10. Cruz also added 1,441 total yards on offense.
Matthew Lynch, Jr., Canadian No. 24Lynch finished his junior campaign with 10 interceptions in 14 games.
Christian Hayes, Sr., Coronado (Lubbock) No. 48Hayes had nine interceptions on the year. He had his only multi-pick game in the fifth week of the season, hauling in three in a 49-14 victory over Monterey.
