Dan Krajicek's Yutan Chieftains played one whale of a defensive football game in knocking off Bancroft-Rosalie/Lyons-Decatur Northeast 26-7 in mid-September. Not only did Yutan hold the Wolverines to 260 total yards, the Chieftains hurried the quarterback twice and picked off seven passes, returning one for a score.
While Sam Petersen intercepted a pass in each half, Isaiah Daniell latched onto five enemy balls, all in the second half. The senior safety returned one of his thefts 94 yards for a score and carried another one 50 yards to the five-yard line. For his efforts, Daniell earns the top spot in this week's Top 10 Nebraska football performances on defense and special teams.
"We had great pressure on the quarterback which caused some errant throws," Krajicek said by email. "But he was in the right spot to play the ball."
Daniell also intercepted passes in the end zone, at the two-yard line and on BRLD's final offensive play of the game. The Chieftain safety and three other football players are tied with eight interceptions each on the year to lead the nation in 11-Man football according to MaxPreps' statistics database.
Weeping Water's Ethan Essary got the job done on defense and special teams as well and grabs the No. 2 spot this week. The junior was in on 12 tackles, picked off a pass and booted a punt 61 yards to help the Indians overcome Freeman 44-38 in August. His busy night didn't stop there, however, check out the rest of his line below.
Tekamah-Herman's Kaleb Quick was all over the football field in a 7-6 defensive win over BRLD to sit No. 3 as was Kaden Dady of Brady who is fourth this week. Cody-Kilgore's Gage Davis rounds out the Top 5 after being disruptive defensively in an 84-44 win over Santee Sept. 10.
We had a difficult time trying to figure out what to do with Potter-Dix's Luke Kasten and his performances so far this year. The junior put forth four stat lines that could have been included in this week's Top 10. So, we are going to name him Nebraska's Defensive Player of the Year for the first half of the season and talk a little about what he has accomplished so far.
Through four games, Kasten has 34 tackles, 11 tackles for losses, 5.5 sacks and 33 quarterback hurries. The cornerback was credited with 14 hurries, two tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, a pass defended and a fumble recovery in the Coyotes' 68-50 win over Arthur County last weekend and had 11 tackles, seven tackles for losses, three sacks and four quarterback hurries in a 62-8 triumph over Sioux County Sept. 3.
During a 47-22 win over Wallace in August, Kasten stopped ball carriers nine times, hurried the quarterback eight times, had a tackle for a loss, a sack and picked off a pass. He made a season-high 12 tackles in a 65-25 win over Crawford in mid-September and was credited with two tackles for losses, a half a sack, seven QB hurries, two passes defended, a forced fumble and returned a fumble for a score.
Classes C2, D1, D2 and D6 are all included in this week's Top 10. But that doesn't mean there weren't any top performers in Nebraska's three largest classifications. Papillion-LaVista's Will Hubert has had several outstanding performances so far this season. But he gets the nod for Class A's top showing after earning credit for nine tackles, 6 tackles for losses, 4 sacks and a forced fumble in a 51-0 win over Norfolk on Sept. 17.
In Class B, Bennington's Austin Holtz took care of business while he and his teammates were shutting out Blair 28-0 Sept. 24. The senior Badger made 12 tackles, including three tackles for losses and a sack, and forced two fumbles to get the nod as Class B's top performer. Devon Carel of Fairbury took it to Falls City in a 28-20 loss by making 11 tackles, six stops for negative yardage and one and a half sacks to lead the way in Class C1.
Nebraska's top football performances on defense and special teams
1. Isaiah Daniell, YutanSix tackles, 5 interceptions, 3 passes defended and a pick six in a 26-7 win over Bancroft-Rosalie/Lyons-Decatur Northeast, Sept. 17.
2. Ethan Essary, Weeping WaterTwelve tackles, 1 interception, 1 pass defended, a 61-yard punt, 3 kickoff returns for 143 yards, 2 punt returns for 13 yards and a kickoff returned for a score in a 44-38 win over Freeman, Aug. 27.
3. Kaleb Quick, Tekamah-Herman (Tekamah)Five tackles, 3 sacks, 4 quarterback hurries, 1 fumble recovery for a score, 2 fumbles forced and a blocked punt in a 7-6 win over Bancroft-Rosalie/Lyons-Decatur Northeast, Aug. 27.
4. Kaden Dady, BradyThirteen tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a fumble caused in a 62-32 win over Maxwell, Sept. 3.
5. Gage Davis, Cody-Kilgore (Cody)Four tackles, 1 interception, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 fumble caused and a pick six in an 84-44 win over Santee, Sept. 10.
6. Brett Bridger, FullertonNine tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 8 quarterback hurries in a 48-30 win over Chambers/Wheeler Central, Sept. 3.
7. Grant Brigham, Shelby-Rising City (Shelby)Fifteen tackles, 5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 blocked punt and 2 kickoffs for 94 yards in a 38-26 win over Thayer Central, Aug. 27.
8. Taylor Smith, GiltnerTwelve tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries and a fumble caused in a 56-26 loss to Loomis, Sept. 10.
9. Drew McIntosh, Sandhills/Thedford (Dunning)Eight tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries and a fumble caused in a 52-14 win over Mullen, Aug. 27.
10. Avery Overfelt, HomerThirty tackles and 2 tackles for losses in a 48-34 loss to Allen, Sept. 17.
