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Eagles' ‘D' has D-1 talent

By Lew
December 9, 2005

Eagles' ‘D' has D-1 talent

By RON HOWELL/Reporter Sports Editor
No team that is still alive in the high school playoffs has made it without playing outstanding defense. And Sweetwater's opponent in the Class 3A, Division II semifinals has several defensive players who are getting noticed by colleges at the Division I level.

In fact, Tatum (14-0) - which boasted a No. 4 state ranking at the end of the regular season - can also boast of having five D-1 prospects on the defensive side of the ball. One of them is de-fensive back Teo Freeney, who had three of the Eagles' four interceptions in last week's 45-21 win over Canton. Freeney has also been used at wide receiver.

Another is linebacker Daylon McCoy, who got the Eagles' other interception and ran it back for Tatum's final touchdown which dashed Canton's hopes for a late comeback. Another is safety Car-son Blackmon, who gave an oral commitment to Houston last summer and is the only one of the five prospects to commit.

Freeney has been timed at 4.4 in the 40, while Blackmon has 4.5 speed and McCoy - who also returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown in Tatum's 28-19 win over Dallas Madison two weeks ago - has a best time of 4.62.

The largest of the five is 6-4, 315-pound tackle Isaiah Thompson, who is ranked the highest of the prospects according to a national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. The other D-1 prospect is 6-5, 210-pound end Clarence Leatch, who was the district's newcomer of the year in 2004 and has 4.65 speed. Leatch, who also plays tight end, has 10 sacks this season.

Tatum allowed only 10.6 points per game dur-ing the regular season, and the Eagles have done almost as well in the playoffs as their four victimes have averaged just under 15 points. In ad-dition to their four interceptions against Canton, Tatum forced a fumble and sacked quarterback G.J. Kinne four times.

Tatum's run-oriented offense is also pretty good as the Eagles have averaged just under 34 points a game. Lennon Creer ran for 201 yards and a touchdown against Canton and has 1,760 yards for the season, with 15 TDs.

The quarterback, sophomore Cashas Pollard, completed 7 of 11 passes for 125 yards and three scores last week and ran for a fourth touchdown. His favorite targets this year have been Darnius Moore and Chance Blackmon, who each had a TD catch against Canton along with McCoy.

McCoy is the team's No. 2 rusher this season with 416 yards. Pollard has rushed for 378 yards and Bryce Beall has 338.

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