Lakeland High School Football Dreadnaughts 5A State Champions

by Dan Talbot
Defensive Line Coach

Another exciting year of Dreadnaught Football is upon us at Bryant Stadium.  With a new year comes a new group of Defensive Lineman.  For the first time in a long time the Dreadnaught DL has a lot of returning faces from last year’s team and a bunch of new faces.  The Dreadnaught DL looks to take on the 2013 season with a sense of “togetherness” for one another, their teammates, the coaches and the community.  In order to carry on the tradition you have to start strong and the DL did just that.

It started with the grueling summer program, and the tremendous team growing experience at the FCA camp, and the kickoff classic pre-season game versus Lake Gibson.  The Defensive Line posted 9 sacks and helped the rest of the defense secure a win in the home opener.  The Defensive Line is anchored by our two 2-year returning starters.  The first is #98 Dereck Boles. Look for Boles to help control the line of scrimmage and be a force against opposing teams trying to run the ball.  Along with Boles, the DL has another 2 year starter in #99 Sherby Saimplice.  Sherby is the brains and the leader of the defensive line and does a great putting himself in position to make some great plays.  Joining Boles and Saimplice into the starting rotation are returning letterman junior #6 Dominic McNish and junior #79 AJ Deshommes.  Both players have earned their starting jobs.  McNish will have a lot of chances to make some big plays at the other defensive end position with the all the attention on the two big guys in the middle.  Look for Deshommes to be a powerful force in the middle next to Boles.  He is strong, powerful, and his size will demand double teams.  Along with McNish and Deshommes #96 Matt Gilieo will come off the bench and be in the starting rotation to help out considerably at all positions.  You will enjoy watching Matt play, because he plays with passion and emotion.  In order to be successful at the defensive line position you must be quick off the ball and must have a relentless pursuit for the ball.  I feel we have that this year.  The Defensive line consists of 5 seniors, and these 5 seniors bring hard work and leadership to a group that we feel anchor the defensive side of the ball.  Our senior leaders are the two previously mentioned and #75 Daqwan Croxton, #78 Garrett Wilson, and first year Dreadnaught #73 David Brown.  All 5 seniors are the finest of young men and will look to contribute whenever possible.  With this being the largest group I have carried in the ten years I have been here, we have a lot of young kids with a promising future on the Dreadnaught Defensive Line.  First year varsity players are #83 Matt Kramer, #97 Javon Lamar, #64 Marshon Brinson.

These young players will help make us one solid unit this year.  It has been fun having all these newcomers to our group, and the toughness and competitiveness of these young men is the best here in a long time.  The returning lettermen have really set the example for these new guys.  They work hard every day and are a lot of fun to coach.  If they continue to work they can have a bright future.

With it being so early in the season and in the tradition of Dreadnaught football, this young group of men made an impact in the Dreadnaughts first game of the season.  Everyone in the group saw action on both special teams and the defensive line.  They accounted for over 29 tackles against Treasure Coast.  They also combined for more 14 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery, 1 caused fumbles, and 9 sacks.  The season is still young, and this fine group of defensive linemen is working very hard to uphold the winning tradition for the Dreadnaughts.  We are excited to see how this group will progress through the year.  With fresh faces and guys getting a chance to make an impact, it looks to be an exciting year for our group.  We have a great defensive line tradition here at Lakeland, and these guys work extremely hard and strive each Friday night to live up to the expectations of coaches, family, friends, and all the great former Dreadnaught Defensive Lineman.  

We would like to send out a personal thanks to all players past and present, fellow coaches, and the fans of Dreadnaught football for making Lakeland High School and Dreadnaught Football the finest place to be.