Uchenna Ebiringah, Lincoln-Way East, DL: A 5-10, 185-pound senior ... All-Southwest Suburban Blue selection ... Two-year starter ... Outstanding effort player ... Made 39 tackles, including 3 1/2 sacks ... Will play small-college football ... "Uchenna epitomizes what high school football is all about," Griffins coach Rob Zvonar said. "He appreciated his opportunity to play football. He's not an overly big kid, but he's a high character kid."
Tim Eishen, Plainfield Central, DL: A 5-11, 175-pound senior ... All-Southwest Prairie Conference selection ... Made 40 tackles from his defensive end slot, with 17 of them solo ... Had 6 sacks, 3 1/2 tackles for loss ... Forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, blocked a kick and scored a safety ... "Tim is a good edge player and outstanding pass rusher," Wildcats coach John Jackson said.
Cody Jones, Minooka, DL: A 5-10, 220-pound junior ... All-Southwest Prairie Conference selection ... Made 62 total tackles, including 28 solo stops ... Also figures to start next year in the offensive line ... Is looking to play in college down the road, probably as a defensive lineman ... "We likely will use Cody both ways because he is one of our better linemen," Indians coach Bert Kooi said.
Tyler Plantz, Providence, LB: A 5-8, 190-pound junior ... Led Celtics and the area with 139 tackles from his inside linebacker slot, including 56 solo stops ... Had 1 interception, 1 caused fumble and 2 sacks ... Also a wrestler ... "Tyler is a bulldog," Celtics coach Mark Coglianese said. "He knows how to find the football and how to finish. He played most of the year with a cast on a broken hand and still was able to tackle. He works hard int he weight room and will bulk up even more for next year. He is a tough kid."
Ryan Hickey, Lincoln-Way East, LB: A 6-0, 185-pound junior ... Two-year starter at linebacker ... A key to a defense that limited opponents to under 200 total yards a game ... Made 66 tackles and had 2 sacks ... "Ryan will be one of the few three-year starters that we have had in our program," Griffin coach Rob Zvonar said. "He's tough, physical and as fast as any linebacker we have had. He should be one of the best in the Chicagoland area next season."
Matt Russell, Wilmington, LB: A 6-0, 198-pound senior ... All-Interstate Eight Small pick ... Made 25 solo tackles and 92 assists for a team-leading 117 total ... Led area with 23 tackles for loss ... Had 7 sacks and recovered 3 fumbles ... Captain ... "Matt was a leader in our area in several defensive categories," Wildcats coach Jeff Reents said. "He led us in tackles and was our team's emotional leader."
Mike Ducharme, Lincoln-Way Central, LB: A 6-2, 225-pound senior ... All-Southwest Suburban Blue selection ... Made 84 tackles from his inside linebacker slot, including 39 solo ... Recovered 2 fumbles and caused 3 ... Had 1 sack and intercepted 1 pass ... Looking to play college ball at the Division II or III level ... "Mike suffered an ACL injury midway through last season and came back to be a very steady player. He never missed a beat," coach Tim Dougherty said. "I heard he would have made all-conference last year, too, if he hadn't gotten hurt."
Brian Bonds, Minooka, LB: A 5-8, 185-pound senior ... Voted Minooka's defensive MVP ... Played some fullback as well ... Started for a second year as Minooka's "sam" linebacker ... Made 80 total tackles, including 41 solo stops ... Had 6 tackles for loss, 1 sack and recovered 1 fumble ... May go on and play at the Division III level ... "Brian started at the 'Sam' linebacker the last two years and that spoiled us because that's the toughest spot to fill," Indians coach Bert Kooi said. "He did it admirably, one of the best we've had there."
Mike Hellams, Bolingbrook, LB: A 6-1, 210-pound junior ... Made 30 solo tackles and assisted on 49 others for 79 total stops from his inside linebacker slot ... Made a team-high 6 tackles for loss and had 1 sack ... Intercepted 1 pass and recovered a team-best 3 fumbles ... "Mike is like Marcus Lee next to him, an inside backer with a promising future," Raiders coach John Ivlow said.
Erick Smith, Minooka, LB: A 5-10, 190-pound senior ... All-Southwest Prairie Conference at-large selection ... Finished with 89 total tackles from his linebacker spot, including 43 solo stops ... Tied for team lead with 8 tackles for loss ... Had 1 sack ... Intercepted a pass and returned it 15 yards ... Also started in the offensive line ... "Erick is one of those guys with a high GPA, so he was an all-state academic selection," Indians coach Bert Kooi said. "He will be going to college for academics and will be engineer someplace down the road."
Jake Labieniec, Lockport, DB: A 6-0, 165-pound senior ... Made a team-best 29 solo tackles from his safety position, including 5 for loss ... Made 58 total tackles ... Recovered 2 fumbles ... Intercepted 1 pass and returned it 37 yards ... Broke up 2 passes ... "Jake played very well at safety, returned kicks and did a lot of things for us," Porters coach Bret Kooi said.
Dan Marlin, Coal City, DB: A 6-0, 175-pound senior ... All-Interstate Eight Large selection ... A jack-of-all-trades for the Coalers ... Made 36 solo tackles and 63 total stops from his position in the defensive secondary ... Intercepted 3 passes and returned 1 for a touchdown ... Rushed for 99 yards and 2 touchdowns ... Kicked 4-of-5 field goals ... Returned 13 punts for 95 yards, a 7.3 average ... Hoping for an appointment to the Naval Academy ... Sprinter in track ... "Dan is a first-class kid," Coalers coach Lenny Onsen said. "He did a little bit of everything for us. He's the type you don't notice, but if he wasn't there, you would be in a panic."
Taylor Olson, Coal City, DB: A 6-2, 179-pound senior ... All-Interstate Eight Large selection ... Free safety who led the team with 5 interceptions and also recovered a fumble ... Made 66 tackles, including 44 solo, which was second on the team ... "Taylor was very solid all season," Coalers coach Len Onsen said. "He's a good athlete."
Andrei Mayes, Lockport, DB: A 5-7, 160-pound senior ... Excellent cover corner who led Lockport with 5 interceptions ... Returned the interceptions a total of 76 yards, or just over 15 per pick ... Made 42 tackles ... "Andrei got a good number of picks. He's a good coverage guy," Porters coach Bret Kooi said.
Ryan Ferry, Lemont, DB: A 5-11, 200-pound senior ... Cornerback who covered opponents' best receivers ... Made 32 solo tackles and 43 total stops ... Had 2 tackles for loss and 4 sacks ... Knocked down 6 passes and recovered a fumble ... "Ryan did a nice job all year," Indians coach Eric Michaelsen said. "Teams started not throwing his way very often. He made a nice interception in the state championship game."
David Balzer, Morris, K/P: A 6-3, 188-pound senior ... All-Southwest Prairie Conference at-large selection ... Made 25-of-26 extra points, the only miss on a bobbled snap ... Made 1-of-4 field goals ... Averaged 34 yards per punt and placed 17 punts inside the 20 ... Kicked off 41 times with 10 touchbacks ... 3-point shooter in basketball ... "David is a heck of a kicker," Redskins coach George Dergo said. "He is a high and deep guy on kickoffs and he never missed an extra point that was his doing."
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