FHS leading tackler making waves on defense

Lauren Estes-Velez

Special to the Enquirer

The Falkville football team offensively have made their presence large and in charge in their eight games with multiple scoring efforts over 50 points, two at 70 points which set a new scoring record.

Their offense is more than effective but their defensive efforts cannot be forgotten.

Sophomore middle linebacker Luke Fitzgerald is leading the Blue Devils in tackling with 77 so far oh the year, including three sacks and eight tackles for losses.

“It feels pretty good being able to make a big impact on defense,” Fitzgerald said. “I try and be the best leader I can be. My linebacker coach and defensive coordinator Greg Tomlin told me that if I’d hit them hard first, they’d back down. That’s impacted me because it held true. The majority of the time, I’ve done my best to play fast and aggressive.”

A role that Fitzgerald had to step into this season was one he wasn’t necessarily prepared for, but nonetheless, has fulfilled.

“I feel it’s important to be a leader on the field because your team needs you when times get hard,” Fitzgerald said. “Some games you’ll have mistakes and that happens to everyone, but you need that one player to encourage you and get your head back on straight. Being a leader off the field is important to me because it shows the younger, future players how they should act.”

Every player has set individual goals for themselves on the season, Fitzgerald is no different. His team goal, however, is most important to him.

“I wanna reach 100 tackles by the end of regular season games and I would like to try and make better downhill reads as soon as the ball snaps,” Fitzgerald said. “I also really want a pick- six and as far as my education goes, I want to finish school with straight A’s. A big goal for us as a team would be to win state for sure, and a smaller goal that we’ve already achieved was beating the school record for most points in a game.”

Falkville will have a bye week for Oct. 19, and will return on Oct. 26 for a region game at Gaylesville.