Carlinville High School Football: Lineman of the Week

Andy Denby was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week for his play on the offensive line against Maroa-Forsyth.

Denby, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior, is the starting center on the offensive line for the Cavaliers and has been a solid contributor all season long.

“Andy is someone that we moved to center – I told him back in May, ‘Andy, here’s your greatest opportunity to contribute to the team’”, said Easterday. “He has done it and done a great job with his size. The last three weeks have not been easy to be a lineman, let alone a center. He stepped up and did what he needed to do for the team and I’m very proud of him.”

Denby received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Brent Fish was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week for his play on the defensive line in Carlinville’s win over Litchfield.

Fish, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior, has seen action on both sides of the ball most of this season. In Friday’s game against Litchfield, he specialized on defense and was second on the team in tackles with 10 including 4 solos. He also had a sack and two tackles for losses.

“Brent rotates on offense normally and he didn’t do that against Litchfield,” Easterday said. “Some kids would take that as an insult. It’s not. We wanted him fresh against a spread team where you have to sprint every four yards. I thought his effort was phenomenal. He had some tremendous tackles, got pressure on the quarterback. I just thought he played a really complete ballgame.”

Fish received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Trevor Rhodus was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week for his play in Carlinville’s 35-16 win over Southwestern.

Rhodus, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior, starts at tight end on offense and is a key blocker in Carlinville’s Wing-T offense. He is also a starting linebacker on defense. Rhodus had two receptions for 56 yards including a 49-yard catch that set up the Cavaliers’ third touchdown. He also had an interception that saved a TD late in the first half.

“Trevor is a kid that I will miss,” said Easterday of Rhodus. “For the past two years, he knows our entire blocking schemes. He knows every position on the field. He plays tight end for us and we kind of flex our lineman out a little bit for unbalanced sets and he knows all of those rules. In the mud against Southwestern, he had a tall order with Ed Dunn, a 240-pound kid and he handled him most of the night. He can also go on the edge and block an athletic individual on the corner.”

Rhodus received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Brandon Bucker was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week after for his solid performance in Carlinville’s game against Hillsboro.

Buckner, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior, is a starting right guard on the offensive line for the Cavaliers.

“Bucky is a kid now that has just been a staple – he knows all of the assignments and he makes very few mistakes,” said Easterday. “We had a lot of trouble against Hillsboro in the mud with blitzing linebackers and that sort of stuff and I really thought he did a great job of picking that stuff up. I really was proud of him.”

Buckner received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Cody Stewart was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week after he helped Carlinville roll up 562 yards of total offense in a 54-14 win over East Alton-Wood River.

Stewart, a 6-foot, 200-pound senior, starts at right tackle on the offensive line and also sees time at linebacker on defense.

“Cody is a guy who moved from center to tackle this year and has just done an outstanding job in the weight room,” Easterday said. “He knows every line rule that there is. He is able to come off and tell me what technique he is getting. He is really a coach on the field and his senior leadership has really shown up in all aspects of the game.”

Stewart received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Quantrel Williams was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week for his play in Carlinville’s 43-0 win over Roxana.

Williams, a 5-foot-7, 225-pound junior, sees time on both sides of the ball at nose tackle and on the offensive line. He led the team in tackles with nine including six solos against Roxana.

“It’s real hard to block Quan,” Easterday said. “For his size, he’s very, very strong and athletic. Between him and Darnell Scott, somebody’s going to get a double and the other one is coming free. They have our guard to guard solidified this year. Quan has done a really good job in there.”

Williams received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Brent Fish was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week after turning in a solid effort in Carlinville’s win over Pana.

Fish, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior, starts at left guard on offense and at defensive end.

“Brent made a huge move for us and he did it for the team,” said Carlinville coach Chad Easterday. “He went from a linebacker-fullback kid to a tackle-defensive lineman kid. He worked his butt off in the weight room throughout the winter and spring and he has stepped into a new role and has really come into himself. I was really proud of him – he’s done well for the last three weeks, but last night he excelled even past that.”

Fish received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Brandon Buckner was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week for his play in Friday night’s game against Greenville.

Buckner, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior, is a starter on the offensive line at right guard.

“He’s one of our leaders on the offensive line and he’s just a junior,” said Carlinville coach Chad Easterday. “He has stepped into a role this year that he is very comfortable in and blocking assignment wise does a great job for us. Brandon had a few plays we were watching on film – he had four pancake blocks, which for those of us in the offensive line world is phenomenal. I was very proud of him.”

Buckner received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

All five members of the Offensive Line were named the Carlinville Football Club Linemen of the Week after CHS rolled up 360 yards of offense including 323 yards on the ground in a 41-19 win over Vandalia.

Right Tackle Cody Stewart, right guard Brandon Buckner, center Andy Denby, left guard Brent Fish, and left tackle Andy Riech share the award. “All week long, they did a tremendous job,” said Carlinville coach Chad Easterday. “They (Vandalia) gave us multiple fronts and I thought our line did a tremendous job making some blocking adjustments at halftime. They just thought it was practice and went right back out there and executed what we drew up on the board. All five of them worked together and really controlled the game for us and put our skill kids in position to make some big plays.”

The group received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with three large pizzas, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Andy Riech was named the Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week after turning in a solid performance on both sides of the ball in the Cavaliers game against Marquette Catholic.

Riech, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound junior, started at left tackle on the offensive line and at defensive end. He had five tackles in the game including four solos.

“Andy did a nice job in the offseason working hard in the weight room,” said Easterday. “Due to some maturity, he has come ten-fold from a year old and he understands our offense. Last year was his first year in our program. He stepped up Friday night and just did a great job.”

Riech, the son of Paul Riech and Denise Masters, received a plaque, courtesy of the Carlinville Football Club, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.