John Tyler's Dekalen Goodson Wins ETSN.fm Player Of The Week

It probably didn't take John Tyler's next opponent very long to discover why the Lions were able to beat the respected New Orleans Warren Easton program so soundly in Shreveport, La., last week when it flipped on the game film.

Defensive coordinator Barry Anderson's unit put up the second-best point differential at the Battle on the Border showcase. It was only outdone by IMG Academy from Florida, which recruits top-flight prospects from all of North America, across six games played inside Independence Stadium.

The Lions' defense created 22 plays for negative yardage and held Easton to 2.9 yards per play through 82 snaps.

John Tyler defensive end DeKalen Goodson wraps up Easton quarterback Lance Legendre (12) for one of his four sacks Saturday.

Junior defensive end Dekalen Goodson led the way with four sacks, four tackles for loss, 12 tackles in total, caused and recovered a fumble, and rolled to the ETSN.fm + Dairy Queen Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Think about Goodson's accomplishment.

He mostly faced double teams against Easton's tackle and guard combinations and won consistently. He also freed holes for other players to crash down into toward the team's other 14 tackles for negative yardage.

This is Goodson's first time to win the Defensive Player of the Week award, but it might not be the last. He's a first-year starter, is already a Mississippi State recruiting target and has a minimum of 17 more games to play in his varsity career.

John Tyler (3-0) will need Goodson and its collective defense to be at its best again Friday. It hosts Rockwall in its District 11-6A opener. ETSN.fm picked Rockwall, which reached the Class 6A Division II, Region II championship game a year ago, to win the league and for the Lions to finish second.

Rockwall (0-3) will have a one-day advantage in terms of rest and has been battle tested by Dallas Highland Park, Rowlett and Southlake Carroll in straight weeks. Despite the disappointing start, it played Rowlett and Southlake Carroll to within one possession.