Kilgore’s LaDarrin Anthony is the ETSN.fm + Dairy Queen Defensive Player of the Week

Kilgore is known for its defense, and that unit came up big in Friday's "District of Doom" championship bout with top-ranked Gilmer.

The Buckeyes entered the game averaging 60.2 points per game, but Kilgore held them to less than half that total in a 34-29 victory at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.

Senior defensive lineman LaDarrin Anthony terrorized Gilmer up front. He finished with 10 tackles, four for loss, three sacks, and an eye-opening eight quarterback hurries to spearhead the Bulldog defense, which limited a Gilmer offense averaging 594.1 yards per game to 437.

For his performance, Anthony is the ETSN.fm/Dairy Queen Defensive Player of the Week.

The big night was simply the latest for Anthony, who has made disrupting high-powered opposing offenses a habit during his Kilgore career. The 6-foot, 257-pounder enters the Bulldogs' Class 3A Division I Region II bi-district playoff vs. Van at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Lindale with 63 tackles, 15 for loss, nine sacks, three forced fumbles, one punt block, and 26 quarterback pressures.

The ETSN/DQ Defensive Player of the Week honor is the second of the season for Anthony, who also received it following the Bulldogs' 48-20 Week 3 home win against Mount Pleasant. Anthony had 13 tackles, five for loss, three sacks, and one forced fumble in that win. He joins Tatum senior safety Klifton Willis as the two East Texans to receive the ETSN/DQ Defensive Player of the Week award twice this season.

Anthony's impressive senior campaign comes on the heels of a monster junior season. He had 114 tackles, 24 for loss, 12 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, one kick block, and one punt block.

Kilgore's 29 points allowed against Gilmer marked the Buckeyes' lowest point total of the 2013 season. Prior to Friday's District 16-3A title game, Gilmer's lowest scoring output of the season was 52 in a 38-point win against Gladewater on Sept. 27.

Kilgore's win avenged last season's 20-14 district title loss at Gilmer, which stopped the Bulldogs on a goal-line stand in the final minute to seal the victory.

Friday's loss was only the second district defeat for Gilmer since 2001. The only other team to beat Gilmer in league play in that span was the 2010 Carthage team, which won its third consecutive Class 3A Division II state crown.

With that in mind, Anthony and Kilgore enter the 3A Division I playoffs as the favorite in Region II and ranked No. 2 in the final Associated Press 3A poll of the season.

ETSN.fm/Dairy Queen 2013 Defensive Players of the Week

Filed Under: Kilgore, Player of the Week

Categories: Class 3A, Football, News