POTW: Greg Irvin
Published 11:25 pm Monday, October 27, 2008
Greg Irvin could take Player of the Week honors almost every week. He is a full-throttle, sideline-to-sideline middle linebacker who plays beyond the limitations of his size and thrives on running to the ball.
In any given game, the senior is a threat to record between 10 and 15 tackles. Quite literally, he is all over the field.
But while his tackle numbers did not slack Friday night against Wilcox-Central, it was another aspect of his game that earned him recognition.
Irvin isn’t normally touted for his ball skills. But No. 7 was good for six twice Friday night as he picked off two passes, returning each for touchdowns.
The linebacker’s first interception came as the benefit of the relentless pursuit of fellow senior Jacob Kerby, who forced the WCHS quarterback into an off-balanced throw.
Irvin read the play perfectly. He broke from his zone at the appropriate moment and pounced on the ball. And 52 yards later, the defensive stalwart had his first touchdown of 2008.
But Irvin was apparently unsatisfied. Two possessions later, he prematurely ended a WCHS drive when he intercepted a pass at his own 22 yard line. Irvin quickly bolted to his right, found the sideline and turned on the burners.
After putting would-be tacklers and 78 yards of Camden turf in his rearview mirror, Irvin added six more points to the visitors side of the scoreboard as he helped Demopolis to put an exclamation point on its regular season regional play.
— Jeremy D. Smith