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Andreadis Making The Most of Senior Season
Last updated Thursday, October 9, 2008 9:04 PM CDT in Prep Sports
By Matt Jones
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING NEWS
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SPRINGDALE -- A great offseason is paying dividends for Har-Ber linebacker Daniel Andreadis on the field this season.
"He's a great leader on defense because he does everything full speed," Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "There's no half-speed in anything."
A preseason hamstring injury sidelined Andreadis for the 2007 season until the final game -- a state championship game loss to Fayetteville.
Linebackers coach Greg Simpson said Andreadis is making up for lost time and making the most of his senior season, recording 30 tackles, four sacks and eight quarterback hurries through the first half of the year.
"He had to watch last year from the sideline," Simpson said. "This year he has worked hard in the weight room and got his body in shape.
"Physically he's there. Mentally he's getting there and he's making some plays for us on the field."
Andreadis says the injury only heightened his anticipation for this season.
"From a senior standpoint, I've been waiting for this the last three years," Andreadis said. "We've got a really good team this year."
The Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 7A West) host Rogers (3-2, 1-1) tonight in a pivotal matchup that will leave one team with a winning league record and the loser below .500.
"Any team in this league can step up and get hot," Andreadis said. "So it's important to keep that winning record to maintain some confidence."
Against a Rogers offense that can run and pass the football at equally high rates, Wood says Andreadis' effectiveness at stopping the run while maintaining the ability to drop back in coverage could be a major key.
"Any time you deal with Coach (Ronnie) Peacock and his teams you have to be versatile at the linebacker position," Wood said. "They can come back and throw it 50 times a game or now they've shown they'll line up and run it 40 times a game.
"We just have to read our keys and come up and be a sure tackler, because (Michael) Tibbs is one of the better players in the state. (Andreadis) has his work cut out for him."
Traditionally known for a Spread passing attack, Rogers coach Ronnie Peacock mixed things up last week in the Mounties' 49-14 win over Rogers Heritage.
Rogers passed the ball just three times in the game, instead electing to run for 326 yards and seven touchdowns with Tibbs accounting for 203 yards and four scores.
"He's a great athlete," Andreadis said. "We need to watch him or he can do really big things against us."
Andreadis says he believes the Wildcats' 3-3-5 defense will help slow whatever Rogers decides to do offensively. It's a defense that, when ran to perfection, is a great counter to the Mounties' multi-dimensional attack, Simpson said.
"It all goes back to making sure you know where you're supposed to be when the ball is snapped," Simpson said. "We do a lot of moving on defense. The key is making sure you know how to fit a linebacker into the scheme.
"Daniel's learning. We're all learning and we're getting better at that."
Daniel Andreadis
SCHOOL: Har-Ber
YEAR: Senior
POSITION: Linebacker
NOTABLE: Andreadis has recorded 8 quarterback hurries, 5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks this season. Andreadis recorded a season-high 13 tackles in Har-Ber's last game at Fort Smith Northside.
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