Journal & Courier Big School Defensive Player of the Year: Harrison's Gavin Halsema
WEST LAFAYETTE − With Gavin Halsema, the stats don't tell the whole story.
Despite racking up just 49 tackles, the senior outside linebacker made sure the other half of the field was able to pad its tackle totals.
Halsema's impact helped Harrison's defense be one of the most prolific in Class 5A football last fall, holding 10 of its 11 opponents to 15 points or fewer.
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"We prided ourselves on running the jet sweep and in practice he would just toss us around," Harrison coach Terry Peebles said. "He was so much more physical and still had the athletic ability to go make the tackle.
"When you take that out of the offense’s game plan, there’s only so much they can do."
Because of Halsema's presence, it was more common for opposing offenses to run plays on the other half of the field.
Halsema understood his role to perfection.
"The whole not being selfish, it like came second nature to me," Halsema said. "I don't just want to make big plays. I want to win the game."
In Halsema's three years as a starter, the Raiders did plenty of winning, going 25-6 and winning three North Central Conference championships.
This season, especially, Halsema said the defense's confidence was that no one could score against the Raiders.
"That was our mentality," Halsema said. "We wanted to play defense. We want to go out there and we want to stop them again because we know they can't compete against us. We took pride in stuffing the offense."
That attitude was a partial reason Halsema found himself on the field Friday nights two years ago.
Peebles would've preferred an upperclassman, but Halsema left him no option but to play a sophomore.
"We only play sophomores if we have a huge need at that position or if we have a superstar. Gavin was a superstar, even as a sophomore," Peebles said. "That doesn’t mean he’s a five star recruit, but when he was a sophomore in high school, he was the best defensive player we had on the field.
"He was good from the beginning and good until the end and very consistent. He just never had a down cycle. The three years he played for us, our defense was really good."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: J&C Big School Defensive Player of the Year: Harrison's Gavin Halsema
