Tackles and Takeaways: Meet the All-Gainesville Area Small School Football Defensive Team

A certain level of exciting unknown awaited Andrew Zock prior to the season.

The two-star recruit knew where he’d be heading after graduation. Zock committed to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on July 4th.

But the senior still decided to change schools, leaving North Marion and transferring 20 miles up Route 301 to Hawthorne.

Given that the Hornets were defending state champions, Zock expected to win.

Zock and his nest delivered and completed a perfect regular season, and by season’s end, the player who never advanced past the first round in Citra was lifting a trophy that read “Class 1R State Champions.”

Now, after an unbelievable individual season, the linebacker is the 2023 Gainesville Sun’s All-Area Small School Defensive Football Player of the Year.

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Zock finished the campaign with 143 tackles, 11 tackles per game, 20 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

Playing time shouldn’t be an issue for Zock on the Midshipmen, which went 5-7 in coach Brian Newberry’s first year on the sidelines.

Below is the full All-Gainesville Area Small School Defensive Team. The team of 12 players hail from nine programs across the Gainesville area.

As a reminder, this list comes from players in Class 1S and 1R. The Big School team, from Classes 2S-4S, was released Wednesday and can be viewed here.

All-Gainesville Area Small School Defensive Team

Aidan Jerkins (Oak Hall FS): Team leader in tackles-33 (17 solo and 16 assisted); tackles per game (4.1); tackles for loss (5) and sacks (3)

Amarie Fleming (Lafayette DE): 69 tackles (49 solo and 20 assisted; 5.8 tackles per game; led team in tackles for loss (24) and sacks (8)

Andrew Zock (Hawthorne LB): Navy commit; team-leading 143 tackles (97 solo and 46 assisted), ranks 15th in Florida and 2nd in Class 1R; 11 tackles per game; 20 tackles for loss; 5.5 sacks

Darius Cook (Dixie County LB): Team leading 124 tackles (84 solo and 40 assisted), ranks 5th in Class 1R; 12.4 tackles per game; 282 yards rushing and three TDs

Ira Warren (Williston DT): 48 tackles (24 solo and 24 assisted); 5.3 tackles per game; 10.5 tackles for loss; 4.5 sacks; all rank in the top three of the team

Jarquez Carter (Newberry DT): 67 tackles (38 solo and 29 assisted); 5.6 tackles per game; team-leading 37 tackles for loss and nine sacks, which ranks 7th in Class 1R

Jon Adams (Chiefland DE): 92 tackles (45 solo and 47 assisted); 9.2 tackles per game; 20.5 tackles for loss; 10 sacks, which ranks third in Class 1R

Kyshaun Veasey (Branford FS): 84 tackles (46 solo and 38 assisted); 8.4 tackles per game; team-leading six interceptions, ranks first in 1R and 24th in Florida

Logan McCloud (Newberry DE): 73 tackles (39 solo and 34 assisted); 6.1 tackles per game; 21 tackles for loss; six sacks; two interceptions

Mykah Newton (Newberry DE): 62 tackles (36 solo and 26 assisted), ranked 64th in Class 1R; 13 sacks, ranked 54th in Florida and first in 1R

Naziy Gent (Hawthorne LB): 100 tackles (60 solo and 40 assisted); 7.7 TPG; team-leading 25 TFL; five sacks

Timothy Taylor (Williston DL): 48 tackles (27 solo and 21 assisted); 4.4 TPG: team leading nine sacks, ranks fifth in Class 1R

Trenton Klein (Union County LB): 85 tackles (68 solo and 17 assisted); 7.1 TPG; 25 TFL; seven sacks; also starred at QB, threw for 1,351 yards with 14 TDs and one interception

The Coach of the Year will be named when the Small School Offensive Team is released on January 30.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Hawthorne's Andrew Zock headlines the All-Area Small School Defensive Team