Defensive mainstay

For the Westgate Tigers to have success this week against New Iberia, defensive end Datrin Turner is going to have to have a solid game for WHS.

The senior, who moved into the position last year after spending a couple of years at linebacker, has been a mainstay for the Tigers this year.

“Datrin is starting for the second year for us,” said Westgate coach Brian Fine. “He started out as a linebacker for us and we moved him to defensive end his junior year.”

Fine said there was some hesitation to make the move but Turner’s character and hard work have made it a very productive change.

“Just because of who he is and what he does, it turned out to be a good move,” said Fine. “He’s played real well for us, especially this year.”

Fine said that while Turner may be a little undersized for a defensive end, he fits Westgate’s defensive scheme well because he has quick feet and can change direction and does all that is called for in the Tigers’ defensive attack.

“We’ve played pretty well on defense all year with the exception of a couple of breakdowns against Patterson and Northside,” said Fine. “We just turned the ball over deep in our territory against Northside that led to 21 points for them. When you do that, it just makes it tough on you.”

For Westgate to win Friday night, he said, the defensive line has to play well and Turner is going to have to be a big part of that. The line has to stop the run for the team to have any success, the coach added.

Turner welcomes the challenge of playing the Jackets and is looking forward to the game.

“We’re going to work hard and do what we have to do,” said Turner. “We want to beat them. We want to give it all we have and come out on top.

“It’s rivalry week. It’s two schools that don’t get along. We have to bring it Friday.”

Turner is not giving the Jackets any more or any less respect that he give any opponent he goes up against, despite the fact that the Jackets enter the game with a perfect 6-0 mark.

But he also admits that he’s going to hold judgment on NISH until game time.

“Right now, they have to show me what they have,” said Turner.

“We get a lot of respect because we play big teams like Shaw and Eunice, which shows that we can be a good team this year and that we’re ready for whatever comes at us.

“Nobody expected us to be 4-2 right now, nobody expected us to win any games by now. But we came out and did what we had to do to show everyone where we stand.”

The Westgate senior knows what he has to do and what the rest of the team has to do against NISH Friday -- put pressure on NISH quarterback Jordy Joseph.

“We need to hit him,” said Turner. “We need to get him out of his game and get him frustrated. We can’t let him get any passes off and we need to sack him every chance we get.”

Turner knows how big Friday’s game is.

“It’s real important,” he said. “We’re not going to back down. We want to come out on top.”