Rummel defense dominant again in shutout at Slidell

 
If there is a better defense in the area, if not the state, you would be hard pressed to find one other than the Rummel Raiders.

That was fully displayed again Friday night as the Raiders dismantled a solid Slidell team 37-0 at Slidell.

Rummel dominated from start to finish in an impressive performance, a week after the Raiders went to North Carolina and scored an impressive 7-3 win over powerful Charlotte Catholic.

This time around, Rummel held Harlan Dixon and the Slidell rushing attack to just 30 yards net.

On The Three Tailgaters Show Saturday morning on 106.1 FM NASH ICON, first-year head coach Nick Monica, who coaches the Raider defense, explained why his defense is so good.

“They’ve been doing well,” Monica said. “Six of our starters are three-year starters. They understand the team defense concept. You don’t have to keep things as basic as you would with less experience. It’s helping with our offense, which has a younger offensive line and a first-year starting quarterback.”

The Raider defense has been led by seniors Donovan Kaufman and Aaron Thomas as Rummel has come up with five interceptions in two games with a sixth that was returned for a score nullified by penalty. Kaufman is a Vanderbilt commitment. He had his second interception of the season and returned a kick 80 yards for a touchdown. Thomas has two interceptions as well, including the game-winning pick for a score at Charlotte.

“Donovan and Aaron are both seniors and they are simply outstanding,” Monica said. “Aaron is only in his second year. We need all 11 guys to contribute. The kids are really buying in. They are making play after play. It is a pleasant sight.”

South Alabama commit Jordon Williams added a fumble recover in the end zone for a touchdown for the Rummel defense while senior Jaelen Sturgis ran 31 yards for a score.

Junior Kyle Wickersham has ability but simply needs game experience for his skills to manifest themselves. Wickersham connected on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ivory Wilwright.

“Kyle has not played in two years,” Monica said. “The experience is going to make him better. He was sidelined with injury for two years. It is his first year of varsity football. He was a little disappointed last night. I can see him getting better and more comfortable. We need to fix the penalties, which are drive-killers.”

After incurring 14 penalties in North Carolina, Rummel was flagged 20 times against Slidell.

The Raiders jump right back into the fire on the road against a powerhouse team in Oak Grove, MS next Friday night.

Things only get tougher for the Raiders as they travel to powerful Oak Grove (MS) next Friday night in Hattiesburg. The Warriors are unbeaten and have scored 142 points in their three wins.

“Oak Grove is 3-0 and they have scored over 40 points in all three games thus far,” Monica said. “We wanted to take one out-of-town trip and ended up getting two. This is a very good team we will be playing. It is not easy to schedule games.”