Generals’ linebacking corps plays big both ways

NARUNA — Whereas Gretna’s football team has thrived in recent years by starting nearly completely different lineups on offense and defense, keeping both sides fresh, William Campbell prides itself on using primarily two-way players, maximizing the impact of the team’s top talent.

This season’s squad is personified by the performance of its three senior linebackers — Donald Byrd, who starts in the middle, and Stanley Peerman and Timmy Wright, who play on the outside.

“Byrd was our No. 1 tackler last year at defensive end and we moved him to middle linebacker and it’s been a good move for us,” Generals coach Brad Bradley said, noting he leads the team in solo tackles with 27.

“Timmy and Stanley have been playing linebacker for the last two years,” he added, with Wright the Generals’ overall leader with 24 tackles, 23 assists, 3½ sacks and three forced fumbles.

Offensively, the trio plays roles at least as integral to the team’s success.

Peerman, a slot back, ranks first in receptions (21 for 297 yards) and second to quarterback Baron Adams in rushing (262 yards), followed by fullbacks Byrd (262 yards) and Wright (114), who also has six receptions for 82 yards as a wide receiver.

“Any one person on the offense is just as dangerous as the next,” Byrd said. “You can’t just focus on one player.”

“We all block for each other, whoever’s got the ball,” Peerman added.

They each provide Adams with an extra weapon in his arsenal — both in the backfield and as receivers — as he engineers the Generals’ spread attack.

“Sometimes, people will focus on Stanley and that opens up Timmy,” Bradley said. “Sometimes they focus on Baron and that opens up Donald in the running game. Hopefully, we have five people on offense, six people including the quarterback, that we can get the ball to. If they take away one, another one’s got to be open and that’s what these guys do.”

“We don’t care who gets the ball, we just want to win,” Peerman added.

The trio also contributes on special teams, with both their hands and feet. Wright, a 6-foot, 210-pound bruiser, handles the kickoffs while Byrd kicks the extra points and Peerman serves as his holder. All three also return kickoffs and punts at times.

“They all three play a huge role in everything we do,” Bradley said.

William Campbell defensive coordinator John Meadows considers his linebacking corps the heart of a defense that is stacked from front to back.

“We feel like we play an 11-man defense and they’re just sort of like the meat in between the bread … in the middle of the sandwich,” he said. “It all goes together as one and each one of them brings something different to the game.”

He calls Wright the Generals’ sledgehammer.

“He’s a freight train,” Meadows said. “You don’t want to get in his way. He’ll come off (a block) and he’ll strike you.”

Last year, Wright was a solid outside linebacker, but he didn’t hit as hard or play as physically as Meadows wanted him to.

“I told Timmy last year, ‘If you bring your weight and hit, I said you’re going to make some people not want to run the ball your way,’” Meadows said. “And he’s done that this year.”

Byrd, who’s 5-9 and weighs in at 191, is the on-field defensive coordinator at middle linebacker.

“He makes sure everything’s called out correctly,” Meadows said. “Byrd brings it too (and) the kids respect him. They know when he’s on the field, he’s going to give 100 percent and he’s going to play hard from the beginning of the game until the game is finished.”

Peerman, the smallest of the three at 5-9, 171, doesn’t shy away from contact on defense, either.

“They’re the two that lay the wood,” he said of Byrd and Wright. “I just come in and get (opposing runners’) ankles up.”

Meadows said Peerman’s speed and quickness makes him just as effective on both sides of the ball.

“Stanley’s probably not as physical as the other two, but his athletic ability lets him do some things that other people on the field can’t,” he said. “Stanley can make a play anywhere on the field.

“He likes contact, but sometimes, he’s just so athletic that he can avoid it,” he added. “He’s the quickest player off the line on the offensive side that I’ve seen.”

The trio provides steady backfield support behind a formidable offensive and defensive line that features Thomas Wright, Timmy’s 6-2, 270-pound twin brother, Mike Barbour (6-2, 291) and Dimire Nowlin (5-10, 263).

“With our defense, the up-front people do a great job at filling the gaps and a lot of time, it’s just our linebackers scraping and finding open windows and making tackles and that’s what we ask them to do,” Meadows said. “All three of them play both ways and we try to give them a break whenever possible, but when the ballgame’s on the line, they’re going to be in there. They do a great job.”