T.K. Hester has been doing this the whole season.
T.K. Hester, Varina Blue Devils
Positions: Linebacker/Returner
Performance: Recorded eight tackles, three for loss, in Varina's 10-7 victory over Highland Springs.
On moving to linebacker: "It's crazy. I never thought that I would've' liked it like I do. I started outside and now I've moved inside. For me, it allowed me to be more physical and allowed me to show that I can be more physical."
On Highland Springs win: "It was nuts all week long. It was definitely the engine for a large part of our motivation. The tempo of our practice was up all week. It's definitely something that we needed. That kind of atmosphere, bands playing, it was great. It really has me looking forward to what [Monday] night will be like."
On Hermitage game: "One of the biggest things that we can do is we need to get on top of teams, put them away early, don't let them stick around.
"Once you get to a certain level of play, all teams are good everyone is just as good as everyone else. Everyone's back [for Hermitage] and we're ready. Everyone has to get their mind straight on both sides of the ball."
Funniest teammate: "Oh gosh,
Donald Upshaw. He is hilarious. Every Thursday we have pregame and we always listen to something hard to get everyone's tempo up. I have R&B songs, slow stuff on my IPod. After practice we may stay in the locker room 30 minutes to an hour. Donald will just come out and hit a high note. He is so funny. Donald is a fool."
What teammate would you not want to be hit by: "I'm going to have to say Addonis Robinson. I've seen Addonis just maul some people. ADDONIS ROBINSON! He's just so big."
INT or a sack: "This is a tough question. I'm getting the best of everything really. I'm going to say a sack. There's something about it. It's crazy how this linebacker thing has changed me. There's no other feeling like it. As much as it kills me to say it."
On coach Stu Brown: Coach Brown is if not the, one of the most down to earth persons that I've ever met. One thing that I think made his transition to Varina easier, is his personality. He's a passionate guy about football. The first thing he said to us is I didn't come here to tell you guys about how sorry I am abut the change, I didn't come here to hand you guys candy, I came here to help you win a state championship.
"Great guy, loving father. It's not too much I can really put in words. Coach Brown is a great guy, I wouldn't trade him for the world."
Recruiting: "Right now, I've got a lot of people talking. I think I'll pick up some more after the season. Purdue, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, South Carolina, Richmond, Stanford. The recruiting part of it is looking good, but I haven't gotten to enjoy it yet since I work on the weekend. We [
DeAntre Rhodes, Bobby Smith] put everything aside for this season.
- Stephen M. Lewis