Michael Britt’s expertise on the football field was clearlyevident last Friday night. Playing outside linebacker on defense,Britt was credited with 16 tackles, 4 of them solo stops, as theLoyd Star Hornets whipped West Lincoln’s Bears 47-7 in the 2005season opener.

For his performance, Britt has been selected The DAILY LEADER’sDefensive Player of the Week. He was an All-Lincoln Countyselection at linebacker on the DL’s 2004 dream team.

“I want to give God the glory for this honor,” Britt pointedout. “I don’t deserve any of it.”

Standing 6-foot and weighing 205 pounds, Britt is blessed withphysical strength and speed. He also works hard to improve duringthe offseason. He bench presses 330 pounds and squats with 400.

“Michael is an amazing athlete,” said Loyd Star coach JoshuaThibodeaux. “He’s powerful and has great speed to be so big.”

Britt ran a 4.67 in the 40-yard dash during a summer footballcamp in Jackson. He did it wearing tennis shoes and running on wetground. He also has a 30-inch vertical leap.

“Ever since Michael has been in the ninth grade, he’s been anexcellent athlete for us,” said Thibodeaux. “He’s a senior leaderfor us, too.”

Besides athletics, Britt excels in the classroom. He maintains a3.8 GPA and his favorite subject is Chemistry ll. “Our teacher(Robin Case) makes it a lot of fun,” said Britt.

Against West Lincoln, the Hornets concentrated on stoppingstandout tailback Darnell Sampson. Britt’s main responsibility wasdefending the sweeps.

“We knew Sampson was their big threat,” said Britt. “We stillhad to watch the option. The quarterback was pitching it real fastso I went after him.”

Acting like a football hero, Britt returned the game-openingkickoff 76 yards for a touchdown. He also had another long TD runof 95 yards.

On offense, Britt plays fullback, wingback and tight end.

Also working on defense are tackles Jared Reid and KennethJohnson, ends Dustin Brewer and Brandon Warren, linebackers HunterSpeeg and Gary Johnson, cornerbacks Patrick Holcomb and RandyFells, strong safety Donald Shorter and free safety TylerWilliford.

Asked about this year’s Loyd Star team, Britt said, “We have alot more enthusiasm and we have more intensity on defense. We aremore together as a team. We are unselfish and play as a team.”

Looking to the future, Britt said he would like to play collegefootball. He and his father enjoy going to Ole Miss games.

In the NFL, Britt follows the Denver Broncos and linebacker JohnLynch because, “He’s crazy. He likes to hit people.”

On Sundays Britt is a faithful member of Mt. Zion BaptistChurch.

“Our church youth group has been doing a lot of relief work,”said Britt. “During the summer, we do a mission project on Tuesdaymorning and load crates for the food pantry.”

Hunting and fishing are Britt’s favorite hobbies. He was lookingforward to fishing for bass Thursday afternoon.