West Lincoln inside linebacker Garrett Rushing is a year older,wiser and stronger. That was evident Friday night as Rushingaccounted for 18 tackles in his team’s season-opening, 6-0 loss toWilliams-Sullivan at Durant.

Rushing’s efforts have earned him The DAILY LEADER’s DefensivePlayer of the Week recognition.

“We stayed after them pretty good on defense,” said WL defensivecoordinator Lucas Addison. “Garrett works hard for us.”

West Lincoln coach Chris Calcote said Rushing has matured andimproved since his sophomore season when he was named to The DAILYLEADER’s 2009 All-Lincoln County Football Team. He led the Bears intackles as a sophomore.

“Garrett played well,” said Calcote. “He is more experienced andhe’s stronger. He’s a smarter player, too, so he knows what toexpect. He has a nose for the ball and makes good tackles. We needsome more players like him.”

The Williams-Sullivan runners saw plenty of jersey No. 33 and theyhad the bruises for proof.

“My shoulders are still sore,” said Rushing with a laugh. “I had aheadache on Saturday.”

Rushing said he keyed on the offensive guards as they provided apreview for the running plays. “Mostly, their guards would tell mewhich way they were going. They tried to run plays away fromme.”

A third quarter punt, returned for a touchdown, provided thewinning points.

Rushing, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior; has maxed at 270 pounds onthe bench press, 520 on the deadlift and 350 on the squat.

“Coach Calcote got me serious about lifting weights,” said Rushingof his offseason workouts. “I went over our defensive schemes withCoach King.”

During games, King gives Rushing the signals and, “I’ll call themin the huddle.”

Asked about WL’s defense, Rushing said, “I was real impressed withour defense, in my opinion. We have a lot of young guys on theteam.”

West Lincoln only has three seniors on the roster. Teammates AlstonBozeman and Jonathan Smith had nine and eight tackles respectivelyin the setback.

“Coach King and Coach Addison called some good plays,” saidRushing.

Asked about college, Rushing said he is considering a career inaccounting. His favorite NFL player is linebacker Patrick Willis ofthe San Francisco 49ers. West Lincoln won two games last season andsnapped a 26-game losing streak by defeating Williams-Sullivan 12-6in the 2009 season opener.

“I think we can win some games this year,” said Rushing. “We justhave to work out the kinks.”

Rushing is the 16-year-old son of Steve and Cassandra Rushing.Jaden, age 12; and Preslee, 4, are his younger brother and sister.Jaden plays junior high football at West Lincoln.

The Bears have an open date this week before playing the EnterpriseYellow Jackets.