WILL CLEMENS
M. CATHOLIC FOOTBALL (DEFENSE)
It was easy this season to locate linebacker Will Clemens when the Marin Catholic defense was on the field. Just find the ball. Playing middle linebacker for the extremely stingy MC defense, Clemens recorded 82 tackles, almost 30more than any of his teammates.
The linebacker was the cornerstone of the Wildcats' multi-talented defensive unit and for that reason he is the Marin IJ's defensive player of the year, edging out teammate Trent Carrade (15sacks) for the honor.
“He's just a football player — a hard-nosed football player,” MC coach Mazi Moayed said. “Will is one of the best players we've ever had come through the program at any position.”
Clemens, who made the varsity squad as a sophomore, was a captain and defensive playcaller each of the last two seasons.
“He's great in so many ways,” Moayed said. “He preps for a game like a quarterback, watches lots of film and asks a lot of good questions. He really tries to understand the opponent. Anytime you get a guy who prepares like that and is also a great team leader, he's hard to replace.”
Along with his team-leading tackles, Clemens added five quarterback sacks and an interception.
“If a blocker is coming up, I do my best to blow it up,” Clemens said. “I fly to the ball as hard as I can and hit the guy holding the ball as hard as I can. And as a defensive captain, I try to make sure all my teammates are on the same page.” Clemens is yet undecided about his choice of college for next year, but he says he will most likely attend a smaller university and probably still play football.
Clemens says it might take a while to recover from a loss to San Ramon Valley in the NorCal championship game.
“As far as games go, the most fun game was definitely that last game against San Ramon Valley even though we lost,” he said. “It was competitive the whole time. It was a battle. Right to the end, not once did I think our defense wasn't going to get a stop. That's how confident we were.”