LJ FB: Wiese is the bomb

Viking linebacker Jack Wiese (far right)
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

"(Jack) Wiese is getting a ton of tackles," remarked Viking statistician Mike Wykosky early in La Jolla's 16-14 loss at Blast Off to Santa Fe Christian.

"Wyko", a former assistant coach on the Viking staff, would eventually tally up 12 tackles--10 solos and two assists--for the 5'11", 185-pound linebacker, who has been on an increasing mission the first three weeks of the season.

The former so-called "Super Soph", one of a few young Vikings to ascend to the varsity last year and play a role on the team, despite their youth, has been making people take notice with his recent performances.

Twelve is a lot of tackles. Those are the numbers that a guy like Max Smith, a "super sophomore" this year, has piled up since his freshman season in 2017--but Smith is busy also carrying the ball and doing whatever else head coach Tyler Roach wants him to do for the team.

Meanwhile, Wiese stays on focus, getting his man in whatever situation the game presents.

Wiese (12) handles a SFC runner. The junior had
12 tackles from his middle linebacker position
leading the Viking defense.
(Photo by Eric Brown)

Though the Blast Off encounter ended in the narrow loss, there were bright spots before the enormous "Whiteout" student crowd that went crazy in rushing onto the field in the halftime celebration. One was Carsten Fehlan's leading the Viking offense to a late touchdown to tighten the game at 16-14.

Another was Langston Aron's continuing efforts on defense, he a senior who was recruited from the La Jolla High basketball team after displaying a lot of athleticism as a junior. The 6'2" leaper recorded four solo tackles and three assists, for a total of seven tackles against the Eagles.

Finally, Jack Wiese's being everywhere for the Viking defense provided a jewel in the crown.

"He's really been anchoring our defense at middle linebacker," said Roach before Friday's game.

His surname means "meadow" in German. The word elicits peaceful visions of green expanses in Europe.

Sure, Jack plays on the green in football. But his attacks on opposing quarterbacks, runners, and receivers are less than "meadowy". He seeks to disrupt and stop defenses. That is his job in Defensive Coordinator Charles Bussey's system.

The powerfully built junior carries out his mission without fanfare, without a showy personality that draws attention to himself. But Roach and Bussey are fully aware of what he contributes.

Wiese's earlier efforts in a loss at Central Union in El Centro (three tackles) and a win last week at home versus Country Day (three more) didn't draw as much attention as his dirty dozen at Blast Off.

But his numbers also need to be readjusted a little, as "Wyko" was away on a trip to his hometown in Pennsylvania during the beginning of the season. That means the statistics weren't readjusted for the games in weeks one and two, after Wykosky views the game film on Hudl to update the numbers and capture all the unrecorded tackles and assists.

The change may be slight, but the three tackles against Central and the three against the Torreys will probably go up. "Wyko" has barely had time to catch his breath after getting back from his late-summer trip, with his wife gone and care of his little one left to him alone over the Labor Day Weekend, when he would normally be viewing the game film Saturday morning.

In other words, give "Wyko" an assist in Wiese's numbers.