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St. Francis' Crabtree in the right place at the right time
By RANDY GONZALES
Hays Daily News
Ted Crabtree's 12 interceptions this season might be all the more remarkable because St. Francis saw few teams that employed a passing attack.
Conversely, helping Crabtree was the fact that teams often fell behind against the Indians, and were forced to pass. And passing the ball with Crabtree patrolling the deep secondary was a recipe for disaster for Sainty opponents.
Crabtree, a senior free safety, returned two of his school record 12 interceptions for touchdowns, including one for 100 yards. Crabtree also led the team in tackles with 141 (44 solo). For his efforts, Crabtree has been named Defensive Player of the Year on the 24th annual Hays Daily News all-area football team.
For Crabtree, picking off passes is a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
"You just watch where the quarterback wants to throw, make the play on the ball," Crabtree said.
St. Francis coach Tim Lambert felt comfortable having Crabtree as the team's last line of defense, against both the run and the pass.
"You just felt like teams weren't going to break a big one on you, with his tackling," Lambert said. "They weren't going to throw over the middle."
Tackling -- and tackling hard -- is what the St. Francis defense is all about, Crabtree said.
"We like to hit hard," the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Crabtree said. "That's what we pride ourselves on."
Lambert took pride in Crabtree's defensive honor, while the safety was happy somebody -- anybody -- was honored.
"We're sure happy with the recognition he brings the program," Lambert said. "It's a tribute to him, his character, his work ethic.
"He's a great teammate -- I don't think I can say a better thing about him," Lambert added.
"It's just nice somebody getting recognized on the team," Crabtree said. "If it wasn't me, I would be extremely proud of whoever it was."
Sports editor Randy Gonzales can be reached at (785) 628-1081, Ext. 137, or by e-mail at
rgonzales@dailynews.net.
