Top defensive players get their due

(Second of three parts)

They say that defense wins championships, and with just a handful of days until the undefeated Shell Chiefs and the upstart Verizon Nitro vie for the championship of the 2004 edition of the Commonwealth Football League, league officials have singled out some of the top defenders that will be recognized during the half time festivities.

On the defensive side, Shell Chiefs linebacker Chico Reyes will be recognized for having put an end to more plays than any other individual in the league. With a quickness that was matched only by his intensity, Reyes outran and overpowered would-be blockers to record 15 solo tackles and assist on 25.

Along the way, the Saipan equivalent of Ray Lewis successfully pursued opposing quarterbacks for a total of four and a half sacks. Reyes also joined in to help on the special teams unit, recording three blocked punts and a touchdown for the Red and Yellow.

For his efforts on the CFL gridiron, the CFL statisticians have rated Reyes as the top defender in the league with a rating of 36.

While Reyes single handedly laid out more opponents than any other tackler in the CFL, teammate Juan Kapileo will receive his druthers for having wrapping up the most quarterbacks.

Few offensive lineman were able to stop the efforts of big No. 97 as he invaded backfields virtually undefended en route to accumulating 7.5 quarterback sacks. When Kapileo wasn’t threatening the purveyors of the forward pass, he was plugging up holes and snuffing out plays.

Kapileo finished the season with 12 solo tackles and 17 assists to finish fourth overall with a rating of 28 from the CFL statisticians.

While Reyes and Kapileo made a living giving people a sit down for the Shell Chiefs, Syl Teregeyo made a name for himself by taking away opportunities from opposing offenses by becoming an interstellar interceptor.

Like a thief in the night, Teregeyo donned his black uniform and crept into the wide receivers’ patterns and took away the most passes in the league. The multi-positional Teregeyo delivered nightmares to quarterback that dreamt that they could go deep on him, as he intercepted eight passes for the Miller Barbarians.

Aside from contributing 11 tackles and five assists, the Barbarians safety turned in some exciting performances as a running back, a receiver, and a special teamer. Teregeyo provided one of the highlights of the season when he scored the game-winning touchdown three weeks ago when he returned a punt for a touchdown in the closing minutes of a game against the Nitro.

“Syl the Slash” finished the season as the sixth overall defensive player, as rated by the CFL statisticians, with a score of 21.5.