By Quintin Harlan, Herald Bulletin Sports Writer
LAPEL — What does a good defender need to be successful in the game of football?
Aggression? Yes, that helps. The very nature of football isn’t exactly for the weak of heart.
Passion? Most definitely. Take a look at the best defenders throughout the history of the game and try not to say anyone from Dick Butkus to Ray Lewis didn’t play with passion.
Motivation? Certainly. Everyone that has suited up at one time or another has had that passion to play the game and suceed at it, otherwise they wouldn’t be on the field.
Each of those three criteria are a necessary ingredient that goes into making a successful football player.
And in the case of Lapel’s Logan Ingle, those three qualities helped make him The Herald Bulletin’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2009 high-school football season.
“For two, two-and-a-half years, Logan’s been a great player for us,” said Lapel head football coach Nate Andrews. “He’s got a motor that you can’t coach. He’s ruthless, and he’s relentless coming after the football.”
Ingle played defensive line for the Bulldogs. Specifically, he lined up at defensive tackle.
In some defensive schemes in the game today, all that is asked of a defensive tackle is that they jam up the middle and keep their linebackers clean so the linebacker can make the stop.
The most recent evidence of this was the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who had Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams keeping Ray Lewis from being blocked by linemen and fullbacks and were an integral part of a defense that won a Super Bowl.
Ingle though isn’t a space-eater. He’s a defender and a look at his numbers proves that.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound senior had 109 tackles in his final prep campaign. In the last few weeks of the season, Ingle did spend time as a linebacker. But the bulk of his numbers came from lining up with a hand on the ground.
“We had a need at linebacker due to some injuries, and we were loking for a guy to make some plays,” said Andrews. “We turned to Logan for one of our defenses, and he was able to do that. But we felt he was at his best when he had his hand on the ground.”
“I was really motivated to play (middle) linebacker. I’m used to being on the line and having three guys block me. Playing linebacker and being free to roam was fun,” said Ingle. “I played linebacker when I was a kid, and it just felt like home.”
His final statistical line broke down with 64 solo tackles, 45 assists, 26 tackles for loss, seven sacks, nine hurries, four fumbles forced and four fumbles recovered.
An indication Ingle was in for a big year was the opening week of the season when the Bulldogs’ defensive tackle had 10 tackles for loss in the second half.
During the Knightstown game, Ingle was playing linebacker for the Bulldogs when the scheme called for him to drop back in coverage.
“He was in a Cover 2 situation and was able to be very rangy and get out to the sideline and knock down a pass on a comeback route, which is unheard of,” said Andrews. “For him to be able to do that was impressive. With his wingspan, he’s able to make those plays.”
Ingle’s plans are to attend Ball State University and walk on to the football team.
