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Growing up, every athlete wants to leave their mark on the local high school. The best way to do that is by showing up and showing out in the rivalry games. Christian Brock did just that on Friday against LaFayette. 

Brock had three receptions for 28 yards and one touchdown against the Bulldogs. Brock did his best work on the defensive side where he finished with four tackles and one interception that he returned 96 yards for a touchdown. 

Lanett was up 34-12, but LaFayette had a chance to cut the lead to fifteen early in the fourth quarter. Tae Towles attempted a deep shot, but Brock stepped in front of the pass and sealed the game. 

“My first thought when I caught the ball was just run it,” Brock said. “I had a feeling I was going to take it back. I didn’t see anyone but my teammates in front of me at the time when I caught it. So, I just took it to the crib.” 

“Right when he caught it, I yelled at everybody on the sideline to get back,” Lanett coach Chip Seagle said. “I knew that he was about to make something happen.” 

Brock had been unable to have much of an impact on Lanett the past couple of seasons due to being ineligible. Now, as a junior, Brock has grown as a person, and his maturity has allowed him to become a key piece for the Panthers. 

“He’s matured,” Seagle said. “He hasn’t had this opportunity, and he has made a lot of this opportunity. That’s one of the rewarding things about being a high school coach, is to watch kids grow.”

Brock not playing the past couple of seasons makes it that much harder on Lanett’s opponents. Now, Brock can act as a secret weapon for the Panthers. 

All season, teams have been focused on stopping Alajawon Whitfield. Whitfield has been dynamic on both sides of the ball. Brock acts as a compliment for Whitfield on offense because teams are not able to focus on just one guy. 

“Christian is a dynamic athlete,” Seagle said. “He’s a compliment to Won Won. When Christian is on the field, they can’t sit on no. 1. Like I told you in the summer, he may be the best football player nobody knows. He just had a coming-out party under the Friday night lights last week. It made a big difference on offense and defense.”
Now that Brock has shown himself on the field, teams are likely to gameplan for the type of player that Seagle thought he was before the season started. Brock is dead set on making sure those coaches know who he is after each game. 

“They really just have to see for themselves,” Brock said. “A lot of folks can say a lot of things. I could be good to Coach Seagle. Some folks might not think I’m that good, but I believe I’m that good.”
Brock is becoming more of a ball hawk thanks to his assistant coaches. Brock has learned how to read quarterbacks. Despite having just one interception on Friday, he was in position for more, and he came away with several pass deflections. 

Brock set a goal to have five interceptions on the season. Currently, he has four to go along with 15 pass breakups and 26 tackles. 

“I’m reading the quarterback’s eyes and which way he’s about to pump to,” Brock said. “If he’s looking to the left, I’m leaning to the left.” 

Lanett has a must-win game against Goshen next Friday. The Panthers are in a situation where they have to win their next two matchups to make the playoffs. Goshen is currently two spots ahead of Lanett, but a win on Friday puts the Panthers in fourth place with a tiebreaker over the Eagles. 

Goshen has undoubtedly gotten film all season on Lanett as they have faced common opponents. After Friday, the Eagles might have to switch up their game plan to focus more on no. 5 in black. 

“I’m sure Goshen had film on us,” Seagle said. “If I’m Goshen, and I’m looking at that film from Friday night, I’m going oh crap they’ve got another one.”