Wildcats senior Wilkinson pressuring QB on defense, helping them on offense

This fall, the player setting the edge of the line on both offense and defense for Fruita Monument is the same kid.

Wildcats senior Nate Wilkinson lines up at tight end on offense. On the other side of the ball, he plays defensive end. In one facet of the game, he is his quarterback’s best friend, serving as a safety valve passing option and one of his team’s most crucial blockers. On the other, he makes a habit of being a thorn in the side of the opposing gunslinger as one of Fruita’s leading pass rushers. Though his two positions are in many ways directly opposed, the senior says that playing both has helped him develop the mental aspect of his game, and has helped him improve markedly this fall.

“I just know what the other side of the ball needs to do, so it’s, like, easier to counter it,” the senior said.

Wilkinson, a part-time lacrosse player in the spring, has done a great job of countering opposing teams throughout the season. He ranks second among Fruita Monument pass catchers in terms of both yards and touchdowns this fall. On defense, he checks in at second in both tackles for loss and sacks. The senior provides value to his Fruita Monument team in both roles individually, but in the aggregate, he has been one of the most crucial players for the Wildcats all fall.

“Last year, I played a lot of tight end and really learned to love it,” said Wilkinson, who worked exclusively on offense in his junior campaign. “I scored my first touchdown, caught my first pass, and I was like ‘Huh, this is pretty cool.’ But then this year, I’m playing defense, and on offense, tight end makes a big impact through blocking and in the passing game, but I feel like I’m making a bigger impact on the defensive side. Sacks, QB hurries, it really disrupts an offense.”

The Wildcat senior said that while it can be physically straining to play nearly all snaps on both sides of the football, it’s a challenge that he welcomes in the name of supporting his Wildcat team.

“I get tired, for sure,” Wilkinson said. “But all I need is like one play, and I’m good to go.”

Fruita Monument designed a pair of pass plays to go Wilkinson’s direction Friday, Oct. 9, but they were unable to connect on either pass in a microcosm of their game-long offensive dysfunction as they lost 31-7 to Montbello at Stocker Stadium.

On three occasions in the first half, the Wildcats drove deep into Montbello territory. But all three possessions ended in disaster, as two fumbles and an interception in the end zone prevented scores in each case. Because of those miscues, Fruita Monument headed to the locker room with a goose egg on the scoreboard.

The second half didn’t offer much of a reprieve for the Wildcats, as after a Weston Sharpe rushing touchdown trimmed the Warriors’ lead to 10, Fruita threw another interception, lost a third fumble and never returned to the end zone en route to a 24-point defeat.

The Wildcats fell to 4-3 on the season with Friday’s defeat. At 2-2 in Big 8 League play, they also fell to a tie for third place in the league. Fruita Monument will look to bounce back and get back in the win column next weekend as they prepare to welcome Denver South to Stocker Stadium. Kickoff between the Wildcats and the Ravens is slated for 6:30 p.m.

Go to GJSentinel.com to read about how the Grand Junction High School football team did in their matchup with Greeley West and how the D51 cross country runners did in Friday’s Warrior XC Invitational at Lincoln Park Golf Course.