Daniel Sinclair is a...

...mixed martial artist (MMA) from South Africa. You would be forgiven if you had him confused with the Richwoods punter/ placekicker by the same name (below).

You see, in the third quarter of the 6A championship game between Prairie Ridge and Richwoods, which the Wolves won, 35-14, Daniel Sinclair (the football player) kicked off to the Wolves following a Knight touchdown. PR's kick returner, Sean Folliard, weaved his way along the sideline to about the 35-yard line where he was met by Sinclair -- rudely -- with a tackle that could only be described as "unorthodox." It was so unusual, in fact, that the television announcers replayed it several times, commenting on it each time. I guess the best way to describe it is that Sinclair, essentially, put a head lock on the unsuspecting Folliard and then threw both feet up into the air. Sinclair was then upside down and perpendicular to the ground. Folliard -- who must have been stunned -- followed suit, turning upside down himself and hitting the turf head first. Ouch! Sinclair then jumped up and celebrated the feat with his teammates on the sideline.

The announcers, however, had a little difficulty processing what they had just seen.

"That was a heckuva tackle! Let's see that one again."

While they were waiting for the replay, the announcers reminded the listeners -- again -- that Sinclair was actually a goalie on the soccer team who was recruited by coach Roland Brown to kick for the football squad.

"There's that tackle again. In case you were wondering, this is how not to make a tackle."

"Looks like an MMA move!"

"Or a pile-driver from the WWF. Do they still have the WWF?"

"Let's look at that again. Remember, Sinclair was brought on from the soccer team. He is definitely not a football guy..."

It made me wonder about the conversation coach Brown had when he first approached Sinclair to kick for the football team.

"I've never played football; I guess I'm more of a soccer player, coach."

"That's okay; we just need someone who can kick the ball."

"Will I ever have to tackle anyone?"

"Hardly ever."

(Which is a nice segue into one of my rants opinions about kicking in high school football today. It's gotten much better, and the kickers need to kick off from the 30, or at least the 35-yard line. Too many kickoffs land in the end zone for an automatic touchback. There; got that out of the way.)

As for the game itself (oh, yeah -- that), it was a typical example of Prairie Ridge football: a ground game that wouldn't quit and a stingy defense that I've underestimated all year. To give you an idea of the kind of offense head coach Chris Shremp runs at PR, the Wolves gained 357 yards on the ground and only 13 -- yes, thirteen -- in the air. Quarterback Nick Nissen attempted just four passes all day, completing one and throwing one for an interception. (Woody Hayes must be smiling somewhere.) Contrast that with the 5A game (and I'll get to that eventually) which took place just prior to the 6A contest. John Rhode, the quarterback for Montini, threw for an astonishing 587 yards, a new 5A postseason record. Rhode threw 46 passes on the day, completing 29 with one interception. (Can't wait to see that game.)

But back to PR. Their offense, which consists of quarterback Nick Nissen and running backs Connor Greenwald and Jordan Getzelman, runs the option and Shremp has them Execute, Execute, Execute. It's a beautiful thing to behold. (I'm just glad Getzelman will be back next year.)

The defense was led by linebacker Collin Corcoran, with nine tackles, and defensive back Brett Covers, whose interception with four minutes remaining sealed Richwoods' fate. (And you gotta love a D back with a name like Covers.)

As for Peoria Richwoods, well, no team that has ever started the season 0-3 has gone on to win the state title, and that remains true after this weekend. But the Knights are a good team, from quarterback Wes McCormack to running back Jeremye Johnson to wide receiver Clayton Glasper, who the announcers kept saying "has a scholarship offer from West Point." (I wanted to tell them that everyone who attends West Point is on scholarship.) On defense the Knights were led by linebacker Michael McElrath and their two monster defensive lineman, Derrick Thomas (6'2", 255) and Malik Young (6'1", 333). Richwoods is a fairly young team and will return a lot of starters next year. I may have to drive down to Peoria and check them out some time.

But I can't wait to see the team Schremp fields next year at Prairie Ridge.