Male Athlete of the Week
Austin Roberts - South Paulding

By Chase Wallace
Paulding Neighbor (10-11-2011)
 
From his middle linebacker position, senior Austin Roberts is the captain and leader of one of the best defensive units in all of Class AAAA.

Through six games the Spartans are allowing just 10.6 points per contest. In sub-region play the defense has been even better, pitching shutouts in all three of their games against Villa Rica, Alexander and Lithia Springs.

“We’re playing pretty good on defense right now, and we are a confident bunch,” said Roberts of his team’s play through the last three weeks. “We all just play really well together and we are really physical. You can’t just come right at us; you better go side-to-side if you’re attacking [the South Paulding defense].”

Roberts, in his third year as a starter for South Paulding, was named a defensive captain for the second straight season. Through six games this year he is the Spartans’ leading tackler with 58 — an average of 9.8 per game.

The senior linebacker has his team in first place in Region 5AAAA-South and with three games to play before the region play-in, Roberts has his eye on making history by season’s end.

“We’re a lot better than we were last year and a lot more of a team. I just want to see us keep playing hard and keep winning. Hopefully we can take it to state for the first time in school history,” he said.