ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: DAVID ENDERLE

David Enderle

School: Scott City

Sport: Football

Coach: Roy Williams

Week Report: Because of a power outage, Enderle and his Rams played two games last week, one Monday and one Friday. But while half of the lights didn't work two Friday nights ago, Enderle was simply electric three nights later. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound senior running back/linebacker/strong safety scored four touchdowns Monday -- three rushing and another on a kickoff return against Caruthersville -- and ran back an interception Friday night against Hayti. In all, Enderle had almost 400 total yards between the two games.

Season: Primarily a defensive player his first three years (He played some at wide receiver), Enderle, a defensive leader, has given Scott City another threat in the offensive backfield. Earlier this season, teams were keying on Matt Underwood -- the leading rusher in Southeast Missouri in 1998. Now, with the emergence of Enderle, the Rams (6-1) have two legitimate running backs. Enderle has carried the ball 52 times for 401 yards (7.7 yards per carry) this season. He has scored seven touchdowns and has two interceptions. He averages seven solo tackles and four assists per game.

Coach's comments: "When we started out with him on offense he wasn't even real sure he wanted to do it. Little by little, we're doing more with him. Now, he's our primary kick returner. When you talk to him in school, he's an ordinary Joe. He doesn't have a big head or think about himself as a stud athlete. At practice, he always wants to test himself and push himself. He's very strong for his size. He's muscled up. His fat percentage is probably around four or five percent. (His offensive play) has really helped us with him taking pressure off Underwood. They're a double threat and that will help us and already has helped us. The more people concentrate on Matt, the easier it is for Scott Johnston and Enderle to do their thing. We've let David step in and go with it. He's turned out to be a diamond in the rough. He can catch a pass; he can run with the ball. The only thing we haven't asked him to do is kick it and he could probably do that."