Gridiron: Nunley grappling with key role in Tigers’ defense

Many of the Cape Central Tigers find themselves in a different role as they enter the 2023 campaign.

That situation is no different for Davarious Nunley. He has his eyes set on being an anchor for the Cape Central defense as they look to replicate their impressive 2022 season where they finished 10-4 and made a trip to the Class 5 State Semifinal game.

“Last year I was really dependent on the seniors to lead the team,” Nun-ley said. “It’s my job now.”

Nunley enters his senior football season on the heels of qualifying for the wrestling state tournament after placing fourth in the 175-pound weight class at the Class 3 District 1 Tournament. He also won a district title and appeared in the state tournament as a sophomore. His development as a player and a leader can be attributed to his success in wrestling.

“Wrestling helps out a lot with conditioning,” Nunley said. “It also helped me get better technique when it comes to tackling.”

Wrestling is a sport where success comes down to each individual match. It’s him, the opponent, and nobody else. For the wrestling team, he was the leader in the room among a young team yearning for development. However, football is a total team sport, where everyone on the field relies on the contributions of their teammates to aid their success.

“Football is a team sport,” Nunley said. “If someone on the team messes up, I did too. As a linebacker, I’m supposed to lead the entire defense.”

Nunley and the Tigers find themselves in a spot where they are looking to improve off a historic turn-around season in 2022. The Tigers finished 10-4 and advanced all the way to the Class 5 State Semifinal game. Their defense went from 31.1 opponent points per game in 2021 to 24.2 OPPG in 2022. That number has gone down each year since 2020 and they aim to continue that trend.

“I think our teamwork (is the same as last year),” Nunley said. “Our team wasn’t the best last year but we had a lot of good chemistry. I see that again this year.”