11/6/2015 football Edit

Two schools stand out to three star Tate

Luke Matheson

ArkansasVarsity.com Publisher

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Pine Bluff, Arkansas three star defensive end John Tate has been solid for the Zebras this year, and he and his teammates are poised to make another deep run into the playoffs.

Tate helped his team win the 6A-South conference championship Thursday night with a 41-28 victory over the Benton Panthers, but that win didn't come without a challenge from the Panthers.

He spoke with ArkansasVarsity.com following the game to talk about the win and more.

"Benton is a really good team and they have had some comebacks," said Tate. "When we was up 21-7 we knew that they could come back, so we had to adjust our defense to keep up with their tempo. We knew that we had to play hard because they could come back, and they did, so we just had to get pressure. We was able to use our d-line to get pressure on the quarterback and that led to some interceptions and other turnovers."

He also spoke about what he feels his team needs to do to repeat as Class 6A champions this year.

"We have to eliminate our mistakes," he said. "We have made a few more mistakes than we should, so we are going to have to work hard in practice, and keep the mentality of wanting to be perfect. We want to be perfect and have another chance at winning state."

At the beginning of the season, Tate listed Ole Miss, Louisville, Boise State, Louisiana Tech, and California as his top five. While that list remains the same, Tate says that there are two schools standing out to him right now.

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