By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

LA CROSSE -- Freshman Tayler Stull takes a simple approach when he is on defense for the La Crosse prep football team.

"Just do your assignment right and go at 100 miles an hour," Stull said.

Stull's philosophy has helped the athletic 150-pound freshman emerge as a key player in the Leopards' defense.

He leads the team with six sacks, including two on one series against Meade in Week 9.

Last week, in the 38-30 road victory against St. Francis that gave La Crosse the regional title, Stull had four tackles. He and senior linebacker Jeremy Garcia had a critical tackle for loss on a bootleg from St. Francis quarterback Matt Raile late in the game that helped solidify the win.

Raile had faked a handoff, put the ball on his hip and rolled right. Garcia and Stull read the play and had backside pursuit for the tackle.

"It was more our keys," Garcia said. "Coach, what he was coaching us to do was read our keys. I read my key. I took the gap I was responsible for. I saw him the whole game just put the ball on his hip. I knew when he had the ball.

"Stull, Coach said, when you see that quarterback and it was getting late in the game, Coach was telling him, you have got to get the quarterback, you have got to get the quarterback, because we knew that play was coming," Garcia added.

"I read my key and Stull read the quarterback and he got there at the exact time I did. It was just good reads on both parts and I think Stull did a very good job of that."

Stull, who high jumped with the Hays Striders for several years with head coach Ty Haas, and Kim Haberman, a four-time state champion for TMP-Marian, has emerged as one of the more athletic young players for the Leopards.

"You always know that at a school our size, if the kid is a pretty good athlete, you have got a chance to help us," head coach Ryan Cornelsen said. "It came down to how badly did he want to play and how tough would he be when he would get to play. He stepped up and made some big plays in Meade and St. Francis, our two biggest games. We are very happy with how he has progressed as a player."

Stull, also the backup quarterback, plays in the secondary, but is also brought up to the line of scrimmage.

"I was pretty much up there on every play," Stull said of the St. Francis game.

"We feel like he is pretty good in the open field with his quickness," Cornelsen said. "He is a guy that can rush and get to the quarterback."

Stull, who earned a starting job after a Kelly Biernacki broke his hand in Week 3 against Southern Valley (Neb.), has 45 tackles for the Leopards and one interception.

"He stepped in and he stepped up," Cornelsen said. "I felt he earned that position. He is one of the faster kids on the team, more athletic kids on the team. He just had to decide how bad he wanted to play and he wanted to play pretty bad."

"He is poised," Garcia said. "That is tough for him to do as a freshman to step in there in a varsity game. He plays hard and he won't let you down.