Devin Erdei • ATH Out-of-Door Academy Football

Out-of-Door Academy is 3-0 because the defense has not blinked. Devin Erdei is a big reason. The senior, 6-foot-2 and 184 pounds, plays receiver, linebacker and defensive back, wears No. 30, and last fall led the Thunder with 83 tackles, four interceptions and four forced fumbles. He added 18 tackles for loss. That is not a part-time two-way résumé. That is a captain of the defense.

“I feel amazing about the performance of the team recently,” Erdei said. “I really feel like we’ve grown week-by-week. Really staying locked in. Every practice, practice for a purpose, practice how you play. That’s been the mentality we’ve been getting after.”

He has been in that locker room since his freshman year, when he already posted 43 tackles. By his junior season he was SSAA All-State and a captain. Playing both ways, he says, is the point. “It kind of helps being on both sides of the ball. Because you know how an offensive minded player and a defensive minded player thinks. That definitely helps out. Really just uniting the boys together. Practice can get chippy, but you really just gotta remember we’re all one team.”

Friday is the Headmaster’s Cup against Saint Stephen’s. Last year ODA won it 45-0, and Erdei took an interception to the end zone. He is not treating this one like a rematch so much as a measuring stick. “I’m feeling super confident. This is by far the strongest team ODA has had since I’ve gotten here as a freshman. So yeah, really proud of the boys.”

The motto on that sideline is ‘Ride for the Brand’. Erdei repeats it without dressing it up. “100 percent, staying locked in on and off the field. Really going after each practice with a purpose. We’re really just trying to be a team and work hard together and uplift each other.”

Teams will have to know where number 30 is lined up at all times. Because stopping him on one side of the football is a challenge. But stopping him on both is where he’ll give you a run for your money.