They say defense wins championships. It also comes in all sizes.

The 2006 Butler Eagle Football All-Star Defensive Sweet 16 team has a little bit of everything, from repeat performers to players who got their chance and some who were taking their first shots.

The Nov. 18 matchup between Karns City and Moniteau in the District 9 Class AA semifinal featured four of this year’s Sweet 16 selections.

Gremlins junior defensive end Cameron Turner and senior linebacker Justin Switzer were members of the all-star team last year and their play has helped Karns City work its way into the D-9 championship against Brookville Nov. 25 at Clarion University.

Switzer finished the regular season as one of the leading tacklers in District 9 with 103.

The Warriors are represented on the team by senior linebacker Aaron Randall and senior defensive lineman Justin Castello.

“Aaron is our signal-caller on defense,” said Moniteau coach Steve Wilson. “He blitzed a lot and had seven sacks and 81 tackles. He was kind of our middle shutdown linebacker.

“Aaron had senior leadership. He was Mr. Consistency. We moved him around week to week. He was steady and also had seven sacks,” Wilson added.

Other schools had two representatives on the team. Scott Brettel and Matt Kennedy of Mars, Justin McGowan and Eric Farmer of Knoch, Kevin Turner and Cory Massart of Freeport and Josh Woods and Dwayne Martin of Grove City.

Coincidently, the aforementioned six teams were the top six teams of the area’s 12 squads in fewest yards allowed through the first nine weeks of the season.

Brettel was a first-team All-Tri-County North Conference pick on both sides of the ball and had 56 tackles, including 13 for losses, while Kennedy led the defensive attack with a team-high 99 tackles for the Planets, who reached the WPIAL quarterfinals.

Kevin Turner was a member of the Sweet 16 last year and led the Yellowjackets in tackles for the second consecutive season, while Massart played his first season of football since the eighth grade.

“Kevin made a lot of adjustments out there,” said Freeport coach Bill Dillen. “He knew what I wanted. It was like having a coach on the field.

“Cory did a good job and was second-team all-Allegheny Conference as a defensive back as well as a receiver. He usually covered their best receiver,” Dillen added.

Woods is another second-time all-star and was a key in helping the Eagles to reach the second round of the District 10 playoffs. Martin was an honorable mention pick last season as a freshman, but his play in the secondary this year also paid huge dividends for Grove City.

Butler and Seneca Valley were represented by senior linebacker Dan McPherson and junior safety Shaine Patsilevas, respectively. Patsilevas was a first-team Quad North All-Star choice.

A-C Valley senior safety Brandon Eiler registered 123 tackles in the Falcons’ nine games, while Summit Academy’s Leonard Brown, in playing his first football season ever, helped the Knights to a school-record 4-5 mark.

“He was responsible for three of our wins,” said Summit Academy coach Steve Sherer. “He led the team in interceptions with five and took two back for touchdowns, including one for 100 yards.”

<b>Linemen: </b>Lee Stalker (Butler), Shawn Eagle (Seneca Valley), Stew Myers (Seneca Valley), Lamonte Valentine (Summit Academy), Ali Ellis (Summit Academy), Arik Gallagher (Slippery Rock), Justin Sanderson (Moniteau), Caleb Broerman (Grove City), Drew Logue (Union)<b>Linebackers: </b>Eric Petanovich (Butler), Vince Papley (Slippery Rock), Jesse Kniess (Slippery Rock), Travis Shaffer (Moniteau), Cody Redfoot (Grove City), Nick Delligatti (Grove City)<b>Secondary: </b>Dan Pickard (Knoch), Josh Loos (Moniteau), Stephen Grandison (Summit Academy), Sean Gress (Seneca Valley), Carroll Smith (Mars), Derrick Orloski (Slippery Rock), Justin Burk (Grove City), Josh Holden (Union)<b>Punters: </b>Ryan Scheller (Seneca Valley), Ryan Schroth (Mars), Zach Hepler (Freeport)