CHERRY TWP — Make no mistake: Jacob Boy is a man.

Moniteau's 6-foot-5, 220-pound outside linebacker possesses the combination of brains and brawn that make him attractive to Harvard, Louisville, Duke and other Division I schools.

And he's hungry for more.

"I want to one-up what I did last year," Boy said.

That will take some doing. Boy set a school record with 25 sacks and knocked the quarterback down on nine other occasions. He batted down eight passes, forced 19 hurries, caused five fumbles, recovered two and blocked four punts.

He also finished second on the team with 68 tackles and was named Moniteau's Defensive Player of the Year.

"Jacob was leading the team in tackles when offenses started running away from him the last few games," Warriors coach Jeff Campbell said. "That's when (linebacker Tyler Armagost) passed him up on the tackle list because the action was coming his way.

"Jacob is so fast and athletic. His arms span out so wide that he disrupts a lot of things."

Boy also knocked three quarterbacks out of games last year — all on clean hits.

But Boy tops all that by carrying a 4.0 grade-point average and plans to major in biology in college He hopes to become a doctor or a chemist.

"His SAT score was 1952," Campbell said. "He's an intelligent kid and an intelligent player.

"Jacob reads the play so well that he gets to the point of attack before the ball carrier does," the coach added.

"I'm a quick learner," Boy said. "I pick up on things fast."

A football player since seventh grade, Boy has played defensive end and outside linebacker. He can play as a stand-up end, play from the three-point stance, blitz or drop into coverage.

Where he'll be coming from this year is anybody's guess.

"We use multiple formations and I know blocking schemes will be keyed on Jacob," Campbell said. "We'll line him up in different spots and move him all over the field to counter that."

On offense, Boy has played running back, left tackle and tight end. He'll play any position to get on the field.

But he prefers defense.

"I just like playing on that side of the ball," he said. "It got a little frustrating at times last year when teams quit running my way because I like to be involved in the play.

"We've got other players on the defense who can make plays, though. We're a solid 11-man unit."

When it comes to statistics, Boy doesn't know much. He doesn't follow how many tackles he's made or quarterback hurries he's caused.

"I don't even look at the stat sheet, ever" he insisted.

He doesn't have to. The only statistic he follows — sacks — he monitors himself.

"I always know how many I have," he said. "Sacking the quarterback is a big play. It's an impact play, and that's what I want to provide."

Boy made first-team all-conference as an offensive lineman and defensive end last season. He was second team all-state at defensive end as well.

"His body is really cut," Campbell said. "He's such a strong kid. In one-on-one drills, he took one of our 300-pound kids and handled him. None of our offensive linemen have been able to block him coming off the end, but we're getting there.

"That's another thing I like about him. He's elevating the play of our offensive linemen in practice because they won't face another defender like him during the season."