When St. Louis Catholic head coach Brock Matherne sets Graham Montet loose on the field, he knows exactly what he is going to get — a leader and a tackling machine.

“He is so explosive,” Matherne said. “The best thing that he does — he is a smart football player — is he knows his run reads and his keys.

“At the end of the day, he is just a playmaker. He is always going to find himself around the ball, whether it is run or pass. When he does, he gets there quickly and violently, and I love that about him.”

He made 127 tackles as a sophomore last season and is up to 101 through eight games this season. He has helped transform the Saints from a 4-7 team to a 7-1 team and on the verge of winning the District 3-3A championship. He played fullback as a freshman in 2020.

“When I switched over to linebacker, it was fun seeing the field,” Montet said. “It kind of felt natural to me. I like tackling people so it was fun.”

In between his last two football seasons, Montet won the Division III 170-pound wrestling state championship. He said the two sports go hand in hand.

“Wrestling helps a lot with football, and football helps a lot with wrestling,” Montet said. “Whenever you are wrestling, you are always low in a stance and taking people down. Aand in football, you are low tackling people, so they evenly match up and help me be the best I can at both of them.”

In four district games, Montet has 49 tackles and five tackles for loss, including a 19-tackle performance in a 10-point win over defending district champion Lake Charles College Prep two weeks ago.

“I think the biggest thing so far is he has learned not to overpursue things,” Matherne said. “Sometimes his speed can take him out of plays.

“He has learned to be a little more patient and explode at the right moment. He helps everybody else get focused, and that has been a big part of our success in recent games.

“I remember the Prep week and him just taking control and being able to call out how we wanted to align for each formation. It was a special feeling seeing him come into his own.”

He has also excelled on the offensive side. When called into action three weeks ago against Westlake, he ran for 134 yards and three scores. He said he expects his offensive role to grow.

“We had to put some stuff together because our star running back, Hank Milligan, was hurt, so I had to go in and fill in for him,” Montet said. “It was fun playing both sides. I liked it a lot. It just showed people what I could do. I think I am going to play a little more (offense) this season. They are starting to fill me in on some of the plays.”

Montet will lead the defense in the Saints’ district showdown against Iowa (7-1, 5-0) Thursday at Matt Walker Memorial Stadium.

“It’s a big game,” Montet said. “We are preparing ourselves well.

“They have a good team,” he said of the Yellow Jackets. “We are going to see what we can do. We need to be aggressive and play the best we can to stop their running back. Their running back and O-line are pretty good. We are going to have to be on our A game.”