Before the high school football season started, Lake Charles College Prep head coach Erick Franklin said he had the best group of linebackers in the state in Kendrick Pete, Kevin Freeman and Daylon Sibley.

Eight games later, Franklin is sticking by his statement as the Trailblazers prepare for a District 4-3A showdown Friday night at undefeated Iowa.

Prep is 5-3 and has won all three district games.

“I think they’ve even gotten better,” Franklin said of his group. “Just from focus, game-planning and getting ready for a game they have improved. They were already good football players.”

That shows up on the stat sheet. Sibley has 101 tackles, 17 for loss. Freeman has 82 with 10 for loss while Pete has 65 with 10 for loss.

Pete, a senior, said the unit has all the necessary tools to succeed.

“We have a little bit of everything — speed, strength and explosiveness,” he said. “Sibley has a knack for the ball. He never misses tackles. Kevin is always ready to hit and always in the right spot. I can read and react, get to the right spot in time.”

Freeman, a junior, is the thumper of the group.

“I’m always ready to hit,” he said.

Freeman said the Blazers’ defensive line and his linebacker mates make things easy for him.

“Knowing that they will always be in the right place, it is easy for me to just read and make plays,” he said.

Sibley, a junior, supports his coach’s claim that no one matches the Blazers’ group of linebackers.

“If one of us isn’t there, I know another one will be,” he said. (Pete and Freeman) make everything easier, make the defense complete. Kevon can take on a block, is quick and twitchy. Pete is real smart and fast; he can always get to the ball.”

Sibley is not afraid of Iowa’s prolific offense, which averages 46 points per game.

“We have to do what we do every week, produce and hold them to a few points so we can win district,” he said.