STUART – South Fork has a talented one that not too many have known much about – until now.
It is time to introduce the masses to Kade Thomas, a senior defensive end/linebacker from the Class of 2024.
Provided photos
For starters, we will let you know what Thomas accomplished this past season for the Bulldogs. In eight games as a starter, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound defender posted the following statistics:
•51 tackles
•6 tackles for loss
•1 sack
•1 interception
•1 forced fumble
The best individual game for Thomas this past season came against John Carroll in Week 5. Here are his statistics from that one:
•7 tackles
•1 tackle for loss
•1 sack
•2 quarterback pressures
Thomas on how his junior season went at South Fork:
“My junior season didn’t start how I wanted by not seeing the field a lot,” Thomas said. “But in the next coming weeks, I proved myself to my coaches and became a starter the defense needed.”
The success that Thomas had on the field as a junior eventually led to his first college offer from Ave Maria. This milestone moment came on June 3.
“I got the offer in June at one of the camps,” Thomas said. “They have great coaches and a great facility. It’s all around a great NAIA school.”
Thomas has drawn interest from other schools as well.
“I’ve been talking to a few coaches that come in and out through South Fork, like Holy Cross and FAU,” Thomas said.
For the summer offseason, Thomas participated in the following camps and 7-on-7 tournaments:
•Ave Maria Camp
•Webber Camp
•Keiser OL/DL Line Camp
•Keiser 7-on-7 Tournament
Thomas on the Keiser events he participated in this past June:
“The Keiser Camp was good to get work, teaching me a lot of things with competition in our area,” Thomas said. “The 7-on-7 showed us there’s room to work, but us and our coaches saw improvement in our offense and defense.”
Speaking of the South Fork program as a whole, the primary goal right now is to do everything possible in making a turnaround from last year’s 2-8 campaign.
“Coach [Antwan] Blatch has been bringing in coaches that are ready to work, pushing us to our limit,” Thomas said. “I can say he’s already started growing the program a lot and making the kids better at focusing a lot on education too.”
Thomas shared his goals for his upcoming senior season at South Fork.
“My goals are to have over five sacks, over two interceptions and have 100 tackles this season,” Thomas said. “And for the team, it would be winning the district and making a playoff run.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: We are excited to see what’s is to come for both Thomas and the South Fork Bulldogs. Here’s hoping for a great fall season ahead.
