Casper finds home for Mac as defensive end

Anyone who has watched MacArthur play this season has probably been impressed with the defensive unit that has been tough, allowing just 26 points while the Highlanders have bolted out to a 3-0 record.

That defensive unit isn’t blessed with great size up front but the Highlanders make up by playing an aggressive, “get after them” attacking style with quickness across the unit.

Marquis Casper is one of those guys up front, playing defensive end at 5-11, 225 pounds. In the Highlanders’ 41-7 victory over Lawton High School Friday Casper had 2.5 sacks and several tackles for loss.

“The thing I like to see on our video is how we swarm to the football,” Casper said. “Every tackle you see a bunch of yellow helmets around the ball. Our effort has been really good on defense.”

Casper says he relies on his quickness to get in position to make a play and then it comes down to technique and strength.

“My quickness is my strength,” he said. “I was one of those guys who didn’t get into lifting until I realized how important it was on the field.”

Even though Casper has played offense during his career at Mac he loves defense.

“I played offense but now I have settled in and really enjoy defense,” he said. “It just seems like a god fit for me at defensive end. Our defense is playing well and it’s fun to be out there. We’ve shut down two good backs in the past two games (Eisenhower’s Rashaud Hurt and Lawton High’s Nate Jones) and we knew we had to do that to win those games.”

While Casper does enjoy playing video games and working out, he also enjoys helping 8-year-old brother Jaelan learn the game of football.

“He’s going to be bigger than I am and I just enjoy helping him improve and learn the game,” he said.

While Casper isn’t as big as most linemen, he still enjoys his time at the dinner table.

“I think the food I love the most is anything my grandmother, Dora Ocasio, cooks for us,” he said. “She cooks a lot of good food but I think my favorite is her tamales. She is a very good cook, both Mexican and Puerto Rican food.”

When it comes to the classroom, Caspers likes all of his classes but is especially fond of English.

“I have always been fond of English and have always enjoyed writing,” he said.

Being a good student has become a requirement to get a scholarship in any sport and Casper would love to play at the next level.

“I really would like to play college football somewhere but I will have to keep working to get better and just see what happens,” he said.

As far as his career goals, Casper has a desire to give back to the game he loves.

“I’m thinking about maybe trying to be a football coach or do something where I’m involved in sports,” he said. “I love the competition and being a part of a team.”

That’s where his sprinters speed might catch the eye of some college coach.

“I run track; the short sprints,” he said. “I find that going out for track helps me stay in shape and it gives me another chance to be a part of a team. My times aren’t great but I like it because Coach (Phil) Dennis is out there and I enjoy being around him.”

With an open date this week, the Highlanders are expected to get a Friday off practice. However, Casper still is thinking about watching football.

“I will probably get out and either watch a game here or maybe go scout somebody we will play later,” he said. “I just love football and enjoy watching games.”

While the Mac defense has been impressive, Casper still sees room for improvement.

“I think we have to cut out some of those penalties,” he said. “We’ve had some offside penalties where we jumped and a few other penalties we need to clean up. That’s one thing the coaches are always talking about.”

One thing that helps Casper and his mates on the front seven is the knowledge there are four good defensive backs lending support behind them.

“Our secondary is really aggressive and it’s great having those guys backing us up,” Casper said. “They have made some big interceptions and have broken up a bunch of passes and it just helps us overall keeping teams from scoring.”

That secondary includes Dominic Collins, the lone senior, juniors AJ Vaughn and Trey Williams and sophomore Auston Adam.

“Those guys just make big plays and that’s been a big part of our defense thus far,” Casper said. “We’ve been able to shut down the run up front and when teams are forced to throw those guys are back there making plays.”

When the Highlanders come back to practice next Monday they will be laser-focused on Duncan, their first District 5A-1 battle.

If the Highlanders continue that type of defense they seem destined to make a strong run into the 5A playoffs.