PAHOKEE — Pahokee High School senior Frankie Burgess is this week’s Big Lake Athlete of the Week for his performance in the Blue Devils game against the Seminole Ridge Hawks on Oct. 18.

Burgess was able to come away from the game with five sacks and eight tackles against the Seminole Ridge offense. The Blue Devils would go on to win the game 20-7.

“Frankie Burgess is a drill sergeant,” said Blue Devils coach DJ Boldin. “He will not let anybody outwork him. He’s going to take coaching and do what he’s coached to do. Frankie puts team first, always. He demands his fellow teammates perform at an expectational level, whether it’s in a stretch line or a defensive play call.”

Burgess has already verbally committed to play at the University of South Florida and has received an offer from the University of Washington State.

Prior to the Seminole Ridge game, Burgess already had 10 sacks on the season. He now sits at 15 sacks this year with two games still to go in the regular season.

“The five sacks he had against Seminole Ridge were timely,” said Boldin of Frankie’s performance. “They came in moments where the defense needed to stop the momentum of Seminole Ridge.”

Coming into the game, Seminole Ridge was favored to beat Pahokee. But Burgess and the Blue Devils defense blanked the Hawks in the first half, and the Pahokee offense started rolling late in the game to secure the win.

The Blue Devils have had the toughest schedule of all the lake area teams this year. As the regular season comes to an end, Boldin thinks he team has some momentum to finish the year strong.

“I feel really good about the team headed down the final stretch,” explained Boldin. “Honestly, after our bye week I felt really good about the team, and even though we lost to Chaminade I learned who my team was. The Clewiston and Glades Central games are crucial for the conclusion of our season. I love our chances especially if we continue to play how we’ve played against Chaminade and Seminole Ridge.”

To nominate an athlete for Big Lake Athlete of the Week, email Okeechobee News sports reporter Richard Marion at rmarion@newszap.com.