John Stark VIII

John Stark VIII

John Stark VIII playing at Dartmouth
No. 32 – Orange County Otters
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	(2033-08-28)August 28, 2033 (aged 27) Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	250 lb (113 kg)
Username:	UptownCord
Career information
High school:	Central High School
College:	Dartmouth
ISFL Draft:	2056 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4
DSFL Draft:	2055 / Round: 2 / Pick: 4
Career history
Portland Pythons 2055 (S40) Orange County Otters 2056 (S41)-
Roster status:	Active

John Stark VIII (born August 28, 2033) is an American football linebacker who currently plays for the Orange County Otters of the ISFL. He played college football for Dartmouth, having declared his intent to enter the professional ranks after three seasons season.

Early years

John Stark VIII was born in Manchester, New Hampshire on August 28, 2033. He is a direct descendant of his namesake Revolutionary War General John Stark. Stark played numerous sports from an early age, but his main love was football. In High School, Stark played Varsity all four years, anchoring the defense of a once again on the rise Central High School team. He totaled 240 tackles, 60 sacks, and 20 forced fumbles over the course of his high school career. Additionally, he won New Hampshire Divisision I player of the year in both his junior and senior seasons. In his junior season, the team made it to the state championship game, their 13th appearance, but first since they won in 2004. The final result was an overtime loss to New Hampshire football powerhouse Bedford High School 10-7. Stark came back the next year like a man on a mission, racking up 80 tackles, 20 sacks, and 8 forced fumbles leading Central High to an undefeated record and their 14th appearance in the Championship game. Once again it was Central vs Bedford. Stark had a monster performance putting up 12 tackles and 3 sacks along with a punt block touchdown to ice the game 21-7 in a victory for Central High School, their first championship in decades. Stark decided to stay in New Hampshire and play for Dartmouth College's Big Green.

College career

Stark wasn't an instant success at Dartmouth, getting little minutes his freshman year, only registering 20 tackles and 4 tfl's. He spent his time grinding in the weight room as well as tearing through all of the tape he could get his hands on. The hard work payed off and Stark was a starter his sophomore year. Stark tallied 80 tackles his sophomore year, including 13 tfl's and 5 sacks, earning himself an All-Ivy nod. Despite his growth as a player, Dartmouth had another middling season. His junior year saw further improvement, totaling 105 tackles, including 18 tfl's and 8 sacks. Stark earned his second All-Ivy win as well as Ivy League Player of the Year, Dartmouth's third ever winner. As a team, Dartmouth went 9-1 overall and 6-1 in conference, with the lone loss coming from Penn 28-24. Dartmouth edged out Penn by two games to win the Ivy League Championship. After his success during his junior season, Stark declared for the DSFL draft.

College career statistics

Career statistics			Tackles		Sacks	Interceptions		Other
Season	Team	Games	Reg	TFL	Sack	Int	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD	Sfty
2052	Dartmouth	4	18	3	1.5	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
2053	Dartmouth	10	80	13	5	1	0	1	4	2	2	2
2054	Dartmouth	10	105	18	8	2	0	1	8	7	2	3
Total		24	203	34	14.5	5	0	2	13	9	4	5

DSFL

Season 40

Being drafted in the second round of the Season 40 DSFL Draft, Stark was blessed with the chance to play with a monster front seven. Despite all being rookies they worked their way up to the top of the league becoming the Portland People Eaters, with John Stark VIII as their defensive signal caller for the majority of the season. The team recorded a DSFL leading sack total finishing the season with sixty sacks, the most since Season 8 and thew sixth highest mark of all time. Along the way to reaching the highest sack total in the modern era, the Portland People Eaters worked with the rest of the team to win the Northern Conference with a record of 8-6. The team took this momentum all the way to an Ultimini Birth, but would end up losing to the Bondi Beach Buccanears 24-21 after holding a 21-3 until the 9:16 mark of the third quarter. Stark would go on to be drafted by the Orange County Otters with the fourth overall pick of the 2056 ISFL Draft.

===DSFL Career Statistics

Career statistics			Defense
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2055 (S40)	Portland Pythons	14	84	5	2/1	7	0	3	0	0	0/0/0

Combine

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	4.39 s	4.31 s	7.15 s	33.8 in (0.86 m)	10 ft 7.6 in (3.24 m)	33 reps	39

Legendary tight end Heath Evans had this to say following John Stark VIII's combine performance: "The Algorithm has given us a clear standout for the position group as well though, with John Stark VIII being your LB Combine Champion ten whole points clear of the next closest prospect. He's come through with an extremely well balanced and high scoring combine and at this stage is my overall Combine Champion for the S41 class. Not a single one of his categories resulted in a score below the 70th all time percentile, and all of this was boosted by his eighth all time Wonderlic score among LBs. Stark was also top 15 among the S41 class in every category (except Shuttle, where he was 28th)."

ISFL

Season 41

Having been taken fourth overall by the Otters in the 2056 ISFL Draft, Stark was called up to start right away for an Otters team that had snuck into the playoffs at 7-8-1 the season prior and was looking to show the world that they were more than just a flash in the pan. Stark has particularly big shoes to fill as Orange County Legend and surefire Hall of Famer Bender Rodriguez had just retired after the end of Season Forty. Replacing Rodriguez spot on the roster, Stark started all sixteen games and made an impact immediately. He filled up the stat sheet throughout the season, ranking second on the team in tackles, tied for second in tackles for a loss, second in sacks, and was the only member of the team to record a safety. He also played well in pass defense, recording two interceptions and ten passes defended despite primarily being used as a rusher when defending the pass. The Otters would go on to improve their record to 10-6 and make the playoffs again, but would unfortunately lose a close road playoff game against the eventual ASFC Champions Arizona Outlaws.

Season 42

The Otters had a down season after overperforming in the previous two, falling down to earth with a poor record of 5-11. The offense was one of the least efficient in the league, often putting the defense in a bad situation. However, the defense played relatively well despite the lack of help. The John Stark VIII captained squad managed to scrape together a negative defensive EPA per play. This would leave them just in the top half landing at seventh in the league. Individually, Stark improved in almost every aspect. Yes, he had one less interception and two less sacks, but he increased his tackles by five, fumbles recovered by two, and passes defended by four, all while having the same numbers of tackles for a loss, fumbles forced, and notching one safety yet again. Additionally, the one interception Stark had this season was taken back for a touchdown! Despite the lack of team success this season, the future looks bright for both John Stark VIII and the Orange County Otters.

Season 43

Showing clear signs of improvement, the Otters managed a 7-9 record with rookie quarterback Lloyd Bannings running the offense. Despite having a rookie playcaller, the offense showed clear improvement from the previous season. The defense was once near again middle of the pack, but John Stark VIII took his individual game to a new level. Not quite a breakout, but enough to make the ASFC Pro Bowl Roster as an Inside Linebacker. Stark had twenty more tackles than the previous season, while also finally notching more than 7 tackles for a loss, tallying eight. Once again Stark had only eight sacks, a mark he has declared to be "Not good enough." Additionally, he had less impact in the passing game, not recording any interceptions while falling back down to the same mark as his rookie season with six defended passes. The Otters made big defensive moves in the off-season, bolstering their previously underwhelming their defensive line with rookie talent. They will take this momentum and use it to make the swap to a 3-4/3-3-5 defense, where John Stark VIII will be lining up at Left Outside Linebacker.

Season 44

John Stark VIII had a slower start to the season, making the adjustment to full-time Left Outside Linebacker. However, once he started to get into the groove of things he started to show flashes of brilliance, almost doubling his season tackle for loss record and actually doubling his season forced fumbles record, all on the most efficient tackling season of his career. Starting to show a negative trend though, Stark's sack total continued to decrease, notching a career worst seven sacks on the season. Unfortunately, the Otters had another down season, falling down to the 6-10. However, the defense showed improvement from the prior season and the young front seven will continue to improve. Rumor has it that Stark has been grinding all off-season, being greatly disappointed in his own season. The now not-so youngster is looking to truly break out and claim his spot as one of the best linebackers in the league.

Season 45

The hype that Stark had heading into the ISFL's 45th season was unwarranted. Frankly, he was a disappointment in all categories but sacks. His tackling was sloppy, regressing by twenty-nine tackles, ten tackles for a loss, and missed more tackles on fewer attempts. As mentioned before, the one bright spot was John Stark VIII's first return to double digit sacks since his rookie season, posting a career high eleven sacks. He wasn't alone in his disappointing nature either, the Otters as a team were also a let down this season. A team with lofty expectations, they were winless across the first four games of the season. However, they rallied to post an 8-4 record down the stretch only to just miss out on the playoffs by losing in week sixteen. Stark has continued to work on his game this offseason, hoping to prove he was worth the hype. The Orange County organization also made some big moves to improve the roster on both sides of the ball, hoping to shake off the mantle of having the longest streak without an Ultimus win.

Season 46

Fans of John Stark VIII could finally rejoice after the 2061 ISFL Season. The now veteran linebacker has finally had a season that lived up to the potential he flashed in his rookie year. He showed a return to form in the tackling game, hitting three digits once again and lowering his missed tackle rate down below three percent. He also set a career high in sacks, and while not game-breaking numbers, twelve is certainly respectable when there is so much competition for stats on a great defense. Stark also had his best season in the fumble game, forcing a career-high six fumbles while recovering two of them. As for the Otters themselves, they started slow at 2-2, but went on a tear to end the season and ended second in the conference with a 12-4 record. Unfortunately, they would go on to lose to the Austin Copperheads in a 38-31 heartbreaker in the first round of the playoffs.

ISFL Career Statistics

Career statistics			Defense
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2056 (S41)	Otters	16	99	7	2/0	10	2	6	1	0	0/0/0
2057 (S42)	Otters	16	104	7	2/2	8	1	10	1	1	0/0/0
2058 (S43)	Otters	16	124	8	2/0	8	0	6	0	0	0/0/0
2059 (S44)	Otters	16	120	14	4/0	7	1	5	0	0	0/0/0
2060 (S45)	Otters	16	91	4	1/1	11	1	11	0	0	0/0/1
2061 (S46)	Otters	16	102	7	6/2	12	1	8	0	0	0/0/0
Career Totals		96	640	47	17/5	56	6	46	2	1	0/0/1

Achievements and records

Individual

• ISFL Pro Bowl Selection (1): 2058

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