Brookstone’s Madison McCluskey can be a force on either side of the football.

Don’t believe it? Just check his numbers from the team’s win over Mt. Paran Christian on Friday.

On offense, he carried the ball 16 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Not to be outdone, the defensive McCluskey notched 10 solo tackles, seven assists and forced a fumble.

For his efforts, he has been selected as the Ledger-Enquirer’s Football Player of the Week.

Always looking at the big picture, however, the senior wasn’t refused to get caught up in his numbers, instead focusing on what the win meant for his team. He spoke with the Ledger-Enquirer on Monday about the early-season success.

Question: The numbers were impressive. Was that one of the best games you’ve been able to play?

Answer: Statistically, that is. That was the most rushing and tackles I’ve ever had in a game, so it was a good game statistically. But we’ve still got a lot of improving to do, and if you take away those two big runs, you know, the numbers weren’t very good. The rushing game was decent, but we’ve still got a lot more improving to do.

Question: It was a pretty big win for you guys. Any win early in the season is big. How important has it been to get off to a good start?

Answer: I think that was a big stepping stone, proving we can beat those Atlanta schools. That was big for us, a big moral victory as well. But Mt. Paran left a few touchdowns out on that field, so I think the game was a little closer than the score showed. So we’ve still got a lot of work to do. This bye week, hopefully we can get a lot of those mistakes taken care of going into this Wesleyan matchup.

David Mitchell, 706-571-8571

View the video below for the full interview.