The Student Newspaper of Cathedral Catholic High School

Dons Press

The Student Newspaper of Cathedral Catholic High School

Dons Press

The Student Newspaper of Cathedral Catholic High School

Dons Press

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Dons’ defense rolls its opponents

Dons defense rolls its opponents

Paul “Bear” Bryant, six-time national champion college football coach once said, “offense sells tickets , defense wins championships.” Bryant ranks 6th among college coaches  for wins of all time, and his legacy lives on in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Cathedral has shown this kind of grit this year with the most successful defense in the county. Over the last 3 games, Cathedral has outscored their opponents 122-16. This kind of mind-blowing stat would not be possible without a fearsome defensive front. They have totaled 11 sacks and 2 interceptions over the last 3 games.

Defensive coordinator Mr. John Montali said, “ It comes down to the front seven being experienced and physical. We don’t have to sell out and play a lot of man coverage; we can put pressure on with just a four man rush.” He went on to say how in the past Cathedral has played less zone coverage than man. In football, zone coverage is the defensive philosophy where a player is assigned a certain area of the field and only guards opponents who enter their respective “zone.” Man-to-man coverage is the philosophy where a player guards a particular player and is not restricted to a specific area. Montali explained that in the past Cathedral used more balanced man and zone, but is now mostly committed to the zone defense.

Coach Montali explained the origins of this philosophy on the Dons football team. He said, “ For a long time most teams utilized the 3-4 scheme, until transitioning to the more popular 4-3, 4-4 defense. It was adopted from the scheme by Texas A and M during the 80’s, and was brought here by Sean Doyle during the Late 80’s.”  3-4 defensive schemes rely on pressure off the edge of the defense by linebackers and defensive ends. A pitfall of this scheme can be that if the defensive line (the front 3 in the 3-4) can’t break blocks or put pressure on the quarterback, it can result in defensive losses. Cathedral has shown it has the ability to run these packages efficiently and effectively with Seniors Kyle Davis, Brett Sarem, and Junior Ray Smith all totaling an average of 2.8 sacks a game over the last three games.

Coach Montali feels confident about  how this defense will match up against their opponent this week, Saint Augustine. He said, “ They’re not the Saints of old, smash-mouth football. They run a two tight end and running back attack. They have quality skill players. Their quarterback is a returning starter. The schedule we’ve played has prepared us for much more.” Saints is 5-2 on the year  with their only losses coming to Oceanside (25th in the state) and Eastlake (30th in the state).

Come out and see the Dons take on the St. Augustine Saints at Manchester stadium at 7 o’clock and follow @ElCidSports for live updates during the game.

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Dons’ defense rolls its opponents