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Cary-Grove's defense confuses, frustrates its opponents

When filling out the required IHSA information sheet for Saturday's Class 7A state championship game, Cary-Grove football coach Brad Seaburg paused at the section that asked him to list defensive players by position.

The straightforward question isn't designed to stump a coach, but positions in Cary-Grove's 3-3-5 hybrid defense are not easily defined.

"I mean, what do you call a team that plays with three defensive linemen, two kind-of linebackers and six defensive backs, essentially?" Seaburg said on Monday.

Come Saturday evening, you might call it a state champion if coordinator Don Sutherland's surging defense can contain the explosive Providence spread offense the way it frustrated the potent attacks of Geneva and Libertyville the previous two weeks.

Though the Cary-Grove triple-option offense rightly garners attention for averaging 418 total yards and 43.9 points per game, the Trojans would not have earned their fourth state-title game berth in 11 seasons without the outstanding play of a defense that has snared 24 interceptions and held opponents to 229 total yards and 12.2 points per game.

The strategy behind by Cary-Grove's 3-3-5, first installed in 2004, changes from week to week, though you'd never know it simply by looking at pre-snap photos of how the Trojans line up.

In fact, the pre-snap look Cary-Grove showed NIU-bound Geneva quarterback Daniel Santacaterina two weeks ago was virtually the same pre-snap look Libertyville all-state quarterback Riley Lees saw when he peered across the line of scrimmage in last Saturday's semifinal.

Disguising coverages is the point. Cary-Grove's defense is predicated on confusing opposing quarterbacks and pressuring them into mistakes. That's a big reason why the Trojans picked off 5 Geneva passes in a 44-26 quarterfinal victory and 2 more against Libertyville in a 41-7 semifinal win.

"It all looks the same, but it's totally different each week," said Sutherland, Cary-Grove's defensive coordinator for all but one season since 1982. "Some people shift before the snap. We basically move after the snap because we have the speed to do it, the quickness to do it. We try to give you the same look all the time. Then, on the snap of the ball, we're moving."

The veteran coordinator points to all-state lineman Michael Gomez as a prime example. He said the 6-foot, 260-pound senior can line up on the outside shoulder of an offensive tackle and still be responsible for the inside-shoulder gap because he has the quick feet to get there after the snap.

Because Gomez is such a disruptive force - the all-state selection has 30.5 tackles, 5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss - Sutherland plays the shell game, shuffling him up and down the line between nose tackle and end. The constant movement is necessary to keep opposing offenses from planning double-team blocks.

Gomez is joined on the line by senior Ray DiMatteo (27.5 tackles, 2 sacks, 5.5 TFL) and junior Alex Prendergast (13.5 tackles, 1.5 TFL). Both are strong, quick ends whose goal, like Gomez, is to gain penetration. Big-bodied Notre Dame commit Trevor Ruhland (6-4, 280) adds beef to the line in short-yardage situations. In part-time duty Ruhland has contributed 16.5 tackles and 2 sacks.

The next level features senior linebacker Travis Myerson (33.5 tackles, 3 TFL) and sophomore linebacker Tyler Pennington (25 tackles, 6 TFL). Myerson played strong safety last season but the team needed size at linebacker and he was one of the biggest defensive backs at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds. Pennington, a full-time offensive player at fullback with 33 touchdowns, was a part-time defensive player until Week 9, when starter Zack Forney (16 tackles) was injured against Crystal Lake South. Pennington has played full time on both sides of the ball throughout the playoffs.

Behind the linebackers are six seniors Seaburg eventually listed as defensive backs: corners Connor Leach and Zach McQuade, strong safeties George Hartke and Willie Hartke and free safeties Matt Sutherland and Larkin Hanselmann.

None of the defensive backs are intimidating from a size standpoint. Their average height is 5-foot-8 and average weight is 159 pounds. Nevertheless, there are some big hitters among the group, most notably Matt Sutherland (team-high 57.5 tackles) and Hanselmann (43 tackles).

That unit's top attribute is speed. Most of the six run the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds or less, led by Hanselmann at 4.4 and the Hartke twins at 4.5.

Not only does such speed allow the secondary to disguise coverages pre-snap, it means they can swarm to the ball quickly once a defensive lineman or linebacker forces the ball carrier to hesitate, change direction or pop a run to the outside. That's how the Trojans held Libertyville's Lees to 17 rushing yards and a lone touchdown in 15 attempts. He entered that contest with 501 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns in his previous 3 playoff games.

"That's exactly what we want because we've got speed to run them down," Don Sutherland said. "That's what happened with Lees. The (linemen) sent him outside and then we could run him down. They did that to (Jacobs running back Josh) Walker, too."

This Cary-Grove defense is superior against the pass to the 2012 state runner-up that lost to Crete-Monee. The Trojans enter the 2014 title game with 24 interceptions, paced by McQuade (8), Hanselmann (5), Willie Hartke (4) and George Hartke (3). Cary-Grove's 2012 defense entered the title game with 5 interceptions.

McQuade has emerged as a ball hawk. The 5-foot-6 senior was an offensive player until he first played defense against Woodstock North in Week 4. He started at cornerback the following week and has been a lineup regular since.

McQuade picked off 3 passes against Geneva and 2 more against Libertyville, but he says the defensive line and linebackers deserve as much credit for the team's 24 interceptions as the secondary.

"They're getting a really good push on the quarterback and making him get the ball out quickly," McQuade said, "which lets us make plays."

Also coached by Matt Furlong (safeties), Mike Walston (cornerbacks), former Jacobs head coach Dean Schlueter (line) and Tim Hatfield (line), this defense isn't quite as big as the 2012 version, but it possesses more speed in the secondary. That was a necessary improvement due to the proliferation of spread offenses like the one the Trojans will see Saturday against Providence in the 4 p.m. game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign (Comcast SportsNet).

"We're still pretty good against the run, but what separates us this year is we have a lot of good athletes in our secondary," said Matt Sutherland, who started in the 2012 title game. "I think we're better against the pass than we were two years ago. We're not big, but size doesn't matter if you're playing fast and physical and getting everyone to the ball."

Matt's father said facing a spread offense like Geneva with its tall receivers readied the Cary-Grove defense for what it will face against the Celtics, who attack with 6-foot-4 Notre Dame-bound receiver Miles Boykins and 6-5 Iowa-bound tight end Nick Vejvoda.

"It's all kind of prepared us for this," Don Sutherland said. "That's how I feel. People say Providence is good. I say what would you expect in the state championship game? You couldn't ask for a better matchup. We welcome the challenge and we're looking forward to it."

  Cay-Grove defensive coordinator Don Sutherland, shown here in a 2012 playoff game, will lead his unit against Providence Saturday in the Class 7A championship game in Champaign. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
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