Central's Young Defense Proving to be Up for the Challenge Heading into District

SAN ANGELO, TX-- Entering the 2018 season, the Central Bobcats had questions surrounding their young defense.

They returned just three starters from 2017.

While most of the unit didn’t have experience starting at the highest level of Texas high school football, they had experience playing in games last year. That has already paid huge dividends in 2018.

“We’ve got some real good leadership from our seniors and some underclassmen that turned out to be leaders,” said defensive coordinator Mark Chester. “So, that’s been a huge help. It’s been important to them to prove that they’re a good defense.”

Central’s defense has allowed 65 points through the first four games. They allowed 35 in the 37-22 loss to Cedar Park. The Bobcat offense gave up a safety in that game to give Cedar Park their mark of 37.

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“We had a hiccup against Cedar Park,” Chester added. “I feel we’ve gotten a lot of those things fixed. It was real important to them last week to play with better effort and play with better aggression to the football.”

That showed with the Bobcats holding El Paso Pebble Hills to their lowest point total this season.

“I think they’ve really stepped up a bunch,” Central head coach Brent Davis praised of his defense. “They’re a young bunch, but they play extremely hard. The coaches do a great job on that side of the ball, coach Chester and his defensive staff. I think it’s just a testament to the things that we knew were in the growth process would eventually come. We’re getting there. We’re not all the way there, but you’re seeing improvements each week. You’re seeing hustle plays being made and that’s what we want.”

In their 31-20 win over Pebble Hills, the Bobcats forced three turnovers by the Spartans. One came on an interception by Jashon Hall. The other two were fumbles.

Central’s defensive strength can be highlighted by players such as Hall, Daylon Green, Cody Parker or Xy’Kerion Paulk. Those four have been big players on defense for Central this season.

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The mark of a good team or unit, however, is their depth. Central seems to have that on their defense with weapons across the board. For example, defensive lineman Anthony Gonzales stepped up for three sacks in their win in Week 4 and CB Tristan Lopez has solidified Central’s secondary in 2018.

“[That depth] is invaluable,” Chester said. “The more guys you consider leaders, the more mature of a team you have. Cody [Parker] has stepped up big, Tristan Lopez has stepped up big on the field leadership-wise...Several guys have. So, it’s been real nice to see that.”

Central has hung their hat on their pass rush, but Gonzales proved how deep their defense truly is with his performance last Friday.

“That was huge, having Gonzo show up and do things we felt like he was capable of doing,” Chester said. “We weren’t quite sure he was going to do that. I mean, he was all over the place. He had a huge night. That’s huge because, now, you don’t have to blitz to get pressure with a front four that can get off the football.”

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The key to getting that pass rush going is keeping the players fresh, according to Davis. That means frequent rotation up front.

“We’re trying hard to stay fresh in the front,” Davis said. “That’s a big deal. I think that every football team at every level is trying to have fresh people on the defensive line. So, we have a little rotation to keep those guys as good as we can for the fourth quarter push and stuff like that. We feel like it gives us an advantage and it lets a lot of other people play.”

Davis acknowledged the Bobcats have a first string defensive line, but says his “second string guys are pretty good, too.”

In their homecoming win, sophomore Malachi Brown found his groove behind center and the offense started moving really well. That’s a big boost for Chester’s defense.

“It’s a confidence booster for our whole team when the offense is rolling and scoring points,” Chester added. “Then we can go get [the opponent’s offense] off the field and give the ball back to our offense. We know they’re going to go down and get points or at least get field position back.”

The Bobcats open District 3-6A with a road trip to Weatherford this Friday.