KFDM COOP Posted November 26, 2008 Report Posted November 26, 2008 Quickness key to Dayton defense By Dave Rogers Published November 27, 2008 DAYTON — Dayton’s defensive players are small, their coach, Jerry Stewart allows, but they make up for it with ... Not speed, he says. “We’re not real big on defense and we’re not real fast,†Stewart said Wednesday as his Broncos prepped for Saturday night’s third-round Class 4A playoff game against Rosenberg Terry. “We’ve got one cornerback who run a 5.0 forty. Both our linebackers run 5.0.†So what’s Dayton’s secret? “We’re quick,†Stewart said. “For 25 to 30 yards, we’re as good as anybody. And that’s where the game is won.†Dayton has won 10 of 11 games so far this year, including bidistrict and area playoff games against Livingston and Elgin. Elgin was averaging nearly 30 points per game entering last week’s game. The Broncos beat them 42-14. Aaron Jenkins, a junior who was District 21-4A newcomer of the year, and senior Xavier Edwards are defensive tackles for the Broncos who go 5-8, 184 (Jenkins) and 5-10, 188 (Edwards). They are the only two-year starters for the Broncos. They are survivors. “You’ve got to be strong-minded to play in Dayton,†Edwards said. “Yeah,†said Jenkins, “we’re down to about half the people we started with.†That’s because the coaches require a tough off-season regimen of their players. It’s the Dayton answer to overcoming a lack of great size. It’s the road to quickness and toughness. “Our off-season is year-round,†Stewart says. “And we don’t pay anybody to work our kids out. “In all other sports, they (players) have somebody they’re paying to take lessons. We give lessons here, and they’re free. You show up and you do it.†Quickness, Stewart and his staff believes, starts with specific weightlifting exercises. “We do a lot of squat work, power cleans. We have a powerlifting team. They’ll come after school and do bench presses on their own.†Bench presses, one of the key ingredients to most strength tests, including the NFL, are not all that popular with Stewart. “The kids don’t like to squat (lift). They don’t like that bar on their back,†the coach said. “We tell them you haven’t lifted until the bar hits your back. “And bench pressing? We tell them if you’re laying down pushing somebody off you, you’re in trouble.†Stewart says Dayton’s off-season routine separates the dedicated players from the wannabes. “Usually when the off-season comes, people look for other sports to play,†the coach said. “And in football, you’re doing to off-season in the summer. You’re not going to lie up there in bed.†Jenkins says it’s not that tough. “We get about two months off to lift weights and run track,†he said. Dayton’s defense faced a big challenge as the season began. Five returning starters were kicked off the team as two-a-days began for disciplinary reasons. “It wasn’t really that scary,†Jenkins said. “It was time for somebody else to step up. At the beginning of the season (when Dayton allowed 42 points in its loss to Friendswood and 30 points in a win over North Forest), we were having problems. “But the last six or seven weeks, we’ve come together.†Coming together is the key to the Dayton defense – as in gang-tackling. “They’re glad if there are nine people on the ballcarrier,†Edwards said. “If not, they say we’re not doing our job.†Terry downed Sharpstown 38-6 in its area-round game last week and the Rangers have a power-running offense that concerns Stewart. “Our defense has to slow them down to give our offense a chance,†the coach said. “If we play defense, we’ll be fine. If we don’t, we’ll be sad on Sunday morning.â€
PURPLE 4EVER Posted November 27, 2008 Report Posted November 27, 2008 The front seven of Dayton is extremely quick.... Many times they get to the ball carrier in the backfield before the play develops... Hopefully Taylor's punter will be getting a good workout on Saturday
liltex Posted November 27, 2008 Report Posted November 27, 2008 All good posts.The key will also be capitalizing on Terry fumbles as they have fumbled 29 times-lost 13 of them to teams w/mediocre records.They have not passed much 370 tot.yds.so should be advantage Broncos.
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