WANTED: Information on how to beat Salado’s defense.
DESCRIPTION: Not big, not fast, but hard-hitting.
If found, please contact Class 2A football coaches
as soon as possible.
That’s what every opponent that faces the fifth-ranked, undefeated Eagles’ defense hopes to find. So far this season, 12 have tried and 12 have failed.
“Everybody thinks they can move the ball on us because we don’t have any big flashy studs on defense,” said senior all-district safety Matt Fritsch, who is third on the team with 114 tackles.
“We work as a unit. When they see us on film, there is no one who stands out so everyone thinks they can come out and put the ball down our throat. It’s just showing up each week and proving them wrong.”
Next up on the list is Santa Rosa (11-1), which faces Salado at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Class 2A Division I Region IV final at Memorial Stadium in Victoria.
Game after game, Salado’s defense has consistently shut down a variety of offenses.
It started Zero Week with West testing the Eagles’ secondary. The Trojans passed 33 times but managed just 120 yards and 12 points. West averaged 31.5 points the rest of the season.
Against a speedy McGregor squad, Salado held star running back Qualin Brown to 15 yards. He finished the season with 1,132.
In Salado’s final non-district game, the Eagles held Hamilton’s wishbone offense to 119 rushing yards. The Bulldogs rushed for 3,057 yards in their other 11 games.
“After our pre-district, I felt we had been tested in all areas,” Salado coach Jeff Cheatham said. “West threw the ball all over, McGregor has speed and Hamilton just wants to line up and run the ball right at you. We really had a great start to the year.”
The Eagles carried that momentum into district.
Jarrell quarterback Chris Trevino rushed for 1,128 yards this season but had only 48 against the Eagles. District 25-2A leading rusher Devin Brown of Lago Vista had just 64 of his 2,008 yards against Salado.
The Eagles’ latest performance, a 49-0 win over Hitchcock, saw Salado hold the Bulldogs’ offense 433 yards below their average.
“Everybody on defense just likes hitting people no matter who it is,” defensive end Blake Heller said.
Added Eagles junior linebacker Josh Bush: “Being the unit that we are, there is a lot of pride. We take pride that you’re not going to get anything on us.”
Only three teams have racked up more than 200 total yards in a game against Salado all season. Led by three-year starter Fritsch and Bush, the Eagles have allowed 11 touchdowns and only 77 points while recording a school-record 12 victories this season.
“These kids are super intelligent and are sharp,” second-year defensive coordinator Glenn Talbott said. “Their football IQs are really high. They know the gameplan and their responsibilites.
“They (Fritsch and Bush) are coaches on the field. They get everybody where they are supposed to be and everybody knows what they are supposed to do.”
Talbott said that after the first series in each game, Fritsch and Bush tell him what the opponent is doing and what adjustments need to be made.
“It’s great to have kids who can communicate that,” Talbott said. “You just make on-field adjustments and you are able to change the gameplan in the middle of the series. They come and say, ‘Let’s do this’ or, ‘That’s not a good idea.’
“They are already thinking ahead. They understand the whole concept of the defense and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Behind Bush’s 140 stops is Patrick Prince with 126 tackles, and Leo Galvan is fourth with 100. Heller and Colin Smith, who has made the biggest improvement this season, lead a line that has allowed less than 54 rushing yards per game.
Junior linebacker Bush - whom Cheatham claims is always where he should be on the field - and Fristch have led by example all season.
In the Eagles’ first adverse situation this season, Bush and Fritsch stepped up and made plays against Hamilton. Bush recorded 20 tackles and Fritsch made a crucial interception in the end zone to prevent a comeback bid.
“It was a challenge,” Fristch said of holding off Hamilton’s fourth-quarter charge. “I think we rose to the occasion right there and that sort of set the tone for the rest of the year. Whatever you are going to bring at us, we are going to find a way to stop it.”
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
