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| Aamir Petrose, left, and
Sosthene Kapepula lead a Wesley defense that has a lot of players
back. Wesley athletics photo |
In their final game of 2013, Wesley’s defense allowed 62 points. In the 12 games prior to their season-ending quarterfinal loss to Mount Union, the Wolverines allowed fewer than 19 points per game.
After giving up six offensive touchdowns and 447 yards of offense on Dec. 7, 2013, the Wolverines had 273 days to stew on their defensive performance. But who’s counting?
“I think it was a motivating factor. In that game, we didn’t play our best,” said head coach Mike Drass. “You get eight months to really think about giving up 62 points.”
Fortunately for the Wolverines, they returned eight defensive starters who spent the spring and summer dedicating every workout to erasing the memory of their last contest. The start of the 2014 season was a welcome relief, especially for the team’s seniors.
“It definitely gave me a chip on my shoulder,” said senior defensive end Aamir Petrose. “I was so eager to get back on the field. The last eight months were really hard for me.”
The first two weeks of the season presented the defense with big challenges. If they wanted to prove that the Mount Union game was a fluke, they would need to shut down two of the nation’s most potent offenses. Thomas More and Salisbury are also two of the most difficult offenses to prepare for, and the Wolverines needed to completely scrap their Week 1 game plan to prepare for Week 2.
Last season, Thomas More ranked 14th in the nation with 487.2 yards per game, 16th in the nation with 262.8 rushing yards per game, and 18th in the nation with 40.7 points per game. Running back Dom Hayden led the nation in rushing yards (201.7 per game), all-purpose yards (223.4), and scoring (16.8). Salisbury ranked 10th in the nation with 283.5 rushing yards per game. The Sea Gulls averaged 29.7 points per game in 2013.
The senior-laden defense made its statement in Week 1, holding the Saints to 20 points and holding Hayden to 92 rushing yards and keeping him out of the end zone. Salisbury opened its season by putting up 41 points and 338 rushing yards on a solid Christopher Newport defense. The following week, the Sea Gulls scored five points and rushed for just 173 yards against the Wolverines. Meanwhile, Thomas More put up 45 points in its second game of the season, led by Hayden’s 166 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
“We really came together,” said senior linebacker Sosthene Kapepula. “Every year is a learning experience, and I feel like I’m growing as my team is growing.”
Kapepula leads the Wolverines with 16 tackles despite being ejected in the second half of the season opener after collecting his second personal foul penalty of the game. Seniors Jordan Wescott and Matt Capetola and junior Julian Jones join Kapepula to form what is most likely the nation’s most athletic group of linebackers.
“Our kids are playing with an aggressive nature,” said Drass. “They are running well and getting to the football.”
Petrose has only been credited with four official tackles this season, all for loss, but Drass believes he has been involved in three times that many stops. Kapepula leads the team with 16 tackles despite his early exit in the first game. The talented and experienced front seven benefits from knowing that the defensive line complements the linebackers and vice versa.
“With the linebackers behind me and knowing what they can do and their abilities is great for us defensive linemen,” said Petrose. “We know that they’re going to make plays.”
That familiarity breeds trust and instincts. It also breeds respect.
“As a linebacker, you can’t do anything without your D-line,” said Kapepula. “They are out there in the trenches fighting and making my job easier. Our defensive line is the core of our defense. “
The defense also benefits from a prolific offense led by quarterback Joe Callahan and wide receiver Steven Koudossou. An attack that can keep opposing offenses on the sideline makes life easier for the defense. After sweating through 86 plays in the steamy opener, the Wolverines defense was only on the field for 45 plays against Salisbury.
“It takes some pressure off, as good as our offense is and how they are able to score,” said Petrose.
After Callahan rallied the Wolverines to 59 points in the loss to Mount Union, the defense wants to make sure that it can carry the team to a deeper postseason run in 2014. To that end, several players stayed in Dover this summer, working together to make this year the best in Wesley history. Both Kapepula and Petrose, on their own initiative, took summer classes and worked summer jobs while leading workouts for more than 20 of their teammates who also stuck around.
“I felt like me staying here would give me a better opportunity to get better,” said Kapepula.
After proving its mettle through the first two weeks of the season, the Wolverines defense will again be tested in Week 3. Future NJAC rival Rowan comes to Delaware looking for its second straight win over Wesley. The defense will continue to play with a chip on its shoulder after allowing a big play late in the game in last year’s loss at Rowan.
With each performance this season, that ugly “62” is pushed further into the rear view. As they learned last December, the Wolverines will go as far as their defense can take them.
Still Perfect(ish)
After two weeks of non-conference play, only LaGrange remains unblemished in the USA South. The Panthers have lived dangerously each week, surviving Birmingham-Southern in the opener, 34-28, in overtime. They followed that up with a 28-27 double overtime win over Berry, a program looking for its first win in its second season of play. Will LaGrange continue to walk the tightrope? Should we expect triple overtime in the conference opener at Greensboro on Saturday? The defense has come up with big plays late, but nearly too late. After allowing Birmingham-Southern’s Joe Moultrie to rush for 211 yards, the Panthers stuffed him on fourth down in overtime. After allowing Berry, a team that had scored only 77 points in its first ten games of existence, to score 27, the Panthers survived when the Vikings fake point after attempt fell incomplete. It will take better defense during the first four quarters to keep LaGrange’s four-game winning streak alive.
If you read Kickoff, you know I have high expectations for Guilford, so I am not surprised to see the Quakers off to a 2-0 start. Matt Pawlowski has been consistent and efficient, completing 73 percent of his passes for 653 yards and ten touchdowns with zero interceptions. Guilford’s defense has also impressed, shutting down two of the USA South’s most dangerous quarterbacks in Greensboro’s Ryan Throndset and Methodist’s Max Reber. The Quakers have eight takeaways (five interceptions and three fumble recoveries) and have allowed just 20 points. Meanwhile, the offense has put up 52 points in consecutive weeks.
The two rebuilding projects in the ODAC are off to perfect starts. Bridgewater still has much to prove after starting last season 3-0 before dropping six of the next seven. But, the Eagles are off to a 2-0 start and are quickly putting last year’s disappointment behind them. Quarterback Matthew Pisarcik has impressed. After leading the Eagles to a late comeback win over Gettysburg in Week 1, he completed 18 of 24 passes for 227 yards and three scores with no picks in a rout of Greensboro. Rosh Rushing is still sharing time behind center with Pisarcik and the change of pace seems to be working for the Eagles offense, which has put up 76 points after scoring over 20 points just once over the final seven games of 2013.
Emory and Henry head coach Curt Newsome remained undefeated as the Wasps completed an impressive comeback on the road against the defending USA South champion. Maryville jumped out to a 13-0 lead, but the momentum shifted to Emory and Henry late in the third quarter when Roth Healey returned a Evan Pittenger fumble 72 yards for a touchdown. Nick Bowen’s fourth quarter touchdown run gave the Wasps their first lead of the game and the defense held on to preserve the 14-13 win. Ryan Byrd’s late interception sealed the victory.
Centennial vulnerable?
Susquehanna nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the young 2014 season. The Crusaders, who won just one game a season ago, took three-time defending CC champion Johns Hopkins to the brink. The Blue Jays held on for a 27-20 win, but the final score from the opening week of conference play surely grabbed the attention of the rest of the Centennial Conference. Nick Crusco passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns and the Crusaders defense forced four turnovers, but the Blue Jays defense came up with the game’s two biggest plays. Susquehanna crossed midfield on its last two possessions and each time faced a fourth down in Johns Hopkins territory. Ryan Rice came up with an interception with 5:19 to play. After the Blue Jays offense turned the ball right back over, the defense again came up big. Crusco connected with Devon Pascoe for a fourth down conversion, but Sean Loftus tracked him down and forced a fumble as Pascoe raced for the end zone. Curtis Antrum recovered at the Johns Hopkins six yard line with 1:25 to play to extend the Blue Jays’ conference win streak to 11.
Juniata is quickly proving that last year’s seven-win campaign was no fluke. The Eagles extended their conference win streak to four with a 38-35 win over Dickinson. Quarterback Ward Udinski has rushed for 196 yards and five touchdowns and passed for 435 yards and three scores, proving to be one of the nation’s most effective dual-threat quarterbacks.
Ursinus and Muhlenberg have looked dominant through two weeks. The Bears outscored TCNJ and Gettysburg 78-21, while the Mules were even more impressive in defeating Wilkes and Franklin and Marshall by a combined score of 76-0. There’s a long way to go between now and Nov. 8, when these two square off in Allentown, but so far no other teams in the Centennial have looked as fearsome.
Looking ahead
Ursinus at Franklin and Marshall highlights this week’s Centennial slate. Here’s the stat of the week: the Bears defense has scored more points than it has allowed this season. Ursinus has housed three interception returns for touchdowns and added a safety, while allowing just 21 points through two games. The Diplomats started the season with an impressive win over defending MAC champion Lebanon Valley. The three-headed rushing attack of quarterback Matt Magarity and backs Scott LaValva and Lamont Jackson combined for 151 yards and four touchdowns on an evenly distributed 41 carries in the win. The Dips followed that victory with a lackluster performance in a 42-7 drubbing at Muhlenberg, mustering just 169 yards of offense in the loss. This could be a great game, depending on which Franklin and Marshall squad shows up.
Christopher Newport and N.C. Wesleyan kick off the Week Three slate on Thursday night in Rocky Mount. The Captains are still searching for their first win of 2014, after losing two close games to quality opponents despite averaging 31 points per contest. The defense will need to buckle down against the Battling Bishops and running back Jacques Alston, who rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns last week.
Huntingdon at Methodist should have early season USAC title implications. The Hawks rallied last week behind backup quarterback Luke Bailey, who replaced injured starter Taylor Hughes in the first quarter. Jay Ware’s 98-yard touchdown run broke the game open as the Hawks defeated Birmingham-Southern. Methodist quarterback Max Reber is looking to shake off a 226-yard, three-interception performance. What was originally expected to be a shootout may be a much more low-scoring affair as both of these offenses enter the game with some questions marks.
What did I miss?
Do you know about any upcoming milestones, big games or new names in the Mid-Atlantic? Please share them with me. If you have suggestions for next week's column, please reach out to me on Twitter at @adamturer or via email at adam.turer@d3sports.com.
