Defense makes a difference

WASHINGTON - Everybody loves scoring. Touchdowns are exciting. All the statistics people follow are offense. However a team can't score if it doesn't have the football. Offense wins games and sells tickets. Defense wins championships.

The Washington Demons want a championship. They can get a district title tonight at Keokuk, but a state title is much more of a desire.

Defense is the key to a sustained playoff run and the Demons have the lock.

It starts with the defensive line and the Demons have seniors Bryan Martin, Thomas Bias, Zayne Laws, Noah Kleese, Reece Mayer and Wilx Witthoft. Junior Robert Bennett and sophomore Dashaun Westphal have made major contributions.

'I think our D-line is a great strength of our team,” WHS head coach James Harris said.

Washington is tied for second in Class 3A with 17 sacks. Laws, who plays at nose tackle, leads the Demons with 4.0 sacks and in tackles with 21. Mayer, who plays end, is second in sacks and fourth in tackles.

A good edge rusher makes a quarterback step up in the pocket, which feeds the interior pass rush. An interior push makes it so the quarterback can't step up, which feeds the edge rusher.

Individually, there are 65 players in the state with more sacks than Laws, but with Washington winning by an average of 32 points, 'we don't leave guys in the game long,” Harris said, then posed a rhetorical question. 'How many sacks would Laws have if he was in there the whole time? He would be leading the state.”

Laws is tied for 10th in 3A in sacks. Mayer and Laws each have eight tackles for loss, which is 24th in 3A.

'Both play with an edge and are high-motor players,” Harris said.

Defensive line coach Kurt Levetzow and assistant coach Jacob Garrett do a great job coaching fundamentals, specifically key reads, hand strikes and extension. Good coaches teach good fundamentals, then pair that with good physical tools and good things happen, like Friday when he defense held Burlington to a negative 25 total yards (negative 51 rushing, positive 26 passing). That eclipsed the previous best performance since 2006, which was against Keokuk when the Chiefs managed seven total yards (minus 32 rushing, positive 39 passing).

The Demons pay close attention to detail, finish plays, and make the most out of each practice. It's hard to play against the Demons, but it's harder to play for them. People who work together win, in football, or in society.

'Hand placement, head placement, proper pad level, we stress little things,” Levetzow said. 'All the little things add up over time, like how you treat people and how hard you work.”

The harder one works, the harder it is to lose. Attacking an offensive lineman to get to the quarterback, Mayer, 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, has augmented his ability by watching videos and paying attention to NFL guys.

'I've been working hard to use my speed well,” Mayer said. 'I like to use my hands to swim over (blockers), catch them off balance, just whatever I need to get them out of the way.”

An imposing figure at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Laws is more brute force.

'I like to get close and bull rush,” said Laws. 'But the coaches have taught me to get extension and keep lineman off me.”

This enables him to see where the play is going and discard the blocker to make the tackle. Doing the little things right are often the difference. Championships are won at practice.

'Practice is really important to what keys to watch for when we're in the game,” Laws said.

The Demon defense is aggressive, disruptive. Laws is a tough, physical, violent player. Mayer is explosive and has a lot twitch and power to his game.

'Reece does a great job playing on the tackle's edge,” Harris said. 'Zayne has great length. Being tall, he has improved his pad level and is doing a better at playing low. They both play with great motor from the snap of the ball through the whistle.”

Working on a good game plan is important but vital that it is executed.

'I think we do that well,” Mayer said. 'Being prepared, film study, practice hard and always be giving 100 percent is why we are good.”

Mayer moved from linebacker to end after his sophomore year. 'Coach Lev helped a lot, especially on the different techniques being on the line.”

Coaches have to make a difference to be effective.

'Coaches help me work on staying low, watching film, learning keys,” Laws said. 'I pretty much need all them things to make me better.”

Besides film study in practice, Laws spends his own time on film. 'It helps me in a game. I'm watching what the offensive lineman are doing, not really the play.”

Garrett and Laws have a special connection. Neither played offense, concentrating on the defense.

'If you're not playing, you are preparing to play, Garrett said. 'You are in the weight room. You're studying film, spending time with your friends working toward a common goal. When you are playing, it is not only for yourself, you are playing for the other guys around you. Football is truly one of a kind.”