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On the defensive: Warren JFK has five shutouts in six games
Bayuk’s Eagles have
shut out five of six
foes this season
By Steve Ruman
WARREN
It’s not supposed to be this easy.
Not in an era where all the rules seemingly favor the offense. Not at a time when defenses in general are still playing catch-up to newfangled, wide-open spread formations. And certainly not during a season where your best player is sidelined for the majority of the year with an injury.
Yet here it is, one week into October, and the Warren John F. Kennedy defense is not only bucking the trend, it is doing it in historic fashion.
Through six games, the Eagles (6-0) have surrendered just seven points.
One measly touchdown!
Kennedy has outscored its opponents 192-7.
“Right now with what’s happening, it’s almost like a pitcher who is throwing a no-hitter,” said JFK coach Jeff Bayuk. “We just don’t like to talk about [the shutouts]. We know it’s there, we know it’s something that is garnering attention, but we just like to take care of business and let the numbers take care of themselves.
“We go into each game with the same goals as any other team. We want to shut our our opponent. It just so happens that we are doing it.”
The numbers — or more appropriately the lack of numbers — certainly are getting noticed throughout the state. Kennedy is currently ranked No. 1 in Division VII in the statewide AP poll. The Eagles are second behind Mogadore in the Division VII, Region 25 computer rankings.
To put Kennedy’s defensive performance into perspective, consider this: The other 43 teams in the Mahoning Valley have given up an average of 142.8 points this year — or 23.8 points per game.
The Eagles are giving up just shy of 1.2 points per contest.
Kennedy has allowed just 420 total yards of offense through six games. By contrast, last weekend alone six area teams surrendered 400 or more yards in a single game.
Kennedy’s fast start certainly hasn’t come as a surprise. A year ago, JFK went 11-2, advancing to the region 23 title game before falling to Mogadore. The Eagles returned nine starters on offense, and all 11 starters on defense.
Still, it’s tough to imagine anyone — coaches included — could have envisioned such a dominant start.
“Last year, we sort of snuck up on people and we knew we weren’t going to do that this time around,” Bayuk said. “Certainly we had high hopes. However, if you would have told me that we would be talking about five shutouts in six games, no, I wouldn’t have bought into it. What’s getting lost in all of our shutouts is the fact that we are doing pretty good offensively, too.
“But our players to a man have done a good job of realizing that they haven’t achieved any of their goals just yet. This is all a work in progress.”
After opening the season with back-to-back shutout wins against Keystone and LaBrae, Kennedy visited Girard in the third week of the season. The Eagles scored in the final seconds of the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The Indians answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass on a third-and-seven play at the 9:56 of the second period.
Kennedy scored the final 21 points of the game, and opposing offenses haven’t posed a serious threat since.
“I have been around some great defenses during my career, but I have never been around a group that gets to the ball the way this group gets at it,” Bayuk said. “I am talking 11 guys, always around the ball on every play. We don’t have a true defensive leader because seriously, on every play, you’ll see eleven defenders converging on the ball.”
“Every opponent we have faced this year has been bigger than us up front. But our guys just fly to the ball. The tenacity of these young men, it’s something that can’t be taught. You either have it or you don’t, and to a man this defense has a unique desire to succeed.”
Bayuk also is quick to praise the unselfishness of his defensive unit.
“All of the stunts we run are reliant on all 11 guys being in a specific spot and doing a specific job,” Bayuk said. “One player may get a sack or force a fumble, but it’s because the guy beside him did his job.
“These players understand and appreciate the value of teamwork. In this day and age of glorifying individual stats, it’s refreshing to see a kid truly excited because the guy next to him made the big play.”
Kennedy defensive coordinator Dominic Prologo believes the foundation for this year’s defensive success was cemented in January of 2014 when Bayuk was hired to take over the Kennedy program. Prologo said that at the time, “Kennedy was an offensive-minded team,” and Bayuk’s philosophy was that defense led the way to league championships and playoff success.”
Prologo played under Bayuk in the early 1980’s at Ursuline when Bayuk served as the Irish defensive coordinator.
“Jeff came to Ursuline, and he immediately gave our defense an identity,” Prologo said. “One year we were the Killer Bees. The next year we were the Dawgs, then the Wolfpack. Well, we wanted to create the same environment at Kennedy, where the defensive unit was our foundation.
“In 2014, the group of sophomores who are now seniors really bought into this Blue Storm mentality. They were just going to go out and storm to the football, they were going to create havoc as a unit.”
Blue Storm members include the likes of seniors Evan Boyd (team-high 45 tackles), Ross Nocera (5-8, 190 nose man, 4.5 sacks) and Ryan Lee (5-10, 190 linebacker, 42 tackles).
“Even, he can do so much on the field on both sides of the ball. He’s the epitome of an all-around player. Ross anchors our defensive line, and his strength and toughness is second to none,” Prologo said. “Ryan, he’s the type of kid who wouldn’t be the first to be noticed at the combines because of his size. But he is the most instinctive linebacker I have ever coached.”
Junior Chris Urchek and senior Joe Millard provide headaches for opponents from their defensive end positions.
“Chris is the definition of nasty. He doesn’t have great stats, but what he does is the reason a defensive back will make an interception or why a linebacker might record a sack,” Prologo said. “Joe is all heart. He took a beating as a sophomore, and now he could very well go on and play at the next level.”
Junior linebacker Alec Burzynski “does things that just aren’t taught, and changes the way opponents game plan for us,” according to Bayuk. Meanwhile, Prologo refers to defensive backs Danny McCartney and Thomas Yanovich as “our erasers, guys who can quickly and completely eliminate mistakes made up front.”
Prologo also praised Yanovich for his knowledge of the game.
“Honest to God, I can walk away tomorrow and he can run the defense,” Prologo said. “He’ll point out things that need to be done before I can even bring them up.”
Lee said that while he and his teammates are aware of the recognition they are receiving because of their play, they are also always reminding themselves of their ultimate goal of playing 15 weeks of football.
“We beat LaBrae, which was a big step, we beat Crestview, who beat us last year. We already had some big wins this year,” Lee said. “But in the big picture, we haven’t met any of our goals. That’s why we sort of ignore all of the headlines and just stay focused on the next game.
“We know we still can get a lot better.”
Nocera insists that Kennedy “is only one-third of the way through a 15-game season,” then echoed the comments made by Lee regarding his team’s ability to improve throughout the course of October and into November.
“Once you get to this point, things just get tougher and tougher so you have to keep picking up your own game or everything you’ve done won’t mean a thing,” Nocera said.
As for that lone touchdown given up back on Sept. 9?
While it seemed rather harmless at the time, it has now become a glaring number on an otherwise perfect defensive slate. So, exactly what went wrong that caused the Eagles to become mortal, even if for just one play?
“Well, we were going against a really good Girard offense, and our guy who will remain nameless didn’t pick up his receiver in time,” Nocera said with a laugh. “We jokingly give him grief, but it’s all in fun because the reality is that he is a huge reason for our success so it’s no big deal. We held Girard to seven, and that’s a big accomplishment.”
Is there actually room for improvement for the Eagles’ defense, as Lee and Nocera suggest?
Bayuk noted that during Monday’s film session, he found himself cracking jokes to lighten the mood because, “there just wasn’t enough enjoyment considering we were coming off a win.” He noted that his players are often their worst critics when reviewing game film.
Then of course, there is the Jacob Coates factor. Coates, last year’s North Coast League Player of the Year and an All-Ohio selection, has been sidelined since Week 2 with a shoulder injury. He is expected to return in time for the postseason.
“Jacob is the heart and soul of this team,” Bayuk said. “To a man, these players put it upon themselves to step up their game so that Jacob could return and go out on a high note. Trust me when I say this, a lot of what you see happening with this team is because of Jacob.”
Coates is among seven defensive “legacy players,” a term used by Prologo to define players who had family members play for or attend JFK.
“These kids, they are as unselfish a group as any I’ve been around,” Prologo said. “They play for that K on the side of the helmet, not for themselves. They take great pride in what they do as a team.”
Thanks to an historic start, the 2016 Eagles have already created their own legacy.