It was a crunching hit, a solid one, the kind that elicits winces from one sideline and praise from the other. Westfield linebacker Daniel Hanlon flattened a Scotch Plains-Fanwood blocker.
Hanlon’s thunderous hit generated a sound audible across the field. The SPF blocker crumpled to the ground, reeling. Slowly, clumsily, he peeled himself off the turf and tried to regain his bearings, shaking his head like a tranquilized dinosaur in a Jurassic Park movie.
“It felt great,” Hanlon said of the hit. “My neck’s been injured the past couple of weeks, so it feels good to hit hard again.”
Other Westfield linebackers joined in the fun. A symphony of bangs and booms rolled over the field, the indefatigable defense destroying its opponent.
(Full Game Story: Westfield Wrecks Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 30-0, Behind Wragg’s 200 Yards).
Westfield’s first defensive possession did not augur the defensive dominance that was to come. SPF marched swiftly downfield after receiving the opening kickoff. Passes zipped through the air into Raider hands. Westfield backpedaled. “We were a little bit out of position on the first drive on a couple of passes,” head coach Jim DeSarno said.
“We just had opening jitters,” Hanlon added. Those jitters soon vanished. SPF went for it on a 4th and 2 from the red zone, but Westfield repelled the attack and forced a turnover on downs. “We got a taste for what they were doing and stopped it,” Hanlon said.
Jack O’Connor and Julian Montez barrelled into SPF ball carriers on multiple occasions. Owen Shakal tackled Raider running backs for losses of yardage. Hanlon’s mere presence seemed to force the Raiders to flee.
Late in the first quarter, Brandon Love busted through the SPF line, bearing down on the quarterback like an agile bear in pursuit of prey. The quarterback, Weston Fischer, retreated desperately, looking around for salvation. None came. Love pounded him into the ground. Minutes later, Love barged toward Fischer, who stumbled backward and flung the ball away. A flag flew: intentional grounding.
“We just simply straight up dominated them,” Love said. “We dominated them up front, we dominated them in the passing game.”
With a minute to play in the first half, Scotch Plains went for another fourth down. Another 4th and 2. Fischer flicked a pass low and hard, the ball spiraling toward a receiver’s gut. But Hanlon lunged forward, stuck a hand in front, and sent the ball bouncing away. Turnover.
Westfield’s coverage was impenetrable. The Raiders were stifled at the line of scrimmage once, too: The hulking Montez stuck up a paw and batted down a pass in the second half.
With minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Scotch Plains finally looked like it might score. The Raiders—playing, by now, against Westfield’s second-team defense—fought down to the Westfield 8-yard line. But up came a fourth down, and again Westfield forced a turnover.
The shutout was complete.
The Westfield defense did “a lot of things” well, DeSarno said. “Running to the football, playing physical, really stuff in the run.” DeSarno also noted that Westfield’s physical play inflicts a heavy toll on opponents.
Scotch Plains, DeSarno was quick to acknowledge, is a young team that relies heavily on its sophomores. But Westfield also blanked Elizabeth in the first half last week, before conceding 20 points in the second half as the backups took over.
Smothering though the Westfield defense may be, the Blue Devils will soon run the gauntlet. Ridge, lurking three weeks down the road, is a dangerous squad. So, too, is St. Joseph Metuchen, though a shock loss this week to Elizabeth dampened the Falcons’ outlook. Far more imposing teams await in the state playoffs.
But the Blue Devils are taking the season one game at a time, making sure not to rest on their laurels. Satisfying though it may have been to render SPF’s offense dysfunctional, the Westfield defense remains hungry.
“We still have a couple of things to work on,” Hanlon said.
Take it from him. To the outsider, the performance seemed nearly spotless.
1 comment
Strong command of rhetoric demonstrated throughout the piece. Well done.