Causing turnovers has been a weekly goal for the Maine South defensive backfield all season.
Yet, entering the Friday, Sept. 30, game at Glenbrook South, the unit’s only takeaway was a fumble recovery by senior safety Jack Hoffman in Week 2 against Loyola.
That changed early in the Hawks’ 34-21 Central Suburban South win in Glenview as senior cornerback Matthew Schneider picked off a pass by Titans senior quarterback Brett Borre on Glenbrook South’s first offensive possession.
The next time Glenbrook South had the ball, Hoffman leaped to intercept Borre again, returning the ball 50 yards down to the Titans’ 8-yard line.
Both interceptions led to Maine South touchdowns as the Hawks (4-2, 2-0) built a 21-0 lead and eventually collected the 400th victory in program history.
After Glenbrook South (0-6, 0-2) rallied in the second half, Maine South senior cornerback Ryan Knapp put an end to the Titans’ final fourth-quarter drive when he intercepted a ball that was tipped by Schneider.
“I thought those two (first-half) picks were huge and the last one kind of closed the door on things,” said Maine South coach Dave Inserra, whose team has won 77 straight CSL South games. “I’m really proud of the defensive backs.”
Schneider, a second-year starter, called it the best performance by Maine South’s defensive backs in his two-plus years on varsity.
The unit, which held Borre to 9-of-16 passing for 77 yards, has made strides in recent weeks after taking some lumps earlier in the season in losses to Loyola (44-43) and Barrington (41-27) in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively.
With Schneider as the only returning starter, the inexperienced defensive backfield, which also includes junior safety Paul Sasso, backup senior cornerback Michael Maune and backup junior safety Cam Stacy, passed its initial test of 2016 in an opening-week 44-13 win over Montini.
Facing two of the state’s better offenses in Loyola and Barrington may have been a bit humbling for the defensive backfield, but Schneider said the group is better for the experience.
“I’m glad we played both of those teams, it showed us where we were at physically and mentally,” said Hoffman, a Park Ridge resident. “As a unit, we knew we needed to study more film and go harder and harder each day in practice, and finally it showed during Glenbrook South that we actually are a good unit.”
Another area in which Maine South defensive backs clearly have advanced is in their tackling, a facet of the game Inserra referred to as “outstanding” against Glenbrook South.
“Our tackling was kind of choppy at the beginning of the season,” said Schneider, who lives in Park Ridge. “But every practice we work on open-field tackling. Normally, as a defensive back, it’s never a straight-on hit, it’s always an angle hit.”
While game film and tackling drills certainly have helped in the defensive backfield’s improvement, perhaps nothing has been more valuable than the work the defensive backs get in practice against Maine South’s talented receivers, senior quarterback Nick Leongas and junior running back Fotis Kokosioulis.
Much of the live action in practice involves starters on both sides of the ball facing a scout team, which is mimicking the upcoming opponent’s formations. But Maine South’s offensive and defensive starters regularly join the scout team in order to test themselves against the team’s other No. 1s.
“Sometimes, coach calls best-on-best, and then it is our (starting) offense running (the opponent’s) plays against the starting D, or we flip it around,” Schneider said. “It just makes our team better. If I (on scout team) get a pick versus Leongas, it helps Nick know that a (defender) is watching that throw. If a receiver (playing on the scout team) burns me, I know what’s working for (the opponent) and it’s helping me out. On the (practice) field, it’s always competitive.”
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Up next
In a game that will likely determine the winner of the Central Suburban South, Maine South plays host to New Trier at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7.
Both teams are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in conference.
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @danshalin