With a stout offensive unit that holds some of the top rankings in production in the country, the Fort Scott Community College defensive unit has gone strangely overlooked.
After Saturday’s 14-10 win over Butler — giving the Greyhounds the KJCCC regular-season championship — that all changed.
“You know, the offense will probably be the story of this game,” FSCC head coach Jeff Sims said, “but we would not have gotten here if it wasn’t for our defense.”
Heading into their match-up with No. 4 Butler, the Greyhound defense ranked third in the conference in run defense, giving up just 98 yards per game and is second in the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 14 points per game.
They only gave up 10 points to the fourth-ranked Grizzlies.
The Greyhounds did so by only allowing Butler’s running game to tally 147 yards on the ground and contained quarterback Ross Dausin to just 143 yards passing on 10 of 29.
“Our defensive line has been our strength and we want to continue doing what has worked this week,” said first-year defensive coordinator James Lott.
The Greyhounds have been solid against the run — giving up just 3.2 yards per carry.
Not to mention the fact that the Fort Scott defense has only allowed four rushing touchdowns since their win against Garden City — through 6 games.
That can be attributed, in no small part, to defensive tackles Byron Jerideau and Anthony White.
Jerideau, a 6-foot-1, 315-pound redshirt freshman from South Carolina, is second on the team in tackles with 56, including 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Jerideau also has two quarterback sacks on the season.
“We need to work harder than we have worked all year and play smart. It is going to take us to know our assignments and to execute as a defensive unit,” Jerideau said. “We must continue to play together as one and put 11 helmets to the ball every play.”
White (6-3, 300), a redshirt freshman from Michigan, has tallied 47 tackles, with nine of them being for lost yardage for the opponents. White also has a pair of quarterback sacks for the Greyhounds.
On Saturday, it was Jamel Johnson that came up big, picking up 10 total tackles and assisting for one tackle for a 2-yard loss.
The defensive ends are veteran sophomores Zach Bowers and Frank Bryant.
Bowers (6-1, 240), is from Topeka. He saw significant playing time for the ‘Hounds last season, accumulating 29 tackles and 4.5 sacks. This season, in eight games, Bowers has 34 tackles (none for lost yardage) with a team-leading six sacks.
Bryant (6-3, 240) from Jefferson City, Mo., has four sacks to go along with 32 tackles this season. Bryant is also leading the team with six forced fumbles, including a pair against Butler.
“I really feel the players are starting to learn our scheme and to understand what we are trying to coach,” said first-year defensive line coach Sean Cherico. “With our new defensive coaching staff coming in a little late, we didn’t have these guys in the spring and it has taken some time for them to understand the different techniques that we coach. But they have worked hard to improve every day and every game.”
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140. Follow Morning Sun sports at twitter.com/mssports
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