Stealing the Spotlight: Brick Defense Dominates Brick Memorial

BRICK - Brick's explosive offense usually dominates the headlines when talking about the Green Dragons, but their defensive players are just fine with that as long as they can break out the postgame chant they used on Saturday for the first time in three years.

"One, two, three, goose egg!"

While senior quarterback Carmen Sclafani was once again spectacular in racking up 305 total yards in engineering Brick's spread offense, it was the defense that showed it has made a leap forward from last year in a 42-0 rout of rival Brick Memorial. The Green Dragons dominated to the point where they nearly had as many yards on fumble returns (80) as they allowed to Brick Memorial's offense (92) in posting their first shutout since 2011.

"The defense set the tone for the season that we want them to have,'' Brick head coach Rob Dahl said. "We had a couple different schemes in today, and they actually executed both of them. Usually when you go against a flexbone triple option team like this, you have one scheme you want to carry out the whole game.

"We actually did a couple different things, and that was impressive about our defense that they were able to carry out a couple different schemes against that type of offense. Usually if you try a second scheme, they gut you, but we had a slanting front and a base front, and they were able to execute both."

Brick employed an even four-man front for much of the day as it stifled Brick Memorial's running game, holding the Mustangs to 50 yards rushing on 28 attempts. They particularly defended Brick Memorial's bread-and-butter dive play well, crashing the middle relentlessly. Leading the way was a familiar face to the Mustangs, senior defensive tackle Chris Kimbiz, a Brick Memorial transfer who was a problem all day. He was consistently in the backfield thanks to a quick first step and had a sack and forced fumble that teammate Ray Fattaruso returned 50 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"It was crazy,'' Kimbiz said about facing his old team. "We had a good gameplan, and coach put it on our shoulders to blow up the middle, and we were able to do that. They have two great offensive linemen in the Nobiles, and we were able to get some penetration."

"He had a monster game,'' Dahl said. "They (Brick Memorial) have such big splits and he is so fast and has such a motor, that we thought that he could beat some of their guards off the ball, and he did do that. He was in their backfield the whole game."

Junior defensive end Dan Finelli and senior defensive end Jake Layton flanked Kimbiz and were tough to move all day, tying up blockers and stunting into the backfield. The linebackers behind them, led by Fattaruso, senior James Juliano and junior Jordan Keefe, consistently executed their assignments against an offense that demands defensive discipline to stop.

Once they got a double-digit lead, Brick Memorial was in the uncomfortable position of having to throw the ball regularly, and the Green Dragons had them right where they wanted them. Senior cornerbacks Ja'Quez Johnson and Joe Phillips combined for three pass break-ups, and Johnson also had a fumble return for a touchdown.

"(The) even front just allows our tackles to play fast, allows everybody to play fast,'' Dahl said. "Our ends and our outside linebackers really shut the option down."

"Once coach 'Mac' (defensive coordinator Brian McNamara) put this defense in, we knew it would be unstoppable if we just did our alignments and our assignments,'' Fattaruso said. "Everyone had a particular guy and we hit that guy every play, and the scoreboard shows how we did."

The Green Dragons also set the tone early and showed how they have matured in a year when they came up with a stop on Brick Memorial's first possession and then regrouped when the Mustangs got the ball right back after a punt skipped off a Brick player and was recovered by Brick Memorial at the 30-yard line. After allowing a first down, they stopped the Mustangs on downs in the red zone to keep the game scoreless and not give the home team any life in front of a raucous capacity crowd.

"We told them if they have a couple big plays, don't panic,'' Dahl said. "I think in years before this, if they got a big play on a fade pass for 40 yards, we kind of panicked a little bit as a defense. I thought today, maybe from so many returning starters being in the position last year and facing some adversity, they did a good job in the early stages of the game."

The year of experience for the veteran Green Dragons' defense clearly has made a difference as far as their grasp of the scheme.

"Last year we had more talent than we had brains, honestly,'' Fattaruso said. "This year everybody is playing to what they're supposed to do, and we're doing everything that we're told to do. Last year we just flew to the ball and we just hit, but this year we actually lock down our assignments and we know what we're supposed to do."

Last year they allowed 20 points per game in going 9-3 and taking home the Central Jersey Group IV title, but it was primarily the offense that led the way in big games like a 47-21 win over Toms RIver South in the regular season, a 35-26 playoff win over West Windsor North, and a 45-24 shootout with Burlington Township in the sectional semifinals. However, they also showed their potential in a 9-7 loss to Class A South champion Jackson Memorial in which they were without Sclafani but the defense kept them in it until the end.

"We just needed to be more consistent this year,'' Finelli said.

The goal was to turn a bend-but-don't-break defense into a shutdown unit to take some pressure off the offense and make Brick a complete team in its mission to go 12-0.

"We take so much pride in that,'' Layton said. "That's what our defense is designed around, to shut down every team in the Shore."

For this veteran group, a shutout is better than a headline any day.

"We're like the silent killers, the snakes in the grass,'' Kimbiz said. "Nobody knows about us until the game comes, and you see what we can do."