WELLS — The beginning of every great defense in football starts at middle linebacker.

The Green Bay Packers of the 1960s had Ray Nitschke. The Chicago Bears of the same era had Dick Butkus. The New England Patriots of the 2000s had Tedy Bruschi.

While quarterback is the most glamorous position in football, middle linebacker is one of the more underrated. They are usually in charge of making the play call in the huddle, and not only responsible for their assignment, but knowing the assignment of the other 10 players on defense.

On the Wells football team, the responsibility is shared by two players, Louis DiTomasso and Eliot Paquette.

DiTomasso and Paquette, both seniors, have been the leaders of a Warriors defense that has allowed just 72 points in 11 games, meaning opponents have averaged one touchdown a game against Wells all season. The defense has been responsible for four shutouts, its most impressive last weekend, when the Warriors defeated Mountain Valley 10-0 in the Western Class B final. Wells held the Falcons to 111 yards of total offense.

Thanks to the play of its defense, Wells (11-0) will be vying for its first Class B state title since 1997 on Saturday, when the Warriors take on the Leavitt Hornets at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

Two major reasons for that success are DiTomasso and Paquette. DiTomasso has collected more than 100 tackles each of the last two seasons. He is the one who makes call in the huddle, relaying what the coaching staff wants to run for a play.

Paquette had one of his finest games last week, getting in the face of Mountain Valley quarterback Zach Radcliffe to help produce one of three turnovers on the day ”“ all interceptions.

Wells head coach Tim Roche said one reason the performance of not only DiTomasso and Paquette, but the entire defense, has been so good is due to hard work in the weight room during the offseason, making players both faster and stronger.

“It was about a year ago this weekend that we made a commitment to each other as a team that we were going to work hard to get bigger, faster and stronger,” Roche said. “We made a commitment to each other, and I think when you do that, you get quicker to the ball, and they’re strong kids. It makes them better linebackers.”

On the Wells defense, all players are told to “protect their square,” or stick to their assignment. DiTomasso and Paquette do just that, but help the alignment of their teammates before the snap as well.

“It depends on the offensive formation,” DiTomasso said. “We call which way the (defensive) line goes, and sometimes they don’t hear us, so we have to go and move them down.”

Playing mere inches from each other, the two consistently communicate with each other.

“Sometimes we do miscommunications with each other,” DiTomasso said. “We’ll check with each other and make sure it’s the right (call).”

But they still have to stick to their own responsibilities, which this week, include reading the play of Leavitt’s guards.

“There’s a lot of guard-pulling going on this week,” DiTomasso said. “We just have to try and take care of it. Beat the player to the ball, don’t overshoot anything, just stay in your hole. If you see a window, then take it.”

The Warriors will have their biggest test of the year in Leavitt. The Hornets (11-0) are making their third consecutive trip to the Class B title game, and have one of the most prolific offenses in the state. Running out of the spread offense, Leavitt has scored 490 points this season, an average of 45 points per game. On two separate occasions this year, Leavitt has put up more than 60 points in a game. Hornets quarterback Jordan Hersom has more than 2,500 combined yards rushing and passing this season, and running back Jake Ouellette has more than 1,300 yards rushing with 25 touchdowns.

DiTomasso and Paquette said they’ve seen an offense similar to Leavitt’s during the season when the Warriors played Spruce Mountain back on Sept. 23, a game that Wells won, 47-0.

“Their defensive line is similar to Leavitt’s defensive line,” Paquette said. “They just stand there, take on a block and don’t shoot upfield unless they want to pass rush.”

“(Spruce Mountain’s) offense was kind of like it, they ran out of the shotgun,” DiTomasso said. “And Marshwood, they ran out of the shotgun with their offense, spread and shotgun, motion and all that.”

Both are looking forward to the chance of having one of the state’s best defenses match up against one of its best offenses.

“It would (be) quite a privilege to shutout one of the league’s best offenses, and that’s our goal,” DiTomasso said. “We’re going to take pride in that, just like we did in shutting out Mountain Valley.”

— Contact Staff Writer Dave Dyer at 282-1535, Ext. 318 or follow him on Twitter @Dave_Dyer.