SACO —The Maine Sabers jumped out to an early lead during their 34-10 victory in an NEFL quarterfinal against New Hampshire on Saturday, forcing the Wolfpack to throw the ball to try and get back in the game. All that did was play into a strength of the Sabers’ defense: their secondary.
New Hampshire’s two quarterbacks, Sean Simpson and Thaddeus Brown, completed just 11 passes on 34 attempts combined with three interceptions. Much of that had to do with the Sabers’ talented defensive backfield.
“Two of our corners, Steven Barker and Lamir Whetstone, were starters at Maine. That’s (Division) I-AA football. So they’re as good as any corners that we have in the league,” said Sabers head coach Jim Walsh. “Wes Myers is very dynamic. Eric Harris does a good job. Brolin Frye is like our centerfielder. He’s making calls and checks, and he stepped up and had a big interception.
“Our secondary has gone from being a concern early in the year, to one of our strengths right now.”
Walsh said he wasn’t sure exactly how good his secondary would be at the start of the season, as the unit didn’t have any chemistry. But things have changed since July, as the group has become a force, with nine interceptions over the Sabers’ final three regular season games.
“All we’re really kind of doing is just waiting for our defense to make a play. The more we’re on the field, the better the chances we’re going to come away with the football, or even with a sack,” said Sabers defensive coordinator Rob Susi.
In addition to Barker and Whetstone as former Black Bears is Anthony Hicks, who plays both defense and offense for The Sabers. Hicks scored on a 51-yard touchdown catch against New Hampshire, and temporarily knocked out Simpson with a jarring hit on a corner blitz.
That forced the Wolfpack into using Brown, normally a wide receiver, as a quarterback. A dual-threat as both a runner and a passer, Susi dared Brown to throw the ball, and asked his defensive backs to play single coverage.
“We got him to throw the ball up in the air, and our secondary just had great coverage,” said Susi.
The Sabers’ defensive backs also had the recognition to come up in run support when Brown left the pocket.
Susi said it’s a gift for him as the defensive coordinator to have the secondary that he does, because he can be creative with his front seven.
“They can shut it down. They can cover the field, and absolutely blanket anything they’ve got. It makes it real easy to call plays,” said Susi. “It makes it so easy, because we can blitz, we can do anything we want underneath, because we know those guys are solid out back.
“It just makes it a lot easier for us to do what we do up front, knowing that they’re back there.”
That secondary also came up big in the second half against the Wolfpack, as the Sabers offense went cold and New Hampshire started to gain momentum.
“We had two interceptions down in the end zone. This could have been 34-24 if they score there,” said Walsh. “We had our defensive backs step up big.”
— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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