It's a fine line for Lemont defense

The Lemont defense is led by linemen (from left) Angel Cabral, Petar Vjestica and Patrick Driscoll.
(Michael R. Schmidt/Herald-News)

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We live in a world enamored by numbers, whether the topic is the stock market’s rise or fall, how many touchdowns or interceptions the Bears’ Jay Cutler has thrown or how many years since the Cubs last won the World Series.

Numbers and statistics.

Lemont coach Eric Michaelsen likes to look beyond that trap when speaking about the interior of his defensive line, a Bermuda Triangle where blockers tend to disappear before ball carriers get gobbled up by the Indians’ linebackers.

According to Michaelsen, we must measure senior defensive tackles Angel Cabral and Pat Driscoll and senior nose guard Petar Vjestica more by their immeasurable traits. Forget the 104 tackles, the 45 solos, the eight forced fumbles and the four fumble recoveries.

“Stats really aren’t a good way of defining how good or bad your defensive line plays,” Michaelsen said. “Because for us, the key is they are responsible for keeping linemen off our linebackers. If they do their job, our linebackers are making a lot of the tackles.”

And through 10 weeks, Lemont’s linebackers have been making tackles at the scary rate of “Salem’s Lot,” particularly senior inside linebacker Connor Nagel with 89 stops built on a foundation of 60 solos. His cement has been poured by Cabral, Driscoll & Vjestica.

If that sounds like a construction company, well, the brick fits the house. Driscoll, a Western Michigan University recruit, stands 6-feet-4, 270 pounds. Cabral checks in at 6-2, 270, and Vjestica tops the scales at 6-2, 245. Those numbers not only count, they add up.

On Saturday at home, with kickoff set for 6 p.m., Lemont (9-1) welcomes Morgan Park (9-1) for a Class 6A second-round playoff rematch. Again, the Indians’ 3-4 base defense will be in the limelight, especially due to a five-game winning streak fashioned on a string of four shutouts.

“Our linebackers don’t have people getting on them to block,” Michaelsen nodded, “because of guys like Pat, Angel and Petar.”

We get it, we get it. Offense wins games, defense wins championships. Those T-shirts are everywhere. But after a stunning 16-10 South Suburban Blue loss to Hillcrest in Week 5, Lemont started to take its unique “Hit Hard” practice uniforms to heart.

Immediately, the Indians’ 3-4 defense became known as “Shutout City.” They beat T.F. South 16-0, T.F. North 23-0, Tinley Park 41-0 and, last week in Round 1, Lincoln-Way North 37-0. A 41-6 win over Bremen almost writes like a bummer.

Experience has been the factor cashing Lemont’s defensive check. Thirty-eight varsity games under their belts have been better than money for Cabral, last winter’s 2A heavyweight wrestling state champion, and a certain Division I dynamo named Driscoll.

Double trouble. Uh-huh.

“The nice thing is they have played almost four seasons’ worth of games in the past three years,” Michaelsen said. “Angel is the tireless worker, and he uses the skills he learned there in wrestling for leverage, strength and quickness.

“Besides his size, Driscoll has that combination of smarts and athleticism. He played basketball last year, he has been a baseball catcher, and when he started out, he wanted to be a quarterback. It’s not that crazy of an idea — he has the athletic ability to do it.”

They seemingly do it to opponents as one. Cabral wears No. 70 and has produced 40 tackles (23 solos), six sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Driscoll wears No. 71 and has totaled 35 tackles (21 solos), five sacks, four forced fumbles and two recoveries.

“It’s great,” Driscoll said of Cabral. “We know each other so well, we’re like brothers. We’ve learned the defense, so sometimes we make checks that we’re not supposed to. It just shows how well we know the defense and how comfortable we are with each other.”

“Our chemistry is there,” Cabral said of Driscoll. “We always have the luxury of switching sides, and we definitely trust each other to do our jobs. It’s a very physical position. That’s my favorite part of the game, going up against different types of teams and offenses, and I love the competition.”

A backup to Matt Anzalone on last year’s 6A state runners-up, Vjestica won a competition for the nose. He lined up next to Cabral and Driscoll, realizing their game is the equivalent of punching someone on the nose every single play.

“I was really looking forward to playing with these guys and I knew we could have something special,” Vjestica said. “Angel is strong and physical and Pat’s very smart, knows the game inside out and he’s strong and physical, too. They make my job easier.”

Take a bow, assistant John Coneset, Lemont’s strength and D-line coach. Cabral, Driscoll and Vjestica each credited Coneset as being the force behind their standout play — the light in the D-line’s harbor to guide their ships to shore.

Of course, Cabral and Driscoll also praised Vjestica, whose 29 tackles (15 solos) and a forced fumble pale in comparison. Remember, however, what Michaelsen mentioned about numbers and statistics.

“I think Petar plays the most important position on the defensive line,” Cabral said. “You have to constantly get penetration into the backfield to mess things up a lot for the other team.”

“It’s the hardest out of all three of them,” Driscoll said of Lemont’s down linemen positions. “You have the possibility of getting triple-teamed on every play, and you have to be the most hard-nosed player there is. Petar plays that very well.”

Said Vjestica: “I try to do my job and follow them because they know exactly what we need to do. I just stay low, shoot hard and get into the guy in front of me.”

Spoken like another wrestler. Michaelsen noted how that sport helped Vjestica “become more athletic. He was strong last year, but now he’s more of an athlete.” Likewise, Morgan Park will bring a busload of athletes to town Saturday.

The linebacking crew led by Nagel (7 sacks) and safeties like senior Nicholas Forzley (27 tackles, 3 interceptions), junior Clayton Fejedelem (40 tackles, 4 interceptions) and senior Rob Gialessas will attempt to corral the Mustangs after the D-line delivers thusly.

Think responsibly.

“We know we have a lot of responsibility,” Driscoll said. “We have to control our man, control the gap. Most of the teams we have played run option, so we have to get into the gap and rip of our man, and that’s our responsibility. If we don’t, teams get big gains.

“It’s hard-nosed on the line, with lots of contact, and I like that. But we’ve realized we have to pull together and work as a whole team, a whole unit, to shut teams down. We know it.”