Dan Sharp is no dummy. In various short-yardage situations, the Joliet Catholic head football coach/offensive coordinator borrows inside linebackers Zach Dolph and Jake Stockman for his power package.
The Hilltoppers call it their “Jumbo” set. Dolph, a 6-foot, 215-pound senior, lines up as the bruising tailback. Stockman, a 6-2, 225-pound senior, turns into a terrorizing fullback. And opposing defenses end up looking like “Dumbo.”
Leave it to a couple of middle linebackers to liven up the sideline. While Stockman operates as the pair’s ringleader, pleading with Sharp to announce their formation, Dolph stoically remains content to come up aces if, and when, needed.
He’s no dummy, either.
“Well, it is a lot of fun,” said the serious Dolph, allowing himself a slight smile. “It’s totally different from the defensive side of the ball. Jake and I, we like hitting people, and we try to bring that style over to the offensive side of the ball.”
“Every time we get into third-and-short, me and Zach start bouncing around,” Stockman said. “We’re just begging Coach Sharp to call ‘Jumbo’ out. Between that and when we do a double blitz, it’s probably the best time for us to be on the football field.”
Lately, Dolph has been having the time of his life on that football field for Joliet Catholic. He delivered five tackles and an interception last Friday night during the Hilltoppers’ 47-7 Class 5A quarterfinal win over Washington at Memorial Stadium.
Smart, strong and athletic, those three characteristics add up as the danger zone for Dolph, who helps lead JCA (10-2) into Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinal kickoff vs. host Peoria Richwoods (11-1). But his true jumbo act has been as Stockman’s complement on defense.
“Zach does all the things a linebacker needs to do,” Sharp said. “He’s intelligent, he’s a tremendous tackler, he has great quickness, and he’s the guy who can intercept the ball and score or pick up a fumble and score — he’s that game-changer.
“And if we played him at running back, he would be a heckuva running back, too.”
Mike Singletary. The Hall of Famer from the Bears and current coach of the San Francisco 49ers established the standard for how cerebral-yet-physical middle linebackers play, and JCA defensive coordinator Cory McLaughlin agreed.
In JCA’s 4-4 base, senior defensive tackles Tyler Gannon (64 tackles, two fumble recoveries) and Mike Madrigal (85 tackles, four sacks) are supposed to take on the majority of blockers, freeing up Stockman and Dolph to constantly clean up the table.
To date, Dolph and Stockman have eerily similar totals. Both have 99 tackles, with 36 solos for Dolph and 31 for Stockman. While Stockman has four sacks, 10 hurries and a forced fumble to his credit, Dolph has provided four sacks, eight hurries and a fumble recovery.
Just like Mike.
“Zach plays a lot like Singletary because he does his homework,” McLaughlin said. “He’s a straight-A student, so he understands the game well and he can play multiple positions. You get those two guys inside and it’s really tough to do anything against them.”
“He does everything that I don’t do,” Stockman said. “He balances things out. All of our schemes are usually based on me focusing on one thing, getting the calls in, and Zach is great at being the second guy in the scenario. He’s the great equalizer for our whole defense.”
Equally important for Dolph, and Stockman before him, was gaining varsity experience at outside linebacker/strong safety as the prelude to moving inside. Stockman has started for three years, Dolph for two, and those numbers are huge.
“Actually, the adjustment for me was last year,” Dolph said. “I played middle linebacker my freshman and sophomore years. I had to adjust to the varsity level, the speed that it is, and adjust to the outside. It’s different. You have 6-6 guys coming at you and you have to read fast.”
On the football field, Dolph plays like a speed-reader. In the classroom, he touts a 3.61 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and plans on playing at an Ivy League school, perhaps Brown or Cornell. It is another skill that Sharp noted translates to his effort.
“Zach is a quick learner,” Sharp said. “He can take what he has been taught and put it into action in a hurry. Defense is a game of reaction, and Zach and Jake have quick reactions, quick instincts, and it comes from their experience along with their talent and athleticism.”
Powerball. No, not the lottery, but rather the moment that Sharp seeks out the No. 22 of Dolph and the No. 11 of Stockman. Dolph has parlayed 12 carries into 43 yards and a touchdown, following Stockman like a Southerner eating Gumbo.
“Zach always messes around saying he gets to run the ball because he’s more athletic, when I think they know I’m going to get the block better than him,” Stockman said good-naturedly. “That’s why it’s set up the way that it is, but it’s fun.”
“I am faster than him, so it’s fair,” Dolph countered. “He’s like a big pulling guard when he’s in there at fullback. When both of us are in there, Jake has good size, I don’t have bad size, and we’re good to go — head to head.”
Mastering the head games at middle linebacker has been Dolph’s specialty. He understands the Hilltoppers’ 4-4 and 4-3 base defenses like a master chef flipping through a pile of recipes.
“It’s his knowledge of everything,” Stockman said. “He has an unbelievable feel for the game, and his reads are really good. Coming off the sidelines, he’s one of those guys who can help people, with things like ‘When you see this, this is going to happen.’ It helps our whole team out as a whole.”
“He’s that kind of athlete who can do so many things for you,” Sharp said. “He has that ability to play the tough teams inside that run the ball and then he has the ability to cover the pass, which you need in today’s game when you’re playing against all of these spread teams.”
Even with his chance at the spotlight, Dolph was happy to spread the praise to Stockman, indicating that “Jake deserves every bit of exposure he gets. He’s outstanding.” Wise words, indeed, and that has been the epitome of Dolph’s career.
He’s no dummy, either, giving Peoria Richwoods props. Just like Singletary would, and just like Stockman.
Jumbo at its best.
“Jake always brings the intensity and I feed off that,” Dolph said. “When both of us are up, we’re rowdy and intense, and it seems to get everybody else up. We’ll watch film together and dissect it, notice things we can work on, and we’re not going to underestimate this team.
“They’re going to come out banging, and we like that. It’s going to be a good game.”
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