New system, new attitude for Chargers

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:16PM

Brian Casey talks at a fast pace, much like the way he wants his defense to play. The first-year coach at Aurora Central Catholic said before the season he and his coaching staff were trying to get the Chargers to buy into an aggressive, everyone-to-the-ball defense with the simple phrase -- "It's going to work."

Casey knew this would take some faith on the part of the players. After all, it has been 12 years since the Chargers have made the IHSA playoffs and it's been seven years since the program has won more than two games in a season.

As Casey says, "They haven't had one where they're the (team) where people open the newspaper on Saturday to see how they did."

Now, there is definitely a new feeling on the campus off Edgelawn, thanks to a group that has not only bought in to what the coaches were selling defensively, but are thriving in that system [see box].

"It's very exciting," linebacker John Belovich said. "Everybody is upbeat and excited about the whole deal. Everything is really good. Everything is looking up. The whole school is excited about the change in the football program."

Added linebacker Joe Reuland: "It started in 7-on-7 (camps) when we saw what we could do against other teams. The first week we showed we could stick with teams and that we are getting better as a program. It's a lot of fun. We have 11 hats to the ball every play and it's cool watching on film."

The Chargers are sending multiple defenders to the ball on every snap, blitzing on run and pass downs to create confusion on every play. As a result, the Chargers have only allowed three touchdowns and a paltry 23 percent conversion rate on third downs.

"Our defensive line is establishing the line of scrimmage and our linebackers are flying around and making plays," said defensive lineman Kent Brauweiler, who has a sack and five tackles for loss. "We want to shut people out and not allow any points and just let our defense dominate games."

Heading into Friday's game, the Chargers are 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Suburban Christian Conference Gold and travel to Wheaton Academy (3-0, 1-0) for a contest that will put the winner in the driver's seat for the SCC Gold title.

"It is a big game for us and it means a lot," Reuland said. "I think our defense has proved we can play against athletes and we can shut them down."

The Warriors, who went 6-5 overall last season as a Class 5A playoff team, has gotten off to a fast start offensively. They've increased their point total each week from 28 to 55, but the combined record of their three opponents is 2-7.

It's safe to say this will be Wheaton Academy's first real test against a solid defense, but it may mean more to the Chargers.

A victory would improve ACC to 2-0 in the Gold with two to play, with Class 5A champion Montini Catholic coming to town next week for a tough SCC crossover.

"This game puts us in a position to win the division," Casey said of this week's contest against Wheaton Academy. "For the kids, I told them I expect them to have a good week of practice, I expect them to be a little nervous and I acknowledge that. It's going to be a big game, our biggest of the year, and the winner is in the driver's seat and the loser needs a lot of help."

It's impossible to say how this season will turn out for the Chargers -- three previous 2-1 starts in the last 12 years ended in losing seasons -- but there is nothing like a solid defense to keep a team in a game, or keep the losses from piling up.

"They're believing in it now," Casey said. "And they're starting to get that swagger a little bit. They're kind of cautious about it, but I want them to walk around with the swagger that 'Hey, no one is going to score on us.' And if they believe that we're going to be a tough defense to move on."

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