Griffins' Hickey a true defensive specialist

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:14PM

Cornerbacks like the Bears' Charles "Peanut" Tillman have taken the as-old-as-leather-helmets concept of the strip drill to a whole nother level. But there's another stage behind that curtain and Lincoln-Way East's Collin Hickey has it down cold.

Think about it. Do you really believe Jay Cutler, if given a couple of mulligans, would have continued throwing at DeAngelo "I'm Going For A Touchdown This Time" Hall. Well, Hickey had a Hall of a time last Saturday in sparking a 62-0 rout of Joliet Central.

Excelling at what Griffins coach Rob Zvonar calls "scoops and scores," Hickey returned his third - THIRD - fumble recovery for a TD this season in fanning the flames of a 42-0 lead through one quarter. And it was like watching a card shark bluff.

Good trumps great.

"It's good to hit people," said Hickey, who allowed himself only a slight grin before pausing for the no-nonsense punch to his answer. "But, yeah, it's always great to score the touchdowns, too, on defense."

As usual, defense has been a premium calling card for Lincoln-Way East (8-1), which opens the loaded-for-bear Class 7A playoffs Saturday afternoon at 1 o'clock against SouthWest Suburban Conference rival Thornton (7-2). Get ready for a track meet, folks.

A 6-foot, 155-pound senior, Hickey has cornered the market on scoring those complementary touchdowns that tend to break the tape first at the finish line of a race. He also has 22 tackles, a pass breakup, a blocked kick/punt and one of the Griffins' six interceptions.

Last Saturday, East earned its seventh straight victory and second consecutive shutout, with Hickey helping his way onto the scoresheet with the 21-yard fumble return. It was the fifth TD this fall by the Griffins' defense, and for Hickey, almost a matter of fact.

"It was the second series," he recalled. "The D-line was drilling their offensive line and they kept making fumbles off their powers, going into the tackles, and one of the fumbles popped loose to me. I picked it right up and just ran it in."

"We spend a lot of time in practice talking about forcing turnovers," Zvonar said. "We do a lot of drills on strips, scoops and scores, tip drills and interceptions. It's a big deal when you can do that, and Collin certainly has been our best scoop-and-score guy."

Speaking of a best man, Colorado State-bound senior linebacker Pat Meehan has been East's headliner at 89 tackles (58 solos) with 2 forced fumbles, 2 blocked punts, 6 strips and 23-yard interception return for a TD. So from one playmaker to another ...

Golden. As in glove.

"He is, he is," Meehan said. "He has a knack for the ball, great hands, and he's a ballhawk. Once or twice a week, we do strip drills where we stress picking up a fumble and running with it, and ‘Hicks' seems to be there every time."

"He's a senior leader for us," East defensive coordinator David Woodburn said of Hickey. "We know there's going to be that consistency when he's in the game, and he makes everyone around him better. He's always around the ball, and obviously, our main goal is keeping him healthy."

A torn tendon in his hip cost Hickey the first seven weeks of the season last year, but Zvonar praised him as "our best defensive back on the field in the playoffs" as a junior. Lately, the hard-luck Hickey has been battling the dreaded high-ankle sprain.

"He's a tough, hard-nosed kid," East offensive coordinator Joel Pallissard said. "I don't think he's played many games here where he has been 100 percent healthy, but he gives a great effort, he works hard and he makes big plays. He's always around the ball, and we saw that last week."

"The only things ever holding him back have been the injuries," Zvonar said. "Now that he's starting to get healthy again, he is showing us that leadership not only with his play, but vocally, and by being a go-to guy in the secondary."

In hockey, what Hickey provides has been dubbed secondary scoring. To wit, he scored on a pair of Meehan blocked punts, falling on one in the zone and bringing back the other 6 yards, during the Griffins' 37-14 season-opening victory over Edwardsville.

"That's huge," Pallissard said. "When you can win the turnover ratio and you have Collin scoring on fumbles, it's great for the team and it's great for us on offense. We enjoy that stuff quite a bit."

"We feel like we can put Collin against any receiver and he will give us a great chance to be successful," Woodburn said. "Even on run plays, he gets himself involved in the action and makes great tackles."

To Zvonar, what separates Hickey is "how smart he is. His football IQ is tremendous. You tell him once and he's locked in." To Pallissard, offering the Mike Martz viewpoint, what defines Hickey is "he can cover, he's good in run support and he has great instincts."

Good and great. Hickey's older brother Ryan played outside linebacker last year for East before heading off to Montana State-Bozeman. He crossed that good-to-great bridge for the Griffins as well.

"We know Collin may not be the fastest guy or the strongest guy on the field," Zvonar said of Hickey, who holds a 3.4 grade-point average. "But it's all about his confidence and owning the mental part of the game."

Being in Class 7A will require a different mentality. As Zvonar aptly pointed out, "pink is the new black and 7A is the new 8A." Hickey confirmed how the Griffins are "making fewer and fewer mistakes," and as a cornerback, he has his priorities in order.

"We have to stay awake for the pass," Hickey said. "Our linemen and linebackers do a good job, so I don't have to worry as much about the stopping the run. The pass is what I look forward to defending."

And scoring on fumbles.

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