Scoliere's versatility is a boon for Cadets

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:06PM

The assistant coach for Thornton Fractional South was exasperated.

"Man, we didn't have an answer for No. 3," he said last Saturday, not long after Marmion Academy's defense had stopped the Hornets' two-point conversion run at the six-inch line with 10 seconds remaining to preserve a 28-27 second-round playoff win. "It seemed like every time we tried to block him one-on-one we got a holding penalty."

It wasn't quite that bad, but No. 3, a.k.a. Nick Scoliere, was definitely a force for the Cadets.

"That's something I hang my hat on," the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Scoliere said when told of the compliment. "It's a nice honor to have another coaching staff try to game plan around you. The more people that we have causing havoc, the more problems we cause when we're on defense."

Make no mistake, Scoliere has been giving opposing coaches headaches. It's a season he's played a much different role on the defensive side than he thought he would when it started, and he was stationed, as usual, in the backfield.

"I've played linebacker, defensive end and defensive back," he said. "A little bit of everything."

Using the senior as a rush linebacker in the Cadets' 3-4 alignment was something the staff planned to do only once in a while starting out, said defensive assistant coach Mike Shares.

"He had grown and developed in the weight room and his quickness really blossomed," Shares said. "Then, in Week 2, when (DE) Nick Pacer was injured we brought Nick in and it was a natural fit for him.

"(Scoliere) has given us a lot of flexibility because we can put him out in coverage and space or change it up and have him rush the quarterback. Mixing that up keeps the other team off balance and he's given us the element of surprise."

Scoliere, who is also part of coach Dan Thorpe's stable of running backs who share the load, has really blossomed on defense. He's second on the team with 41 solo tackles and 19 assists but has a team-high 14 quarterback sacks and seven additional tackles for loss. He's tied with Ryan Glasgow with nine quarterback hurries.

"Getting to rush the quarterback is something new for me," he said.

Thorpe breaks into a smile when Scoliere is mentioned.

"Instincts. Athletic moxie. Quickness," he starts out. "(Scoliere) loves the game, understands the game. We call him Coach Scoliere because he's always got 101 questions. He wants input on the scouting report.

"I once heard a coach say, ‘I'd rather have a bronco you've got to say, ‘Whoa' to than a plow horse you have gotta say ‘Giddy up' to."

Scoliere isn't the one with the harness.

At running back, he has 54 carries for 490 yards (9.1 average) and two TDs and has caught a team-high 20 passes for 355 yards and four more scores. He's one of five Cadet backs who have rushed for at least 353 yards.

"I like it because it gives everyone a chance," Scoliere said. "If we had one kid who carried the ball 30 to 40 times a game, every game, we wouldn't be able to use the different styles of the kids we have. The defense could focus on stopping just one guy and we wouldn't stay as fresh as we have. It's a nice, balanced attack."

Scoliere wants to play at the next level and originally thought it would be as a free safety. Now, he's thinking he might have some potential as a strong safety or weakside linebacker.

"I've talked to a couple Division I-AA schools but I'm not sure yet," he said. "I've had a senior year I was hoping for so I'm gonna send some game film out and, hopefully, take a run at a MAC (Mid-American Conference) school and play at the Division I level since that's been my dream since about first grade."

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