Sterling’s defense under new leadership

Defense has been a source of pride at Sterling in recent years, culminating in stingy defenses the past two seasons as the Golden Warriors made back-to-back trips to the Class 5A semifinals.

One of the major forces in those defenses was the linebacking corps, and though key players from those squads have now moved on, the Warriors have reloaded with a new crop of players ready to stop opposing offenses in their tracks.

The Warriors will have 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior Zarek Jenkins playing middle linebacker, lining up between 6-1, 180-pound sophomore Tyree Kelly and 5-10, 170-pound junior Nick Simester.

“I think all of my teammates are great, especially the linebackers,” Simester said. “I know all of them personally, and they’re all strong, fast. We can get it done.”

The bar has been set pretty high on defense in recent years at Sterling; with players like Marquez Williams and Isaiah Ryan in the linebacking corps, the Warriors allowed just 116 points in 13 games in 2017 and 188 points in 13 games last fall.

The 2018 Warriors pitched two shutouts and held four other teams under 10 points, including a nine-win Marengo team in Week 1 and a 10-win Boylan squad in the Class 5A quarterfinal. In the past 2 years, Sterling’s defense has allowed an average of 11.7 points per game. Take out the semifinal losses to Phillips and Montini the past 2 years, and the Warriors defense has allowed 9.8 points per game in that span.

Simester is not concerned about rising to that level of play.

“I think we’re still at the level right now,” he said. “Just hard work in practice, listening to our coaches.”

The three linebackers bring different attributes to play, but combine to form a solid force.

“Tyree’s strength, I would definitely say, is his speed,” Jenkins said. “He’s fast and he understands what he needs to cover and where he needs to be and when he needs to be there.”

Meanwhile, in Simester, Jenkins sees a strong player.

“Being as strong as he is, he’s able to make plays,” Jenkins said. “Plus his speed as well; he’s fast.”

Jenkins is a fast player also, able to blitz or drop back into coverage.

“They’ve all got different skill sets that we think are going to be beneficial to us on Friday,” Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said.

“Nick Simester, he’s as good a player as we’ve had in a long time, he’s going to be a special player for us,” Schlemmer added. “Zarek Jenkins is a big-bodied kid who can really run, and he’s getting better and better every day. Tyree being on the outside, he’s finding his role and he’s going to have to grow up real quick. He’s done a great job in camp, but it’s time to play big-boy football.”

Jenkins is hoping those attributes will be the calling card not only of Sterling’s linebackers, but of the defense as a whole.

“Those are the two main things a defense needs to have,” he said. “I feel we have those things. Watching in practice, I feel we’re able to live up to those expectations.”

Those newcomers will also be tasked with combining that speed and strength with being on the same page on every down.

“Every single play, the linebackers communicate everything, either the key we’re looking at or what strength it is or how many wide receivers are out,” Jenkins said.

Kelly said the biggest key to a good linebacking group is “going to find the ball and playing hard,” and the individual drills in practice have that in mind.

“We’re really together,” he said. “Just good communication, knowing what we’re supposed to do.”

There may still be some growing pains, but Simester said those issues can be corrected.

“They’ve all had good camps,” Schlemmer said. “They’re sponges right now. They’ve been listening to what coach [Joe] Ryan, their linebackers coach, is saying. They’re soaking it up, and I think they’re going to be good players for us.”

The new-look linebacking corps admits there are still some fundamentals to work on and some effort to put in on the field, but they want to show off what they can do when Marengo comes to town next week.

“We’re all super excited to get out there, can’t wait for August 30,” Simester said.

Did You Know?

• Sterling’s current 5-year playoff streak is tied for the second-longest in program history; the Golden Warriors also went 5 straight years from 1991-95. Sterling has advanced to the postseason 16 of the last 17 years, and the back-to-back trips to the semifinals the last 2 seasons are the deepest playoff runs in school history.