Small but mighty, Wyatt Cassens at the center of Sterling’s defense

He answers to the nickname “Squirrel.”

Wyatt Cassens, all of 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds as a junior, perhaps does not strike the most intimidating pose in football pads.

Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer, however, warned one would be wise to not judge a book by its cover when it comes to his senior defensive end.

“He doesn’t look like much, does he? But the dude just plays,” Schlemmer said. “He doesn’t stop. He’s physical, he does all the right things. He is a very good football player and a good kid.”

Cassens is the driving force of the Sterling defense up front. First-team All-Western Big 6 Conference as a junior, he’s the leader of a Golden Warriors team hoping to build off last year’s 5-5 season despite significant youth.

Cassens and the Golden Warriors cut their teeth Tuesday in a joint practice at Oswego East with Glenbard South.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Cassens said. “We get to compete and be with our teammates and try to get competitive with everybody and other teams, too.”

It’s continued a busy offseason for Cassens, who has been spending a good deal of time in the weight room. He said he’s put on about 20 pounds, is up to 175 pounds and added 100 pounds to his lift max.

“We got to get ready, got to get in shape,” Cassens said. “Hopefully we do better than last year and make it far.”

The question bears asking, however. Where did the nickname come from?

“Came from one of our assistant coaches, funny guy, has a lot of quotes,” Cassens said. “He decided one day I run around like a squirrel, called me that, and it stuck with me. Got to go with it, got to roll with it. When coaches call you, you respond to anything.”

Schlemmer calls Cassens the centerpiece of his defense, the axis it all revolves around.

Cassens as a junior had 37 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one interception.

Listed on the Sterling roster last season as a linebacker, Cassens is actually a defensive end, his coach said.

“It’s a little unconventional, but we put him where he can play as free as he can, and we can let him go,” Schlemmer said. “It’s our job as coaches to scheme around him. You look at him, he’s 150 pounds, I guess he put on like 20 pounds since then, but he’s a hard worker.

“He’s a kid that lays concrete during the summer. He’s always doing something.”

Hard to overstate what Cassens means to Sterling’s defense.

“A lot,” Schlemmer said. “I say this, and I’m not joking – our whole defense is schemed around him. He’s that good of a player at what he does. It’s a little unconventional, but we have to be really good as a staff that we put all of our other kids in good positions, too.”

The Golden Warriors seem to be a little unconventional on the opposite line, as well. They’re certainly young.

Sterling could start three sophomores, a freshman and a junior – two-year starter AJ Coleman – on its offensive line. The team also is replacing graduated quarterback Drew Nettleton and his top target, Kaedon Phillips.

“We’re young, but the young part is not an excuse. It is what it is,” Schlemmer said. “We have a lot of young kids, their eyes were kind of big today. Young kids up front, but we’re excited about them.”

Schlemmer relished the chance to compete against two other bigger schools with recent playoff success. Oswego East is coached by Tyson LeBlanc, a 1994 Sterling graduate.

“The competition is great,” Schlemmer said. “It’s great to see our kids compete. We put a lot of work into the sport, and we only get nine games. When you get an opportunity to go compete against good teams, it’s fun to see your kids go out and show what they’ve been working on.”

Sterling opens its season Aug. 29 at Metamora.

“You have to be ready to go,” Schlemmer said. “We come out right off the bat with Metamora, a really good program. For us we have to stay healthy, have to catch a few breaks. Highs can’t be too high, and lows can’t be too low as young as we are.”