Carson Wolk’s heart about pounded through his chest as he ran onto the field back on Aug. 22 for Mentor’s season opener at Olmsted Falls.
One of eight new starters on the Cardinals’ defense, his heart palpations were twofold. First, it was the season-opener. Second, as a senior it was his first varsity start of his career.
If you want to add a third contributor to the chest thumping, Mentor was coming off a 13-1 season in which the Cardinals advanced to the Division I, Region 1 championship game, and while this year’s offense was chock-full of returners, the defense (of which Wolk is part) was pretty green.
“They expect a lot from us,” Wolk said. “You’ve gotta do what you do. It’s nerve-racking going out there for the first time, but it’s an awesome feeling. It’s kill or be killed.”
In truth, the Mentor defense that took the field at the start of the season experienced some growing pains. Only a few starters were returning and some were playing new positions. The early returns were rough – a humbling scrimmage against St. Edward and three straight games to start the season in which the Cardinals gave up and average of 20 points per game.
But the growth has been exceptional. Over the past seven games, and heading into the Cardinals’ bye week this week, Mentor’s defense has given up only 34 total points. That’s an average of less than five points per game since Sept. 12, with four shutouts being pitched along the way.
To be sure, Mentor’s offense is doing what it was expected to do. Loaded with FBS college commits, the undefeated Cardinals are averaging 41.4 points per game. With the defense playing the way it is playing – well – expectations are what Wolk said they were and that is high.
“That’s the standard of the program,” defensive coordinator Nick DeCesare said. “We play a lot of veteran guys. Year after year, we turn over a good chunk of our defense. We expect there are going to be some struggles early when guys are getting into their new roles. We have a lot of first-year starters who are seniors who have been in our program for years. Their development isn’t a surprise to us when they get their chance on Friday nights.”
Such as Wolk, who did get some varsity time last year. Now a full-time starter at outside linebacker, he leads the team with 81 tackles and 11 tackles for loss. His four sacks are second on the team.
Another newbie, safety Drew Morgan, is third on the team with 48 tackles and a team-high four interceptions.
Among the new faces were Morgan and James Findak were new on the back end at safety. On the edge, Dominic Oskowski and Jackson Callahan were starting for the first time. Chase Coleman got some run last year on the defensive line, but most of that unit was new this year, too.
“I played special teams last year,” Morgan said. “The key is having faith the guys around you, trusting the coaching and trusting the process – that’s it.”
Ben Schenk, one of the few starters returning from a year ago, nodded his head in agreement. It wasn’t that long ago he was the new guy on the Mentor defense and had to learn fast while relying on the reps he got as a junior varsity player. Schenk said he could tell in preseason camp and early in the season that Mentor had the talent to be a formidable defense – it was just going to take some time to gel.
“You could see it building,” he said. “I wasn’t worried. We have some super agile and strong guys who understand the playbook well. You could see it coming together.”
The back-to-back shutouts of perennial rival Medina in Week 5 and then of talent-rich Cleveland Heights in Week 6 showed how far the defense had come.
“That’s when I saw it start to click,” Schenk said. “Cleveland Heights has great athletes and strong guys. We shut them down pretty good. You could see things coming together.”
That might have been Schenk’s watershed moment, but DeCesare saw it long before then.
“There was no position group that was a concern coming in,” he said. “It was just, ‘Are they ready?’ But it’s (faith) in the kids. It’s them being willing to fight. They go in there and do the job.”
To a man, the leaders of the Mentor defense credit the Mentor offense for getting them ready every week, every day, in practice. As a member of Mentor’s defense going up against All-Ohio running back Jackson Farley and receiver Justen Hodge in practice every day, players are going to get better.
Practicing against an offensive line that includes Ohio State commit Landry Brede, Navy commit JoJo LoDuca, Kent State commit Colin Prichard and others – players need to buckle the chin strap.
“You’ve gotta understand if you practice with these guys every day, you’re not going to win all the reps,” Schenk said. “They’re going to outrun you, run through you, out-strong you. There are a lot of things in play.
“But those guys give us the best looks every day. We know we’re going to get better practicing against them every day.”
The defense and its leader – DeCesare – know the Mentor offense is going to do a lot of heavy lifting on Friday nights by putting points on the board. That doesn’t mean the defense is going to play lax knowing they’ve got a safety net.
“It doesn’t mean we want to give up 28 because we knew the offense is going to score 35,” DeCesare said. “We want to pitch a shutout and get the ball back to them as fast as we can.”
Over the past two months, the Mentor defense has grown exponentially. Strongsville is the only team to score double digits on the Cardinals over that span, falling 55-21.
The inexperience at season’s start is no longer in that category. The Mentor defense has found its footing and is more than ready to do its share of heavy lifting with postseason play at hand.
“We bring the energy every day in practice, we stick together and we’ve grown a lot,” Morgan said. “We’re 10-0 going into the playoffs. We’re built for this and we’re ready to go.”
