CARLSBAD ‘D' WELL-COACHED AND PROVEN
Lancers face Dons having allowed just 12.9 points a game
Something has got to give.
Cathedral Catholic and its precision-like Wing-T offense, led by tailback Lucky Sutton and strong-armed quarterback Charlie Mirer, is averaging 40.3 points a game.
Carlsbad and defensive standouts Anthony Ferrelli, Barrett Brennan, Dom Marin and Tommy Weirich surrenders just 12.9 points a game.
Saturday night, the highrolling Dons and the immovable Lancers meet in the Open Division championship game at Escondido High.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. “The biggest thing for us on defense is trust,” said Ferrelli, Carlsbad’s leading tackler. “We’ve played together a long time. We’re disciplined. We’re well coached.”
Paul Publico, an All-CIF linebacker at Los Alamitos who played at UC Davis, is Carlsbad’s defensive coordinator.
Lancers head coach Thadd MacNeal, who coached Publico in high school, is quick to point out he has four men who have been defensive coordinators in high school — Publico, Barry Sher (Los Al), Tom Carroll (San Marcos) and Joel Banuelos (Oceanside).
“We’ve got a lot of great minds, a lot of experience, a lot of consistency and a lot of maturity on this staff,” MacNeal said.
“This group of seniors — from freshman, to JV, to varsity — has only lost two games. So there is a lot of pride in this program.”
The 11-0 Lancers have allowed a touchdown or less in six of 11 games this season.
Three times they’ve given up two TDs.
La Costa Canyon scored
28 in a sloppy game in which Carlsbad’s second team played a bulk of the fourth quarter.
Torrey Pines scored 33 points in a game where Ferrelli said the Lancers were misaligned nine times.
In a rematch in last week’s Open Division semifinals, Torrey Pines managed only a late TD in a 44-7 loss.
“My philosophy is to be as diverse as possible,” said Publico, who is in his eighth year at Carlsbad. “I want to educate my players. I want them to know what to do in every situation. And I want
my players to have the freedom to make decisions. I want my guys to communicate. We’ll play smart, and we’ll play tough. And we’ll play with our hair on fire.”
Cathedral Catholic (9-2) will be the third straight Wing-T team Carlsbad will face … Vista, Torrey Pines and now Cathedral Catholic.
“Wing-T teams are all similar, but all do things a little differently,” Ferrelli said. “A lot of it comes down to the base seven players. Who is bigger, stronger, tougher up front.
“Cathedral is really good.
Playing them for a championship in the highest division is super exciting.”
The Carlsbad defense has only three interceptions but has 28 sacks and 39 tackles for a loss.
“My two inside linebackers (Ferrelli and Brennan) can play in college,” Publico said.
Ferrelli, who also plays running back, checks in at 6foot-1, 220 pounds. Brennan, also a tight end, is 6-3, 215.
Ferrelli leads the team with 59 tackles, Brennan has 52, Weirich 36 and Marin 21 in seven games.
“This team is really selfless,”
Brennan said. “The defensive linemen are willing to sacrifice for the linebackers. The DL allows the linebackers to use our instincts and make big plays. Cathedral has a lot of really good athletes. They do what they do very well. But we’re pretty good, too. So it should be a great game.”
At 6-2, 215, Marin is one of the anchors on the Carlsbad defensive line.
He’ll go against a Cathedral offensive front that averages 265 pounds.
“Our technique is really sound,” Marin said. “We’re not the biggest guys, but we
use our technique and speed to get the job done. The defense has a great bond. And we’ll need it because this game could come down to the front sevens.”