Clark, Myers give Colonels' defense crunch factor

ALTAVISTA — In the seven seasons Mike Reavis has served as Mike Scharnus’ defensive coordinator, dating back to their years at Rustburg, his players have had a history of hard knocks.

This year’s defensive unit at Altavista may rank as the hardest hitting group the two have coached, led by two senior, four-year starting linebackers Daelyn Myers and Chris Clark.

Clark ranks first on the team in tackles with 65 (including 12 for loss) and sacks with four, followed by Myers and 6-foot-4, 195-pound junior defensive end Jerrell Jordan.

“We have a lot of hit,” Clark said, noting that his philosophy is, “Move and you get hit.”

“We try to hit them before they get back there (to the secondary),” added Myers, a senior captain who calls the defensive plays from the mike, or inside, linebacker position.

Altavista switched from a 4-3 to a 3-5 defensive formation this season, the same scheme used by Group AA powerhouse Amherst.

“We’re fast and it allows us to get more speed on the field,” Reavis said. “The good thing about the 3-5 is our defense doesn’t change a lot to other teams,” noting they line up the same way against a spread attack as they do to shut down the Power I.

“It’s fit the personnel,” Scharnus added. “We don’t have a lot of big guys on defense, but we’ve got guys who can run and hit, with quickness.”

Like the Lancers, the Colonels play an attacking-style defense, with all 11 players in aggressive pursuit of the football.

“This year, we’ve stepped up a whole lot,” Clark said. “We hit the weights hard and everybody got on the same page, hitting-wise. Everybody wants a big hit or they want to be in on the tackle.”

“Sometimes, we get individual tackles, but mostly we gang-tackle,” Jordan added. “We get a whole lot of hats on the ball.”

He said the Colonels have caused their fair share of fumbles by stripping the ball during tackles as well as with their no-holds-barred collisions with the ball-carrier.

“We get a whole lot of fumbles each game,” Jordan said.

“He has a big hit every game,” Myers added of Jordan, who ranks third on the team with 50 tackles, including a team-high 17 for loss, with two sacks and two batted-down passes.

Jordan's helmet also is covered with the most skull and crossbone stickers, awarded for big defensive plays.

“Jerrell’s doing a good job of disrupting the offense, getting into the backfield and wreaking havoc up front,” Reavis said.

On a team that features eight or nine two-way starters, disruptive plays on defense ignite the Colonels.

“We always see who gets the first big hit,” Clark said.

“See who can get the biggest hit,” Myers added.

Hard hitting becomes contagious, and the intensity carries over to the offensive side of the ball.

“After somebody makes a big play, we get hype and we just feed off of it and everybody starts making plays,” Jordan said. ”That’s what gets our defense going. Once somebody gets a big hit, everybody’s just swarming to the ball.”

Clark is arguably Altavista’s hardest hitting defender. He’s also an explosive running back, and, like Myers who plays fullback, a straight-ahead runner.

“We are the power backfield,” Myers said.

“Basically, them two just run over everybody,” Jordan added.

Reavis said Clark and Myers have become bigger impact players as they’ve gained experience and improved their knowledge of the game.

“They’ve benefited from having played as young kids and gotten addicted to the weight room, and gotten bigger and faster and stronger, which has helped us tremendously,” he said.

Despite playing nearly every down on both offense and defense, the Colonels' seniors don’t usually tire as the game goes on.

“It goes back to the weight room,” Clark said. “That’s where we get our energy. I never get tired in the fourth quarter. It seems like fourth quarter, that’s when we get like an energy boost.”

Surprisingly, come crunch time, the Colonels often deliver some of their most crushing tackles.

When Altavista (6-1, 2-1 Dogwood) hosts Chatham in its homecoming game tonight at 7, it will be searching for its third straight district win after starting the season 4-0 against non-district competition. Its only loss was a 22-0 setback at Gretna.

The Colonels, ranked third in the VHSL’s Division 1 state power ratings, have their collective eyes fixed on a Group A, Division 1, crown. But first, they must qualify for the Region B playoffs for the first time since 1990.

“Offense wins games, defense wins championships,” Myers said.

“The defense is the strength of the team,” Jordan added. “We just shut it down every time defensively. They just don’t score. They just score on kickoff returns, that’s it. When their offense is on the field, they don’t score.”