Abilene High football's defensive backs creating a no-fly zone

At this time a year ago, the Abilene High football team was searching for its identity as a defense after going 0-3 with three double-digit losses.

What a difference a year makes.

This year, the Eagles defense has been the main reason the team is riding a two-game win streak. This week, the Eagles (2-1) have a chance to equal their win total from 2017 in just four weeks.

AHS faces former district rival Midland High in its homecoming game at Shotwell Stadium.

While the defense has been lauded for its stifling play, allowing just 16 points per game, a lot of that credit has gone to the front seven that includes three seniors and four juniors. 

However, one of the unnoticed improvements the Eagles have seen is a secondary that includes safeties Colton Wilson and Phillip Tellez, along with defensive backs Nate Jones and Tyler Simpson.

The quartet is now looking to gain the credit they believe is deserved.

Coming into the season, the Eagles' biggest question mark on defense was how the secondary would fare with just two players back from a unit that struggled last season. But the quartet has answered the bell through the first three games.

"This summer's 7-on-7 tournaments were huge for those guys' improvement," coach Del Van Cox said. "They were able to get out on the field in game-like situations and work together. They also got to spend a lot of time together during workouts, which always helps players learn to trust each other."

The Eagles secondary will face arguably its toughest test yet, as Midland High's Suddin Sapien is one of the better quarterbacks in the region. Sapien has thrown for 558 yards and three TDs in three games, and Cox expects a lot more in the passing game from the Bulldogs.

"I expect (Midland) to come out throwing," Cox said.  "They have a good quarterback, and our secondary will have to play well for us to win."

Confidence is key

While the first three games haven't offered a lot of tests for the Eagles secondary, some communication errors in their man-to-man defense against Midland Lee two weeks ago nearly cost Abilene High a game the Eagles were leading 23-10 in the fourth quarter.

However, Cox said this week that for the secondary to play well, the players have to know that he believes in them and will allow them to play through some mistakes and make up for it on the next play.

A lot of the Eagle secondary's confidence comes from a new influx of coverage drills the group does on a regular basis.

"We have a motor, mirror, collision drill that we do every week and it helps a lot with our coverage skills and fundamentals," Wilson said.

Against Cooper, the Eagles secondary allowed two first-half passing touchdowns. However, Wilson said they remained confident and made slight adjustments at halftime.

"The mistakes we made in the first half last week, to me, were all mental," Wilson said. "But in the second half, I thought we played much better and did a better job tackling on the short passes."

The Eagles shut out Cooper in the second half, eventually coming from behind to win 20-13.

Speed kills

While speed has been key for the Eagles front seven, that improvement also has helped the secondary as well.

"I think one of the things we've done better this year is getting to the ball fast," Simpson said. "Whether it's a running play or a pass, we've all done a good job rallying to the ball and making plays this year."

Simpson also believes the overall team speed has allowed the Eagles to be in spots the offense doesn't expect them to be.

"When we're focused and flying around out there, there's no telling where we're gonna be. We play hard, play fast and make plays," Simpson said.

While Simpson and Wilson were somewhat proven commodities after starting last year, a lot of pressure was on Tellez and Jones, who were filling starting roles for the first time.

"On the varsity level the biggest thing I had to get used to was the speed aspect," Tellez said. "Last year, I was just on kickoff, so I didn't really get a lot of experience playing at safety, but Colton and Tyler have really helped me out a lot, getting used to the plays and stuff."

Trust in a defensive secondary is also key to having a successful passing defense, and Jones said most of their trust comes from being around each other so much off the field.

"We spend a lot of time together working on our coverages, and we've been able to go out there and trust each other," Jones said. "I think we've done a great job listening to our coaches and executing what they've been telling us to do." 

The quartet also has been more dedicated in the film room.  

"We spend a lot of time watching how receivers come off the ball, watching their technique, so when we're out there on the field we have a good idea about what they're going to do," Tellez said.

While the secondary has done a solid job so far, allowing a respectable 510 passing yards, Tellez said he feels the secondary has room for improvement.

"We can do a better job staying with our receivers when the QB scrambles," Tellez said. "And we need to get some interceptions. We haven't had any yet, so we need to get better with that too."

This week is just the first of many good passing attacks that will test the Eagles secondary. The Eagles also will face the San Angelo Central, Weatherford and Euless Trinity offenses that like to pass just as much as run.

Nonetheless, if these Eagles limit their opponents as they have through the first three games this year, most can expect them to be in good shape.