Defense arrives at perfect time for Prospect

Rotating at defensive end wasn't much fun last week for P.J. Kennedy and Victor Rhee.

When the Prospect seniors were on the field they were part of a defense which gave up a season-high 46 points to Rolling Meadows. When they came off the field, well, let's just say they weren't welcomed with open arms by their coaches.

"We kind of screwed the pooch on defense," Kennedy said Friday night at Carmel. "I was letting the team down and I couldn't do it anymore. Knowing 10 guys were doing their job and it came down to me and Vic."

But in Prospect's Class 7A football playoff opener, no one on a much-maligned defense let up in what many figured as a potential 100-point game.

The defense everyone had been waiting for arrived at the most crucial moment. The defense, the cornerstone of a program with three 7A state titles this decade, set the tone and hardly bent, much less broke, in a 33-13 victory at Baker Stadium in Mundelein.

"These guys were flying around tonight like we haven't seen all season," said Prospect coach Brent Pearlman after his team limited the Corsairs' triple option to 234 total yards. "It was awesome."

Especially since the high-powered Knights came in allowing 25 points a game - the most of anyone in the 7A field and the eighth-worst total of the 256 playoff teams.

"We just came out and attacked," said Rhee, one of the season-long anchors of the offensive line who added defensive duties last week. "We had to play harder on defense and stop that run. We needed to step up this week and that's what we did."

No one more so than Kennedy, who admitted he struggled all season at defensive end. Pearlman is also his gym teacher and he pulled him aside in class Wednesday for a pointed chat.

"He said I could show up for the team or slowly fade away," Kennedy said. "I knew I had to show up for the team."

Kennedy seemed to show up everywhere the ball was as a hybrid defensive end-linebacker. So did Rhee, linebacker Grant DePalma, lineman Dan Panicko, Sean Baltowski, Patrick Inserra, Steve Dazzo and offensive standouts Peter Bonahoom and John Coen.

Coen provided an early boost on Carmel's first possession when he broke up a fourth-down pass from Prospect's 25.

"Sometimes in games it felt like we knew there was nothing we could do and teams would roll over us," Bonahoom said. "Today was totally different. It was more of a confident attitude.

"We knew we had the talent to do it and the right personnel. Today it seemed to click on all cylinders."

The next possession was one of the Knights' 3 three-and-outs and led to a 19-0 lead. Inserra and Rhee recovered fumbles and Coen provided the fitting exclamation point with an interception.

And the Knights needed their defense in what was an "off" night offensively with 33 points and 439 yards below their usual outputs. The defense knows it holds the key to how far they can go with their quick-strike attack led by Miles Osei.

"Since day one we knew our defense could be an unbelievable defense," Kennedy said. "We knew we had the ability but in the regular season it never really came out."

This was the perfect time for a coming-out party.

mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com