EVERETT — For an offensive juggernaut like Archbishop Murphy, it could be easy to let defense become an afterthought.
Chock-full of offensive firepower, the senior-laden Wildcats are averaging more than 50 points per game behind a powerful offensive line, talented quarterback and bevy of electric playmakers. Highlight-reel plays are commonplace. Touchdowns often appear to come with ease.
Yet as impressive as the offense has been, Murphy’s defense has shined even brighter.
And for the Wildcats’ numerous two-way stars, their greatest pride lies on that side of the ball.
“To us, it’s the foundation of our team,” Murphy senior safety Anfernee Gurley said. “We build ourselves off our defense. I think our entire team has a defensive mentality where the guy in front of me is not going to beat me, and I’m going to prove it.”
The Class 2A top-ranked Wildcats (11-0) certainly have proved their defensive prowess this fall, recording five shutouts in six games (Murphy’s other five scheduled contests were forfeited by opponents due to player-safety concerns).
With a combination of speed, strength and smarts, the Wildcats have allowed only six points all year and have held opposing offenses to an average of just 107 yards per game. The lone points came two weeks ago in the fourth quarter of a 55-6 district-playoff win over Burlington-Edison, long after the outcome had been decided.
“It’s incredibly special,” Murphy defensive coordinator Josh Jansen said of his unit. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It’s just a group of kids that play with passion and heart.”
“I can’t speak enough to how much they love to play defense,” head coach Jerry Jensen added. “That’s their mentality.”
The Wildcats’ most recent display of defensive dominance was last week’s 34-0 first-round state-playoff shutout of previously unbeaten North Kitsap. The Vikings entered the matchup averaging 49.5 points per game, but Murphy blanked North Kitsap and limited its high-powered offense to just 56 total yards on 46 plays.
“We take pride in the zeroes that we’re putting up,” junior linebacker Ben Hines said. “We (believe) defense wins championships.”
And that’s precisely what the Wildcats are eyeing this season, as they take aim at the program’s first-ever 2A state title.
That quest continues with a heavyweight state quarterfinal showdown against second-ranked Tumwater (10-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Tumwater District Stadium. It’s a rematch of last year’s semifinals, when eventual runner-up Tumwater rallied to hand Murphy a season-ending 24-21 loss.
That defeat is a big part of what fuels the Wildcats.
“It drives us,” Gurley said. “Directly after the game, we came together as a team and promised each other we’d be back and play them again — that we’d get another shot at it and do the right thing this time.”
Turnovers haunted the Wildcats in last year’s semifinal loss, but this season it’s been Murphy coming up with takeaways. In six games, the Wildcats have forced 21 turnovers — 12 fumbles and nine interceptions — and returned five for defensive scores.
To put that in perspective, Murphy has outscored its opponents on defense alone.
“We’ve got team goals that we’re trying to fulfill every week,” Hines said. “One of them is (to) force at least three turnovers. And when we force turnovers, we don’t see a reason why not to take it to the house.”
Hines, the Cascade Conference’s Defensive Most Valuable Player, serves as quarterback of the defense with his intelligence, leadership and team-high 9.7 tackles per game. He highlights a relatively young, but talented linebacking corps that also includes junior Emmanuel Osuoha and sophomore Luke Riojas.
“That kid is just a special talent,” Jansen said of Hines. “Really, really high football IQ. (He) knows what the offense is going to do, oftentimes before they know what they’re going to do… His ability to diagnose a play is second to none.”
Up front, seniors Abraham Lucas, Dirk Wilson, Jackson Yost and Jesus Echevarria Jr. comprise a physically imposing defensive line that averages 270 pounds per player. Lucas, who checks in at 6-foot-8 and 260 pounds, has a team-leading 8.0 sacks.
In the secondary, senior safeties Gurley and Collin Montez team with cornerbacks Kyler Gordon, Desi Carey and Dillon Singh Halpin to form a speedy, athletic and ball-hawking group of lockdown defensive backs. Gordon leads the team with three interceptions and Montez has three defensive touchdowns — two fumble-recovery returns and an interception return.
“Usually in high school football, there’s going to be one or two kids you can pick on or try to beat on defense,” said King’s head coach Jim Shapiro, whose team lost 38-0 to the Wildcats on Sept. 16. “And with (Murphy’s) secondary, that’s just not the case. There’s not a weak link, so it’s difficult to throw the ball. And then obviously with their size and strength, it’s hard to run.”
Shapiro said that “overall team speed and team strength” is what stands out the most. “You look at the athletes they have on the defensive side of the ball — no matter if it’s a defensive lineman, safety or corner — they’re very fast and very strong.”
“Their speed is hard to try to beat,” North Kitsap head coach Jeff Weible added. “We had some plays where we felt like we broke through the first wave. You think you’re going to get a big gain, and then their defensive backs and linebackers close the hole pretty quick.”
But it isn’t just the natural talent.
“They’re obviously very well-coached,” Weible said. “Technique-wise, their defensive linemen use their hands very well, their linebackers take on blocks exceptionally well and their (defensive backs) take great angles to the ball and are really aggressive.”
North Kitsap has had tremendous success over the years with the Wing-T, an offense based on deception. But Murphy’s defense simply wasn’t fooled.
“I think their biggest strength is just their discipline,” Weible said. “They didn’t chase, they didn’t follow false pulls — they didn’t fall for the stuff that other teams fall for … We talked about averaging 3.5 yards per play, and we just couldn’t get that accomplished. They’re just too good.”
Much of that stems from the trust Murphy’s defense has in one another.
“(With) this defense, you really don’t have to worry about whether the people around you are doing their job,” Gurley said, “because everybody does their job and they do it well.”
Both Weible and Shapiro said that Murphy’s defense is the best they’ve ever coached against. And Jensen, too, acknowledges what could end up being a historically great unit.
“I don’t know that I’ll coach another group that’s as talented as this (defense),” Jensen said. “It’s a pretty special group.”
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