Carvers Bay front-loaded on defense

By: Justin Driggers/Morning News | SCNow
Published: November 22, 2007

Most Class A teams are not known for their passing games.

In the Division I state championship game rematch today, however, the Carvers Bay Bears will face a high-octane offense from Chesterfield.

And the Bears might have the perfect answer to the Rams’ explosive offense: pressure.

The Bears, who won last year’s title matchup with Chesterfield 22-21, have thrived on making life miserable for opposing QBs to the tune of 40 sacks this season, and it all starts with their defensive line.

“We’ve heard a lot of people comparing our defensive line to one like in the NFL because of our size,” Bears defensive end Dyrell Porcha said. “That’s a pretty good compliment.”

The Bears’ five-man D-line weighs in at an average of 251 pounds with an average height of more than 6 feet.

The group also has accounted for 30 of Carvers Bay’s sacks.

“I think they’ve surprised a lot of teams this year,” Carvers Bay coach Nate Thompson said. “Everyone looks at their size and height and thinks they must just lumber around.

“But they’re quick. They’re usually in the backfield in about two steps.”

Porcha, Kwame Geathers, Akeem Moore, Kelvinyum Davis and Andron Reed also have helped the Bears run off a string of stifling defensive efforts.

Since a Week 6 loss to Lake View, Carvers Bay has only allowed 15 points, including five straight shutouts.

Porcha and Geathers have been the dominant forces. Porcha, a senior defensive end, leads the team with 11 sacks and leads the line with 100 tackles.

Geathers has the stats to back up his pedigree. The junior, who has an older brother in the NFL, another at South Carolina and a father and an uncle who played in the NFL, has seven sacks and 86 tackles.

“I think it’s really helped to have someone like Kwame do so well,” Porcha said. “A lot of times, teams will concentrate on one or the other, and that always allows someone to have a big game.”

While those two might be the most well-known, Thompson said the other members of his line have done their share.

“The rest of the guys are sort of unsung heroes,” Thompson said. “Kelvin has done a great job for us at nose guard, but a lot of people overlook him because he’s so much shorter compared to the rest of those guys.

“Andron is quick. He’s small and wiry but can get after the ball in a hurry. Akeem is tough and stuffs the run well. It’s kind of a different world with those guys.”

With a young secondary, the pressure also will be on the Bears’ front five to bring the heat against Chesterfield’s quarterback to try to disrupt their passing game.

“We’ve seen some pretty good passing teams this year, but nothing like Chesterfield,” Porcha said. “We just have to make sure we find a way to get to the quarterback and take some pressure off our secondary.

“We just need to go out there and do what we do.”

Carvers Bay front-loaded on defense

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