Westside's defense starting to come into its own

Clint Kent had one goal in mind when he took over his alma mater's defense this season.

"Making it simple so the kids can play fast, that's the main thing," said Kent, a 2002 Westside graduate who went on to have a standout career at defensive back for James Madison before spending four seasons in the CFL. "I don't want to make it too complex, where there's too much thinking going on, but the kids have really, really executed."

After spending the 2014 season as a position coach at Westside, Kent was elevated to defensive coordinator this season. The unit has matured in recent weeks, playing a key role in a three-game winning streak that has the Seminoles in the quarterfinals of the GHSA Class AAA playoffs.

Westside (9-3) faces third-ranked Cedar Grove on Friday at Hallford Stadium in Clarkston, located in DeKalb County.

"The kids are starting to play assignment football," head coach Spoon Risper said. "We're doing some new schemes this year on defense. We're doing some new things on offense, as well, and the kids are finally starting to catch on and buy in."

Westside's defense had a fair regular season, giving up 19.8 points per game. The Seminoles had just one shutout, but they also didn't give up more than 31 points in the game.

The past couple of weeks, however, the Seminoles' defense has locked things down.

After beating Southwest 52-28 in the final game of the regular season, a win that Westside needed just to make the playoffs, the Seminoles have held their two playoff opponents to a combined 22 points. Westside beat Region 3-AAA champion Laney 21-12, then the Seminoles won 43-10 at Sonoraville.

"The coaches have put us in the right position at the right time to make plays," said linebacker Tradonus Causey, who has a team-high 99 tackles. "We've got to execute every play. That's really what's been clicking.

"Around the Peach County game, that's when we really started to execute plays."

Cedar Grove (10-1-1) is unbeaten against teams from Georgia. Its only in-state blemish was in the Region 4-AAA championship game, when lightning and field conditions resulted in a tie at 13 with Blessed Trinity.

The Saints average 33 points per game, with the run game carrying the bulk of the load. Labron Morris and Tre' Shaw have combined for more than 2,200 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns.

"Cedar Grove is a great team," Kent said. "They have great offensive linemen, they have great backs, and they have great receivers. We're just going to have to line up and execute and go from there."

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Westside's defense starting to come into its own ."