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Thurmont — In between bites of an apple, it took Catoctin coach Doug Williams approximately one second to explain why the unbeaten Cougars are playing some of their best defense ever heading into Friday's showdown at Walkersville . "Speed," Williams said before chomping down on another bite, much like the Cougars (7-0) have to opposing offenses this season. And there really is no other rational way to explain why Catoctin has the top scoring defense in Frederick County, allowing an average of five points per game. There are no superstars on the roster. The Cougars are "11-strong", according to junior defensive back Landon Routzahn. And the scheme is the same 4-4 Catoctin has been running in Williams' 18 years on the job. "It's what we know and are comfortable with," he said. So here is the big difference, according to Williams: "We really don't have a slow person on the field. Our linebackers, even our lineman can really run. Speed makes up for a lot of mistakes." Williams said it's the fastest team he's ever had at Catoctin, which explains why the Cougars like to "fly" all over the field making plays. "We like people to know who hit them," Routzahn said. "Get a little blue on their helmets." It's been almost a month since anyone has scored a point on Catoctin. The Cougars are working off of three straight shutouts, which is as many as they had all of last season. Only their 1975 and '82 teams have posted more shutouts in a season. The '75 team closed the season with three straight shutouts, giving them four for the season, before the unbeaten '82 team opened the season with six straight shutouts. The '83 team, which also finished 10-0, only had one shutout. It's also the last time any Catoctin football team was 7-0. "We take pride in shutting down the opposition," junior outside linebacker Nick Maxey said. "Our goal is to get a goose egg every game." On numerous occasions, Williams has called the defense the team's "flagship." He says, "How our defense goes is how we go." When Walkersville coach Ryan Hines flipped on the film this week, he was taken aback by Catoctin's overall speed. On a few occasions, he noticed defensive ends Sean Reaver and Brady Ridenour ready to tackle the ball carrier before he had even taken the handoff. "Their two ends control the game," Hines said. "They are as athletic as they are strong. They seem like the total package. It's like they say to the guard, 'Get out of my way' and then they shove the fullback aside and are on top of the quarterback or runner. They just do an amazing job." But Hines also noticed how well the linebackers and defensive backs cover and run to the ball, too. "They seem to get their money's worth" out of every player, he said. The Lions (5-2), who are coming off a 50-0 road victory over South Hagerstown on Monday night, are looking at this game as one of the toughest tests of the season. In addition to dealing with a short week due to last Friday's rainout, Walkersville must find a way to solve the riddle of this Catoctin defense with its efficient quarterback, Jeremy Musselman, and powerhouse rushing duo of Quentin Ezelle and Jose Depadua. "Man, I have been looking forward to this game all season," Hines said. "That's the unfortunate thing about getting rained out Friday. I wanted to start preparing for (Catoctin) as soon as possible." The Cougars think this will be a formidable challenge, too. The Lions are averaging more than 33 points a game. Additionally, this will be the first Frederick County opponent Catoctin has played all season. "We going to find out Friday night how good we are," Williams said. "So I am not going to sit here and brag that we're 7-0 and we're wonderful. That's fine. But the true test will be Friday night because they are really good. Their offense is for real. So we are going to find out how good we are defensively."
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