<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
We told you yesterday that Grant’s offense was a lot like Poly’s—the story isn’t any different for the defense. <\/span>They have an athletic, playmaking secondary, and a sturdy front seven that’s allowing less than three yards per-carry this season. <\/span>They’re also opportunistic, with 45 takeaways on the season. <\/span>With the talent on Grant’s teams, we’d guess the biggest question mark here will be stamina—the Pacers play a lot of guys both ways, and when that fatigue sets in, for whatever reason it seems to set in on the defensive side of the ball. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n LB Jeremiah Toma (#33)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The Pacers’ defense runs through Toma—he is the team leader in tackles (165 on the season, 12.6 per game) as well as sacks (he has ten). <\/span>At 6′ 215 pounds he’s not the biggest guy on the field, but he’s a playmaker who won’t blow assignments, and won’t drop a ball if he gets his hands on it—he has two picks and four fumble recoveries on the year as well. <\/span>Basically, it Poly can scheme for Toma as well as they did for Trevor Erno in the CIF semis, they’ll be removing the Pacers’ biggest threat. <\/span>One-on-one matchups between Toma and Melvin Richardson should be interesting, if they happen—the linebacker is slightly taller, but they weigh the same, and after the hit Richardson laid on a Tesoro LB last week on his 61-yard game-winning TD, it might be a tossup as to who rings the bell harder.<\/span><\/p>\n DTs Viliami Moala (#50)\/Alesana Laban (#72)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Run defense is not Grant’s strength—but it’s not a weakness either, thanks to Moala and Laban, two very big men in the center of the line. <\/span>Laban plays both ways, starting on the offensive line as well, so you’ll want to check #72 periodically to see how he’s breathing. <\/span>If Poly can wear down those two-way starters the way they’re accustomed to doing, they’ll be a leg up. <\/span>Moala and Laban will be crucial if Grant wants to slow down Richardson and Barner—if they aren’t getting penetration, the Poly backs will get to pick and choose their gaps, something the Pacers don’t want to see.<\/span><\/p>\n DB Darvin McCauley (#5)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n McCauley, who’s also Grant’s best receiver, holds down a very talented secondary that has given opponents fits all year—since Grant has won big in most of their games, they’ve seen a lot of action flying their way as teams get desperate to claw back in. <\/span>With the team’s ten picks and an incredible amount of speed back there (especially McCauley), nobody’s been successful so far this year. <\/span>It’s going to be fun to watch the battle between Poly’s speedy receivers and this athletic secondary—perhaps the most even position matchup between the two teams.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We break down the key players on the Pacers’ defense, so you’ll know what to look for in tomorrow’s championship 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