Level Best: Dunham’s Defense May Have a New Look, but undefeated Tigers Have Stood Tall Thus Far

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Dunham senior defensive end Harrison Malik has carried around a bitterness for St. Charles. It had been brewing the past two seasons when the Tigers lost in heartbreaking fashion, 32-28, to the Comets in the Division III select state championship game in the Caeser’s Superdome. 

Given their first opportunity to face one of the state’s top programs on the road, Dunham didn’t flinch in Friday’s 20-15 victory over St. Charles – a result with roots to its new-look defense.

“I was on the team two years ago that lost in the dome,” Malik said. “I’ve been holding a grudge ever since and I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to play them again, and to go their home and beat them was very satisfying.”

Dunham (3-0) remained undefeated going into Thursday’s 7 p.m. home game against Ascension Catholic (2-0), the No. 7 ranked team by the LSWA and top-ranked by GeauxPreps.com in Class 2A. The Tigers’ defense will receive another stern challenge when the reigning Class 1A Most Outstanding Player, running back Chad Elzy, rolls into town.

That’s how this year’s group prefers it, the bigger the obstacle the greater the reward. That began with a jamboree test against University High – the No. 1 team in Class 3A – and its formidable offensive line. It’s a trend that’s continued in matchups with Class 5A Live Oak and St. Charles, now a Class 4A school competing in the Division II state playoff bracket.

“U-High was a big-time test,” Dunham’s fourth-year defensive coordinator Calob Leindecker said. “Big, physical offensive line. I’m so grateful that we got to play them. That offensive line really impressed me, and we haven’t gone against an easy offensive line yet. They’ve all been tests for us, but those guys on the defensive line love it. They want to play the hard, tough teams. They want the challenge, and they want to get after it. We’re getting better and better every single week.”

Often in the shadow of an offense led by sophomore quarterback Elijah Haven, this year’s Dunham defense has more than played complimentary football in the team’s fast start to the 2024 season.

They’ve done so with more of an aggressive, undersized defensive line that’s been solid at the point of attack, permitting a standout group of linebackers to clean up, and a secondary to play more man-to-man coverage. 

The Tigers’ 3-4 scheme, which didn’t allow an offensive touchdown until last week, is giving 207.7 total yards and 8.3 points per game. Opponents have averaged 128 yards on the ground and 80 through the air, and the Tigers have responded with 13 sacks, seven tackles for loss, four turnovers, and six turnover on downs.

“It’s just the pursuit to the ball,” Dunham senior linebacker Rives Johnson said. “Last year our defensive coordinator’s goal was to improve how many hats (helmets) we were getting to the football. This year they’ve said we’re running as fast as we can to the football and making a lot of tackles.

“A big part of our defense is just to do your job,” Johnson said. “Big plays happen when 1 of the 11 (players) doesn’t do their job. All of us practice and watch a lot of film to know our exact job every week, and everyone holds each other to a high standard.”

Smaller, Sleeker Adds up to Big Results

When Dunham advanced to the state championship game for the second time in school history, the Tigers were running a 4-3 defense with a front four averaging 256 pounds across the front. 

“We were really big for 2A,” said Dunham head coach Neil Weiner, 87-30 in his 10th season at the school and 147-69 overall in 19 seasons. “We were bigger and badder than any of the teams I had in my five years at Zachary.”

Contrast that to this year’s edition of Dunham’s three-man front of Malik, junior Eliot Trahan, and sophomore Charlie Myers who average 167 pounds per player.

“Going into this offseason I was very nervous about our defensive line,” Leindecker said. “We were losing so many of our big, strong guys. In my head the defensive line was going to be the weakness of this defense and boy was I wrong. The three kids we have up front are scrappy. 

“They have a ton of heart, they play very hard, physical football for us and they’re giving dudes twice their size fits,” Leindecker said. “They rally to the ball, pursue to the ball. They do exactly what we say. Those three would run through a brick wall for us. They’ve gone from the weakness of the defense to the strength.”

Leindecker said the transition from a four-man to a three-man front began last season with an eye toward taking advantage of the team’s athletic personnel in the back half of the defense. 

“That’s always kind of been our defensive motto, to get the best 11 defensive players on the field,” he said. “We’ll kind of mold to our personnel. That’s why we kind of transitioned to the 3-4. It puts more of our skilled guys on the field, which we have a lot more of than we have had in the past. We’re very fast on defense this year and the 3-4 in perfect for that.”

Johnson shared some of Leindecker’s initial concerns over the complexion of the defensive line but realizes the character and heart they’ve played with have had a tangible effect on this year’s defense.

“I knew we definitely had some talent returning on the defense,” he said. “Up front kind of worried me as well at first, but they’re playing better than anybody. The linemen are all doing great. Their pursuit to the football is great. No one can hang with them for a whole game. That’s when I realized we could be good.”

Malik, an H-back/tight end in 2023, is a first-year starter at defensive end who knew it would take a collective effort among the defensive line to compensate for the graduation of seniors Malachi Jackson and Louis Phillips.

“We were going to be undersized,” Malik said. “I started telling all of the other D-lineman that we had to work on our speed and that would have to be one of our key things. Our get-off and speed, shooting in and out of gaps, was a focus all spring and summer. We worked on speed and technique to overcome being smaller.”

Moving Pieces into Place to Complete the Puzzle

Dunham returned six starters from a defense that reached the Division III state regionals against Parkview Baptist last season.

With the foundation in place, Leindecker said senior Bronson Bonneval, a two-year starter at strong safety, was moved to cornerback, joining fellow senior Grant Morgan, also a safety last season.

“He’s an unbelievable cover guy,” Leindecker said of Morgan.

The unquestioned strength of this year’s defense – linebacker – has certainly lived up to its billing with the quartet of Johnson, junior inside linebacker Trevon Haman, and outside linebackers, sophomore Richard Bonneval and senior Jack Higginbotham. The latter two players have been involved in a rotation with junior Joshua Lazard and senior Jonah McClain that’s further strengthened that position group.

Morgan helps anchor the secondary along with senior Bronson Bonneval, junior Richard Montgomery, and sophomore Jarone Harris. 

“We’re physical and scrappy,” Morgan said. “That’s been a key part in the change to the defense. We’ve sent a lot more pressure lately. So, getting after the quarterback and being physical, that’s what has taken this defense to another level.”

Johnson’s registered 12 ½ tackles with 3 ¼ tackles for loss, Malik has added 9 ½ tackles, 4 ½ TFLs, and a sack, and Morgan’s produced 8 ½ tackles, 5 passes broken up and two interceptions.

The positive signs for this year’s defense began in the team’s jamboree against U-High, which features one of the state’s top offensive line groups.

Dunham battled favorably, overcoming a deficit to take a second-half lead in the abbreviated game until the Cubs rallied with a touchdown with 3:12 remaining for a 21-18 victory.

“That was one of the best O-Lines we’ll see all season,” Malik said. “After facing them, we got a lot of confidence from that. We’re not going to ever doubt any of our opponents. We had a little doubt creeping in that we may be a little undersized and talk like that. Playing a good game like that against a good O-line, and doing that well, we proved a lot of people wrong, which is a good thing.

“We knew we had a shot to be pretty good this year,” Malik said. “Seeing our success in the early couple of games, we’re going to continue to get better and better as the season goes on and hopefully make it to the dome.”

Dunham shut out Parkview Baptist in the season opener (46-0), limiting the Eagles to 133 total yards before traveling to Live Oak who scored on a blocked punt in a 27-10 game.

“Our defensive pursuit has been incredible,” Morgan said. “That’s something we’ve tried to focus on for the past few years and this year we’ve stepped up and taken it to another level. Everybody going to the football is helping us be a better defense.”

Atoning for Past Disappointment

It had been 22 months or 659 days since Dunham’s setback to St. Charles in the Division III state final.

For those players who were a part of that team, the memory was still fresh, and this year’s Tigers wanted to show the program was still on solid footing against one of the state’s top powerbrokers. 

“They’re a very good program,” Leindecker said. “They’re very well coached and play very hard. Defensively, we were put in some pretty tough situations, and they stood up to the challenge. They did not back down. They never put their heads down because the ball might have gotten close to the goal line. They fought every single play. We were very physical and brought the punch to them. To have the game we did was incredible. “

St. Charles led 8-0 at halftime when Haven’s seven-yard run helped Dunham tie the game at 8-8 following a successful two-point conversion in the third quarter. The Comets regained a 15-8 lead near the end of the third quarter on a 65-yard TD pass, when the Tigers responded with the final two touchdowns of the game.

Running back Colin Pecue scored on a 14-yard TD with 10:15 to go and Haven provided the game-winning score with 3:26 remaining, connecting with Haman on a 19-yard TD pass.

Dunham’s defense, which allowed 258 total yards with 82 of those on the ground, held firm after St. Charles had reached the Tigers’ 30 and on fourth down, turned the ball over on downs.

“We have an acronym W-I-N … What’s Important Now,” said Morgan, whose interception helped set up the team’s go-ahead score. “That’s one of the ways we focus on being where our feet are. It felt incredible to come home with a win. It was a hard game. Every play counted. It was something all of the players on the team had on their minds for a while now since our loss. It was huge and it felt good. To come away with that victory was huge.”