GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Back in 1996, when Dave Logan was in his fourth year heading Arvada West High School, he had arguably the quintessential moment of his now decorated 23-year career.
His Wildcats were getting run over by Cherry Creek in the 1996 Class 5A championship game at the Stutler Bowl as Darnell McDonald, the Bruins’ All-American running back, was about to cap his stellar career with 333 yards rushing and five touchdowns in a 48-33 spanking.
As the Bruins went up and down the field without much resistance and some of Logan’s assistants pounded on the walls of the press box in the second half while repeatedly yelling into the head sets — “Dave, we can win if we just stop them one time!” — Logan said he embraced the reality.
“I think as a younger coach coming in, you’re an offensive-minded guy and can sort of lull yourself into thinking “We can outscore anybody,'” Logan said. “In the ’96 championship game, we had (33 points) and about 500 yards of offense and lost by two touchdowns.
“It changed, really, how we looked at things.”
Fast forward 19 years. Logan is in his fourth season heading Cherry Creek. The Bruins won it all a year ago, their first title since the days of the legendary McDonald, and they will meet Valor Christian on Saturday at Stutler for a chance to play for another title.
And their defense is among the best in Colorado on any level, just like it was for Logan’s teams for a while at A-West, then also when he was at Chatfield and Mullen.
It’s not a coincidence.
“From that point on, while offense is important for sure, we have focused on defense first every single year,” Logan said.
Players like safety Jason Lucas, a Gold Helmet winner by The Denver Post who went on to star at Brown, helped A-West, which won a title in 1997, when it shut out Bear Creek in the second half of the final. Logan’s Chatfield team trailed Overland by 23 points in the 2001 semifinals, but scored 29 in a span of 5:36 to take a 43-37 thriller that kept a perfect season going. Defensive lineman Ian Darnell scored the winning points and the Chargers won a championship a week later, when it permitted only a field goal against Fairview. And the 2010 Mullen team, which also finished 14-0, was led by Denver Post All-Colorado linebackers Brady Daigh, Connor Healy and Leilon Willingham on a defense that allowed a measly 89 points.
“I think that if you can play good defense and run the ball, you’ll give yourself a chance to be in every game,” Logan said.
In 2015, defense has carried the Bruins (10-2) and they have been in every game. Nine foes have failed to reach double-figure scoring. Six defenders on the unit started a year ago; two others became starters during the season. It’s why the first-team defense allowed only one touchdown over the first five in-state games.
Plus, a 10-0 defeat to Valor included a 98-yard scoring pass. The Bruins botched multiple scoring chances, yet remained within range because they kept the Eagles and explosive quarterback Dylan McCaffrey in check.
“They’re a great group of kids to work with,” Bruins defensive coordinator Tom Doherty said. “They understand the work they do during the week is going to help them be successful on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. They’re a joy to be around and they get it. We’ve got some athletes.”
The Bruins defense is just as likely to be in a 4-3 or 5-2 or 4-3 set as Logan said “you have to modify to fit your talent.”
Junior linebacker Santino Marchiol is the team’s leading tackler. Linemen Jonathan Van Diest and David Imola have 16.5 sacks between them. Defensive back Javier Craft has five interceptions. Linebackers Steven O’Malley and Austin Cooper, and lineman Evan Michels have searched and destroyed regularly. Defensive end Trevor Philio has 9.5 sacks.
“Collectively, they might be the smartest defense I’ve ever been around, and in the class room, too,” Doherty added. “They’re the real deal.”
Michels, a senior who’s interested in attending the Naval Academy, becoming an officer and serving his country, said “we’ve just grown together and just have confidence whenever we’re out there. In the off-season, we worked hard and took care of business. For every one of us, it’s a year-round thing.”
Imola, who also said he boxed during the summer, said playing with so much high-end talent is terrific because “it’s not like you’re the only stud on the team … everyone’s doing their job and playing hard no matter what’s going on. You don’t have to be, like, Superman all the time.”
Logan credits year after year of “great kids” and what has turned into a loyal staff “of guys who are good with kids and who want to work for nothing.”
However, Saturday’s challenge is next up. Valor Christian. Defense will be the way to the 5A title game.
“The (Eagles) offense presents so many problems because they’re multiple and they do a ton of different things,” Logan said in also pointing to the high-end ability of McCaffrey. “They’ll require a lot of communication and a lot of film work.”
In other words, lots of defense.
Logan has seen it before.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or @neildevlin
Defense
Cherry Creek has allowed only 131 points on the season over 12 games, including 35 to an out-of-state team. The Bruins rank first in 5A. Here are the top five:
1. Cherry Creek, 12 games, 131
2. Westminster, 10 games, 132
3. Arapahoe, 11 games, 136
4. Columbine, 12 games, and Regis Jesuit, 12 games, 138
