Pioneers Bringing the Defense
11/25/2021 9:26:00 PM | Football
SHU boasts 5th-best scoring defense to FCS Playoffs.
During warmups, you can see some Sacred Heart University players wearing black t-shirts with the phrase "SHU Defense vs. Everybody". That shirt, as well as many other things, are signs of the brotherhood that is the Sacred Heart defense.
Led by defensive coordinator Mike Cooke, Sacred Heart's defense could be pointed to as one of the biggest reasons Sacred Heart won its second-straight Northeast Conference championship last Saturday with a 38-14 win against LIU. The win was Sacred Heart's sixth-straight to close out the season.
"It's pretty special to go back-to-back in the same calendar year. I'm proud of the way our kids responded after the Howard game," Mark Nofri said. "We were trying to find ourselves as a team and weren't playing up to our capabilities. The seniors turned it around and found a way."
After Week Five of the season, Sacred Heart sat with a 2-3 record after a loss to Howard in which they led by as much as 14 points. Nofri said the loss was one of the lowest moments he's had over the past seven or eight seasons at Sacred Heart. After the loss, Sacred Heart's senior leaders knew something needed to change.
"After the Howard game, we had a team meeting led by all of the team captains. We went to the Pitt Center at eight o'clock at night and stayed there for two hours," senior linebacker DeAndre Byrd said. "We laid it on the line and talked about what we needed to do to execute. Ever since that day, there was a switch that turned."
Over the six-game winning streak to close out the season, the Pioneer defense surrendered just 67 points and six defensive touchdowns. Sandwiched in the middle of that winning streak were commanding victories against rivals Central Connecticut State and Duquesne to put Sacred Heart back in the heat of the title race after dropping its conference-opening matchup with Bryant in Week Two.
Many of Sacred Heart's victories during the winning streak were in come-from-behind fashion, forcing
"They battled, they hung in and played hard," Nofri said after Sacred Heart's win against LIU. "They were able to pull together and not point fingers at each other and talk about it. Your true character comes when there is adversity. It shows you that they are winners."
Within the defense, Cooke uses both phrases as well as physical forms of motivation for his defense. One of those items is a briefcase with the words "Money in the Bank" written across the front. Whenever the Pioneer defense records a takeaway, the team runs over, holds up the briefcase and celebrates the big play.
"Coach Cooke brought it to our defense two years ago. We even bring it out to practice," Byrd said. "We harp on turnovers day in and day out. We want to give our offense better position."
Led by defensive coordinator Mike Cooke, Sacred Heart's defense could be pointed to as one of the biggest reasons Sacred Heart won its second-straight Northeast Conference championship last Saturday with a 38-14 win against LIU. The win was Sacred Heart's sixth-straight to close out the season.
"It's pretty special to go back-to-back in the same calendar year. I'm proud of the way our kids responded after the Howard game," Mark Nofri said. "We were trying to find ourselves as a team and weren't playing up to our capabilities. The seniors turned it around and found a way."
After Week Five of the season, Sacred Heart sat with a 2-3 record after a loss to Howard in which they led by as much as 14 points. Nofri said the loss was one of the lowest moments he's had over the past seven or eight seasons at Sacred Heart. After the loss, Sacred Heart's senior leaders knew something needed to change.
"After the Howard game, we had a team meeting led by all of the team captains. We went to the Pitt Center at eight o'clock at night and stayed there for two hours," senior linebacker DeAndre Byrd said. "We laid it on the line and talked about what we needed to do to execute. Ever since that day, there was a switch that turned."
Over the six-game winning streak to close out the season, the Pioneer defense surrendered just 67 points and six defensive touchdowns. Sandwiched in the middle of that winning streak were commanding victories against rivals Central Connecticut State and Duquesne to put Sacred Heart back in the heat of the title race after dropping its conference-opening matchup with Bryant in Week Two.
Many of Sacred Heart's victories during the winning streak were in come-from-behind fashion, forcing
"They battled, they hung in and played hard," Nofri said after Sacred Heart's win against LIU. "They were able to pull together and not point fingers at each other and talk about it. Your true character comes when there is adversity. It shows you that they are winners."
Within the defense, Cooke uses both phrases as well as physical forms of motivation for his defense. One of those items is a briefcase with the words "Money in the Bank" written across the front. Whenever the Pioneer defense records a takeaway, the team runs over, holds up the briefcase and celebrates the big play.
"Coach Cooke brought it to our defense two years ago. We even bring it out to practice," Byrd said. "We harp on turnovers day in and day out. We want to give our offense better position."
Players Mentioned
LB
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