Warren’s core four defenders are dominating opponents

It would be a great story to say Warren’s coaching staff planned all along to have one of the area’s most experienced and dominant defenses.

But the truth is a little more complicated.

The Blue Devils (10-0) have allowed only 28 points all season, and the first-team defense hasn’t given up a touchdown since Week 2 against Glenbard North. That unit is anchored by a quartet of three-year starters: defensive linemen Willis Singleton and Seamus Mellican, outside linebacker Juan Delacruz and cornerback Josh Turner.

Defensive coordinator Justin Van Schaick came back to coach at Warren when those players were sophomores. He remembers head coach Bryan McNulty saying that class — which went 9-0 as freshmen — had some promising defenders.

But the only one of the four projected to start heading into summer camp that season was Mellican.

That gradually changed.

“We brought Willis with us and the first day of summer camp he showed who he was,” Van Schaick said of the three-star prospect, who is committed to Iowa State.

“Juan, the only reason he was up is our starting inside linebacker was going to be out the whole summer,” Van Schaick said. “Josh Turner was a kid we brought up at the very end of the summer.”

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

There have been other adjustments along the way, including a pair of position changes: Mellican was originally a middle linebacker and Turner was a cornerback.

Now, they are the leaders of a group putting up some historically good numbers. No team has scored more than seven points against the Blue Devils, who have five shutouts.

Barrington beat Warren 34-20 two years ago and 31-14 last season. This season the Blue Devils beat the Broncos 16-6.

That’s part of the proof that the learning curve is over for Singleton and his teammates.

”The (varsity) game is a lot faster so we had to learn very quickly,” Singleton said. “It was a pretty good transition.”

And now this is a veteran group, with the core four preparing for their seventh state playoff game, at 6 p.m. Saturday vs. visiting Fremd (8-2).

“It’s like having four coaches on the field,” Van Schaick said, “These guys know all of our coverage checks, front calls, front checks.”

“We just have this trust with Coach Van,” Singleton said. “He leaves it up to us to make an assessment on the field and go with it.”

Singleton knows that, stats aside, there are still some doubters.

“Since we’re more of a (far) northern suburb, people don’t really get to see our work,” he said. “We have to show it each and every week.”

Then there are the whispers about the North Suburban Conference.

“I really feel that people think our conference wasn’t as strong (as usual),” Singleton said. “I beg to differ.”

Indeed, the NSC had four playoff qualifiers and went 3-1 in last week’s first round with Lake Zurich and Lake Forest winning road openers.

Singleton defending his team’s body of work comes naturally.

“My dad always tells me, ‘Be a leader, not a follower,’” he said, and he takes that advice to heart with his free-spirited approach to life and football.

That’s an effective complement to Delacruz’s more businesslike approach.

“Juan, he’s really serious,” Singleton said. “I’m more the smile, slap you on the butt type of guy. (But) we both have the same vision, the same goal.”

With every lockdown defensive effort, that goal of a trip to DeKalb for the state finals gets a little closer.