During Saturday night’s full squad scrimmage, one particular series stood out for the defense.

The first team offense had driven the ball inside the one-yard line, but for four straight downs the first team defense held firm and kept the offense out of the end zone.

“We’ll be all right if they give us points for getting inside the one-yard line,” offensive coordinator Roy Wittke said.

For head coach Bob Spoo, it was a combination of happiness for how his defense performed and disappointment that his offense couldn’t get the ball in the end zone.

“Obviously from a defensive standpoint that’s what you want,” the 23 year head coach said. “They beat the offense off the ball and they made the plays. Offensively, you’ve got to score there.”

The defense has been led throughout camp by red-shirt senior safeties Adrian Arrington and Seymour Loftman. Defensive coodinator Roc Bellantoni said having two experienced leaders anchoring his defense in the secondary has been an advantage.

“It’s definitely a luxury,” Bellantoni said. “(Arrington and Loftman) have both been around and been through the battles. They know the system inside and out.”

Arrington’s status entering the season was uncertain. He had to be cleared to play by doctors because of concerns over head injuries he had sustained in the past. But now that he has been cleared to play, he plans to step up his game in a major way.

“With this being my senior year, I was hoping to be a leader of the team so I was really excited (when I was cleared),” Arrington said. “Last year we felt like our leadership wasn’t really what it could have been and I feel like it is our job to take care of the responsibility of the team and make sure we’re doing what the coaches want us to do.”

While Wittke was concerned over his offense’s effort at Saturday’s scrimmage, he gave the defense the ultimate praise for their effort.

“I’ll tell you what: I don’t know if we’ll play against a better secondary on our schedule besides maybe Penn State,” Wittke said. “Competing against these guys every day in practice, it’s the greatest thing in the world for us. It’s a challenge every day and they’re physical, they run to the ball, and they can catch everything. So when we’re able to do things against our secondary it’s an indication and it means something. Our team has gotten better because of the challenges they face every day.”

Junior defensive tackle Spyros Bazigos said some of the team’s younger players stepping up have helped with depth and he has been happy with the strides they have made.

“I think we’re looking good,” said Bazigos, who joins the team after transferring from Northern Illinois prior to last season. “Some of our freshman have really stepped up and right now we’re definitely making a lot of improvements.”

While the defense has gotten the better of the offense for the most part throughout scrimmages, Bellantoni still sees room for improvement.

“One of my concerns is the spread offense that we’re going to see from Illinois State and just about everybody else we play,” he said. “We haven’t seen a whole lot of those concepts, so how we’re going to adapt to that type of offense is going to be a challenge, and that remains to be seen.”

But even with those concerns, Spoo expects the team’s defense to turn heads this season.

“I’ll tell you what, they may be a no-name defense, but they’re going to make their name known,” Spoo said.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.

Desmin Ward, a sophomore running back, is brought down by Gordy Kickels, a sophomore line backer, during Saturday evening’s scrimmage in O’Brien Stadium. (Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News)

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