Defense key in past two Sycamore-DeKalb battles

Since DeKalb and Sycamore renewed their rivalry on an annual basis starting in 1997, the winning team has put up at least 30 points in more than half of the games.

That hasn’t been the case, however, in the past two meetings, with the teams struggling to score 30 combined points.

The Spartans and Barbs meet again Friday after a year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time the Barbs – and what they hope is their high-powered offense – face the Spartans – and what they expect to be their strong defense.

“We think if we all do our jobs, every player, and follow our tips, then we won’t have any trouble defending their offense,” Sycamore linebacker Ethan Bode said about the DeKalb offense, which will feature Toriano Tate at receiver and Talon Tate at running back. “We think we can stop all their weapons, whether it’s Toriano, Talon, we know we can stop them as long as we do our jobs and stay sound.”

The teams meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Huskie Stadium. DeKalb has won six straight, including 13-0 in the 2019 game.

The Barbs are coming off a 2-3 campaign in the spring season, while the Spartans were 6-0. Both teams played limited schedules comprised of conference games – DeKalb in the DuPage Valley Conference and Sycamore in the Interstate 8 – and couldn’t continue their rivalry clash.

“I’m excited. I’m ready. Ready to put on for my town,” DeKalb defensive lineman Christian Lorenzo said. “They’re a very well-coached team and been running their same offense for a pretty long time. They’re pretty good at what they do. We’re just looking to go forward and get the [win].”

The Spartans defense has held the Barbs under their season average in the past two meetings and four of the past five.

Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said for the Spartans to continue that, they’ll have to tackle well.

“We have to be very disciplined,” Ryan said. “They do a really good job of spreading you out, and then they are able to hit seams with their great athletes. And when they get in the open field they are hard to tackle. They’re going to have some plays, so we’re going to have to limit the really, really long ones and keep them in front of us.”

Offensively, Sycamore has been shut out in two of their past three games against DeKalb. Ryan said the Barbs combination of size and speed is one they don’t often encounter.

“Their kids fly around, and they play extremely hard,” Ryan said. “What you have to do is sustain your blocks a little bit longer. They get off blocks, and they get to the ball. It’s certainly a challenge on both sides of the ball. They present a lot of things we don’t see most weeks. A lot of speed, good size, normally we don’t see that together. They seem to have that recently.”

First-year DeKalb coach Derrek Schneeman will be experiencing the rivalry for the first time but says he’s got a feeling for what to expect.

“I’ve seen the broadcast from last [time]. I’ve heard enough guys talk about it. I’ve asked some guys about it. I know it’s a huge deal for the community and rightly so,” Schneeman said. “And playing at NIU is so cool, too. So to have this as our first test Week 1 is just a wonderful opportunity.”

Schneeman said that junior quarterbacks Adrian McVicar and Josh Klem are likely to both see time in the opener.

Lorenzo said this Barbs team doesn’t want to be the one to cause the winning streak to come to an end, a sentiment echoed by Tate.

“We just can’t be that team to break the streak,” Tate said. “We want to keep it going and do our best.”

On the flip side, this Spartans team wants to be the one to snap the skid. Although they’ll have to do so without playmaker Xavier Gagnepain, who is injured and will miss the game.

“It’s our senior year, and it’s all we really want is to beat the streak,” senior receiver Jake O’Donnell said. “Everyone is pretty pumped for this game. It will be a big Friday night.”

“It would mean everything to not only our coaches and players, but all the players in the past and the town,” Bode said. “It’s a big thing, the rivalry. To be able to snap that streak would be amazing.”

Ryan said win or lose it’s about playing mistake-free football and getting in the best position to win the game.

“You always want to beat a rival, and we call these signature games,” Ryan said. “These are the games you’ll always remember. Some of the games you don’t remember, but these are the games you do. So you hope to play well. If you do all the things you need to give yourself a shot to win you can live with it. But what you don’t want to do is walk away and say I should have been able to do this or I wish I would have done that.”