In four playoff games, the Eagles have allowed just 33 points. The run began with a 70-12 sectional quarterfinal win over Akron and continued with a 30-13 victory over Barker/Royalton-Hartland in the semifinals.

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton’s most impressive win during that span came at Highmark Stadium when the Eagles reversed a 45-0 loss earlier in the season with a 21-0 shutout of Southwestern/Frewsburg to earn a sectional title. In that game, Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton held the Trojans to just 63 yards of offense.

To say the Eagles’ front-seven has been dominant would not be an understatement.

Senior linebacker Trent Houser has been Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton’s leading tackler all season. In four playoff games, Houser has totaled 58 tackles, including five for a loss, and intercepted a pass.

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton’s Asher Olson brings down Southwestern/Frewsburg’s Trent Lewis during the Section VI Class C championship game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Photo courtesy of Cody Jacobson

“We’ve used him quite a bit recently at a defensive tackle spot if we feel like we need to generate a pass rush. He’s extremely physical. He’s just been all over the field for us,” Eagles head coach Ty Harper said Tuesday evening. “He’s a tone setter with the way he hits. He’ll chase a kid across the field and absolutely flatten him. It gets everybody going.”

Tristen Gibbs has been a pleasant surprise as a sophomore. The linebacker has 30 tackles, including five for a loss, during the postseason.

“Tristen is just a student of the game. He watches hours of film every week,” Harper said. “He’s steadily improved throughout the season and I would argue he’s playing his best football right now. You can just tell how badly he wants to win.”

Asher Olson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last year as a junior, has returned with a vengeance as a senior. Another linebacker, Olson has 33 tackles, including eight for a loss, and two sacks during the past four games.

“I don’t think there’s a more valuable player on our team than Asher Olson. From what he provides us on both sides of the ball to his leadership; it’s not really tangible,” Harper said. “On any great team there is a kid like Asher Olson who does all the little things right. He’s just such a fantastic leader for us. Every game when we need a big play, Asher is ready to do it.”

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton’s Trent Houser makes a tackle during Saturday’s Class C Far West Regional against Alexander/Pembroke at All High Stadium in Buffalo. Photo courtesy of Cody Jacobson

Thandon Bensink, at just 5-foot-10 and 145 pounds, doesn’t look like an imposing defender, but has been a stat sheet stuffer from his linebacker spot with 29 tackles, including six for a loss.

“People might look at the size and maybe take him lightly, but he’s a wrestler — I think that might be the best way to say it,” Harper said. “He’s scrappy, an excellent tackler. He’s got good instincts for us. He’s a very hard-nosed kid.”

The Eagles’ top pass rusher all season has been senior defensive end Clay Smith, who moved from a linebacker spot last year. In the past four games, Smith has 18 tackles, including eight for a loss, and four sacks.

“Clay is on the short list of the best defensive ends I’ve ever coached and this is the first year he’s ever played defensive end. Our linebacker room was pretty crowded. In an effort to get the best 11 kids on the field we asked Clay if he’d be willing to move to defensive line. That was a move he made without any complaining whatsoever,” Harper said. “He plays with his hands very well. He plays with a mean streak. He’s a great kid off the field, but he flips a switch between the lines and is a tremendous competitor.”

Lance Franklin, a junior, might be Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton’s most unsung linebacker, but has still totaled 14 tackles, including one for a loss, in the postseason.

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton defensive coordinator Chris Payne looks at his play sheet during the Section VI Class C championship game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Photo courtesy of Cody Jacobson

“He’s undersized. He’s not going to walk into a room and have people say ‘wow, that guy is probably a great linebacker,’ but he has a nose for the ball. Every time he goes into the game, he makes plays,” Harper said. “We’ve been preaching ‘championship effort,’ whether that is running a play down from behind, getting knocked down and getting into a tackle or getting off of a block; Lance Franklin embodies that term.”

Franklin is the Eagle who chased down Southwestern/Frewsburg’s Trent Lewis at the end of a long punt return near the end of the second quarter of the Section VI championship game. Three plays later, the Trojans were stopped as Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton kept its shutout intact leading into halftime.

Kieffer Maytum is the defensive end opposite Smith. A senior, Maytum has 15 tackles, including three for a loss, and a sack in the postseason. On Saturday in an 11-8 Far West Regional win over Alexander/Pembroke, Maytum had seven tackles, including two for a loss.

“He’s probably the most unsung player on the defense. He doesn’t get a lot of attention, but he certainly deserves it,” Harper said. “He’s a big, strong kid who’s battled a couple of injuries this season.”

Junior Walter Lukasiak and senior Phillip Powell are the Eagles defensive tackles. Lukasiak has eight tackles, including two for a loss, and two sacks, while Powell has 11 tackles, including two for a loss, during the playoff run.

“He’s a very unselfish player. … He’s very difficult to move. He’s very good technically. He’s gotten very good at taking on double teams, eating blocks so linebackers can make tackles,” Harper said of Lukasiak, adding of Powell, “Not everything that he’s doing is going to show up on a stat sheet.”

Of course, coaches are usually credited with putting players in position to succeed. Most of the time, on Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton’s defense, the man who does that is defensive coordinator Chris Payne.

“Chris Payne puts so much time into his preparation and getting kids confident in what he’s going to ask them to do,” Harper said. “The bigger the game, the better Chris Payne’s defenses play. That’s a testament to him and his coaching.”