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It's OK to tell the West York linebackers that they are relatively small. They're not sensitive about it.
They have mirrors. They know that none of the four starters stand taller than 5-foot-11, and all of them weigh less than 195 pounds. They just don't think about it much when they're on the football field.
"We joke about it sometimes," West York senior linebacker Dan Zeiler said. "Other teams have these huge guys, and they can't really do nothing."
Not against the Bulldogs, at least.
In the secondary, West York has the speedy and sure-handed players you would expect from a top-level high school team, like leading tackler Blaine Fissel, Corey Harris and Dan Gay. Up front, players such as Blake Campbell, Jordan Rinehart and Brandon Romeo boast that imposing physical presence typical of a district championship squad.
It's only when you look at the linebackers that you might start to wonder if your eyes are playing tricks on you.
They're not, by the way.
Seniors Zeiler, Nick Clingan and Chadd Hinds and junior Darion Bundy use their speed and tackling ability to make up for their lack of size.
As a unit, they have developed into a powerful defensive force that has been a crucial part of the Bulldogs (13-1) limiting their last two opponents to a combined seven points and advancing to Friday's PIAA Class AAA semifinal against Thomas Jefferson (13-1) in Altoona.
"The hand that we were dealt was great athletes who can run, and we put them in position to do that -- we can play man-to-man coverage with our corners and our outside linebackers, and we can bring pressure with our inside linebackers," West York coach Ron Miller said.
"It's working out well for us now, obviously."
Three of West York's top five leading tacklers come from the linebacking corps, with Zeiler (76) and Hinds (73) just behind Fissel's 92 tackles.
Clingan has 61 of his own and teamed with Rinehart to force Manheim Central quarterback Justin German out of the end zone for a safety in last week's 15-7 district championship victory.
Bundy leads the Bulldogs with six interceptions and is tied for the team lead with two fumble recoveries.
Against Manheim Central, the linebacker play was particularly important. It was all about containment for the Bulldogs, and Zeiler, Clingan, Hinds and Bundy led the way swarming to the ball on almost every play. The Barons averaged less than two and a half yards per play the 22 times they carried the ball.
"Because of the things that Manheim was trying to do, we preached to our linebackers all week long how we're going to keep them freed up so they can run, and they have to make tackles," Miller said. "They obviously did that. Manheim only had 52 yards rushing."
Replicating that success will put the Bulldogs in a good position to advance to the state championship game. Between containing the run and pressuring the pass, it all goes back to speed, according to Miller.
"We want to make quarterbacks make decisions quickly," Miller said. "With that speed, we can make people very uncomfortable."
The West York linebackers specialize in minimizing opponents' comfort and have dealt plenty of bruises on hard-hitting tackles this season. Once the ballcarrier sizes up the kid that just hammered him into the ground, his ego might be bruised a bit, too.
The Bulldogs don't mind. The more bruises, the better.
Sean McLernon covers prep sports for the Daily Record/Sunday News. Reach him at smclernon@ydr.com or 771-2045.
