Dawit Gebremariam is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover St. Mary's High School for AZPreps365.com

The St. Mary’s Knights (7-3) have hit their stride as they have won five of their final six regular season games.

While the offense has shined, the Knights' defense has been the backbone of the team. During their five-game win streak before losing to Yuma Catholic by three points on Nov. 11, St. Mary’s had two straight shutout victories over Gila Ridge and Greenway on Oct. 14 and 21, and scored 27 points in both contests. 

The Knights have only allowed opponents to score 15 points a game and have averaged an interception and a sack per game.

They take that into the 4A conference playoffs on Friday as the 11th seed at No. 6 Canyon del Oro.

Team chemistry has played a significant role in the Knights' success this season. 

“We’ve got a lot of seniors on the defensive side of the ball that has been playing for years. The chemistry has really shown especially in the last few weeks,” head coach Jose Lucero said.

Yet a great defense can’t only have great players, it requires great coaching. It is evident that St. Mary’s defense has been coached to play with ferocity and discipline. 

“The coaching has been key to our success. They help us to make a lot of in-game adjustments to what the opponent is doing,” said linebacker Emeric Kerekes. “We just have to keep doing our job and fly around to the ball.” 

The secondary has played a huge part in their dominance on the field. No team this season has thrown for more than 200 yards against this defense.

Yet the Knights' success on defense starts with their mentality. They pride themselves on controlling the line of scrimmage and imposing their will on the offense.

“We love to play smart, fast, and aggressively. We know the importance of not giving up the big play and not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” said standout safety PJ Lewis. “We take pride in defense. We know that it's vital that we help out our offense and put them in a position to score.”

It seems like as the weather gets colder this defense gets better.

In their three wins against Deer Valley, Gila Ridge and Greenway between Oct. 14-Nov. 4, the Knights' starting defense forced six turnovers. The Knights especially shined against Greenway as they forced three interceptions and one fumble.

After they won the 4A Skyline region title, the Knights' coaches and players know that if they want to accomplish in the playoffs, they need to continue to assert themselves on the defensive side of the ball.

“Teams that usually have success in the playoffs are ones that are playing good defense. Here at St. Mary’s, we are always going to hang our hat on defense. So far we have been able to do that and hopefully, we can do that moving forward,” Lucero said.

There are no signs of slowing down for this St. Mary's defense and it looks like they are ready to take on the challenge of the playoffs.