It all starts upfront for Manatee Defense

BRADENTON -- Mahlik Mills, Tony Collins and Matt Mackey are the trendsetters for Manatee's defense.

How those three upfront guys on Manatee's 3-4-4 defense play determines to a great extent what type of game the unit will have.

As the defensive ends, Mills and Mackey create the pressure and cause havoc while Collins, the nose guard, sweeps up the debris. They are all experienced seniors.

"They (Mills and Mackey) are playing well. They were starters for us last year. They bring a lot of experience and both have great motors," Manatee head coach John Booth said. "We have given them more freedom on some of their responsibilities and it allows them to get into the backfield and use their speed."

The 6-foot, 258-pound Collins has 34 tackles, including 32 solos, 12 tackles for loss and one interception. He had arguably his best game of the season in the Canes 36-35 victory over Palmetto when he had 13 tackles, four tackles for loss and one interception.

"Tony is our nose guard and was a rotational guy for us last year," Booth said. "He does a great job, is very explosive off the ball and has quick feet. They all do a great job of creating pressure, which is what we stress every week. These guys have the freedom to shoot gaps."

The 6-1, 270-pound Mills leads the Canes with five sacks and 16 tackles for loss while racking up a total of 32 tackles. He has 13 career sacks and 33 career tackles for loss.

"I was a crash dummy my sophomore year. They just used me mostly in practice," Mills said. "But I worked hard, starting to get sacks and now this is my second year as a starter. Getting sacks is about getting off the ball and doing your job."

Collins and the two defensive ends complement each other.

"I just try to do what my team needs me to do," Collins said. "If they need me to get to the quarterback that's what I am going to do. If they want me to hold up the blocks and allow the linebackers to make the tackles that is what I am going to do. If you need me to hit the hole hard that's me."

The 6-foot, 230-pound Mackey has 27 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, one sack and one quarterback hurry. For his career he has 26 tackles for loss, seven sacks and 67 tackles.

"We work on getting off the ball hard and have a lot of freedom to make plays," Mackey said. "Tony takes on a lot of the blocks because he plays nose guard. He gets double teamed a lot and that frees up the ends a little bit. Mahlik does a good job of getting off the ball and making plays and that helps us."

Manatee can get very close to clinching a playoff spot and a district title with a victory over Riverview (Sarasota) in a Class 8A-District 6 game Friday at the Ram Bowl. The Rams (2-1 district) can tie the Hurricanes for first place with a victory.

This is a longtime rivalry going back to 1960 that Manatee has dominated over the last decade in winning nine straight. Booth is telling his players not to take Riverview lightly.

"Riverview always had tremendous talent, is always physical and used to run that option almost to perfection.," Booth said. "They've got some weapons and players over there who can make plays. They are going to be hungry and fired up. We've got to be prepared for a physical game and one that is going to go all four quarters."

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "It all starts upfront for Manatee Defense ."