Defensive dominance: Dr. Phillips football’s young defense comes of age

As has become the norm for the Dr. Phillips football team in the Rodney Wells era, coming into the season, the Panthers were projected to be one of the best teams — not only in West Orange and Southwest Orange but also in the entire state.

However, what was less common about this year’s team was the fact that its offense was predicted to be the driving force behind its success in 2024, especially when you consider the type of talent and production that graduated from the defensive side of the ball from the 2023 team versus the returning talent on the offensive side. 

Just one defensive starter, defensive back Maliki Wright, returned to the unit, while starting quarterback Stanley Anderson-Lofton, four of five starting offensive linemen and a host of weapons on the outside and in the backfield, returned on offense; plus a pair of transfers in receiver Tavion Greaves and running back Zion Matthews. 

Although the predictions about the dynamic DP offense were spot-on, as the season unfolded, the Panthers’ young defense showed it deserved the same level of attention as its counterpart on the other side of the ball. 

“A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation about our defense, and we took a deep look at the numbers, and I think there was only one team in Central Florida that gave up fewer points than us this season,” Wells said. “When we dialed in the number even more during these conversations I had with the boys, we found that of the 124 total points we gave up as a team, 14 of them came from special teams, another 14 came from the offense. So, if you take those 28 points away from the total, you’re looking at 96 total points that we’ve given up defensively over 12 games. That’s special. As a defense, to give up less than 10 points a game is incredible, no matter what, but when you remember that this is a unit that’s not very experienced, it just shows how special this group is. They just fly to the ball, and they have a lot of fun out there.”

Photo by Sam Albuquerque

One of the biggest factors that has helped this unit become a dominant force — which has only allowed the opposition to score more than 21 points once and has held four opponents scoreless this season — is the leadership of its seniors. 

“We talk about this all the time; in football locker rooms, it’s all about being locked in, being focused and having everybody play together as a single unit,” Wells said. “That’s what I see out of this group. They play together. They know their assignments. They’re hungry. A great example of that is how every week when we start game-planning for the next matchup on the weekends, those guys — especially my seniors — are texting me ideas and concepts they like for that week. Defenses and blitzes that we do and stunts that would work well that week. … Even on Monday during school, they’re texting or telling me about the opposing offense when I see them, telling me things that they like and things that they think might give us problems. It’s just a really, really good group that is really locked in on getting better each week. … And I need to give it up to our seniors on that side of the ball, because they’ve been the ones leading this unit. Guys like Maliki Wright and Julien Michels in the secondary, our senior linebackers Lincoln Terveus, Kramar Brown, John Poussin and Kaori Lang — they’re doing a great job leading our defense.”

Among this group of seniors, Wright — a three-star prospect and Duke commit — has been a particularly important voice on the field for Wells and the Dr. Phillips defense.

“Ever since the first time we moved Maliki up from JV to varsity as a freshman and he had a pick-six, we knew he was going to be an important player for us,” Wells said. “And he has been. He’s been flying around for us these past four years, and he knows defense; he’s like a coach on the field. 

“Like everyone at this point of the season, we have some injuries, so now, we have a sophomore starting next to Maliki at strong safety, (Xayvion) Mincey, and Maliki has done a great job of helping him along and helping him — and the whole defense really — be comfortable out there,” he said.

With Wright and his fellow seniors leading this special defensive unit and Anderson-Lofton guiding a jet-fueled powered offense, Wells and the Panther faithful have a lot of reasons to be optimistic that this playoff run could continue for another three weeks and for the first time since 2017 a state championship could be on its way back to the Southwest Orange powerhouse.