Plainfield Central's linebackers riding high

Brains and brawn. That short-but-sweet portrayal would be the easiest path in pigeonholing the Plainfield Central High School linebacker tandem of Keith Marry and Ryan Carr, except there is way more to the Wildcats' outside-inside combo than Marry's mind and Carr's incendiary engine.

Sure, Marry maintains his reputation as the student with the perfect 5.0 grade-point average -- a 6-foot-1, 190-pound outside linebacker who plays with the Ivy League seal of approval. And sure, Carr grinds his gears as the 6-3, 215-pound middle linebacker, the prototypical Dick Butkus disciple who craves the collisions.

But according to Plainfield senior quarterback Alex Parks, what you see in Marry you also get in Carr and what you see in Carr you also get in Marry. While senior Tony Bjorklund teams with Carr on the inside and senior Josh Whitley plays opposite to Marry, opponents can sense the camaraderie of Marry and Carr on every single hit.

Together: two of the same kind.

"Outside linebackers are usually the caveman guys, but Keith is the smartest kid I've ever talked to," Parks said. "He's so smart, but he hits like a brick wall. He hits so hard. Ryan is more athletic, he's fast and he can cover anything. He's tall, he's big and he hits hard, but he's very smart, too."

Those two have been too tough for Plainfield (8-1), the Southwest Prairie Conference champion which hosts No. 13 seed Belleville East (6-3) on Friday night at 7. The Wildcats, the fourth seed of the Class 8A bottom bracket, will make their second straight playoff appearance and sixth in the past 10 years under coach John Jackson.

As offensive coordinator, Jackson transitioned Plainfield from the shotgun spread formation to the double-wing set. Defensive coordinator Ray Shields, meanwhile, oversaw the transformation of a "Green Machine" unit that helped the Wildcats go 7-0 in the SPC, fueled in part by the emergence of Carr and a revived Marry.

In his first varsity year, Carr began on the outside before sliding back into the middle. Marry, whose hand injury wiped out a stretch of his junior season, solidified that flank for a 4-4 defense fitting flawlessly with an offense that has rushed for 2,177 yards on 409 carries for a 5.3 yards per rush, 241.9 yards per game and 32 touchdowns.

"We've been able to adjust to our talent," Jackson said. "The problem with the spread is you score in bunches, but the defense is on the field a long time. Now, we're controlling the tempo."

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Although Northern Illinois University, Akron and Grand Valley State have expressed interest, Keith Marry remains unmarried to a college commitment, with interest brewing from Butler, Drake and the U.S. Naval Academy because of his being adamant as a future pharmacy major.

Remember, he is the brains.

"That's big for me -- my major is big," Marry said. "Obviously, I want to play college football, but I intend on majoring in what I want to major in, so finding the right fit for me academically is also very important."

A year ago, Jackson noticed how important Marry was to Plainfield's defense under coordinator Jeff Kuna, who since departed to rekindle the dormant Romeoville program. The Wildcats then went on a 5-2 conference run en route to a first-round 8A ouster vs. Brother Rice to cap a 6-4 season.

"That's why some people didn't have film on him from his junior year because he missed a big part of the middle of the season," Jackson said. "When he came back, our defense was a different defense. It's rare that you get that from an outside linebacker, but he did it, and it shored us up incredibly. He's as good of an outside linebacker as we've had in a while."

"I like being on the outside because I can play how I really want to play," Marry said. "I'm not worried about big guards coming at me. Someone is coming out to block me every play, that's true, but I can see him coming and I can execute a technique to get around him, blow him up or do what I need to do, basically, to play my position how it is supposed to be played."

The supposition of Marry being out of position rarely concerns either Shields or Jackson. He takes his expertise from the classroom to the football field and processes information with the mastery of an MIT candidate.

"I think it helps me because I can pick things up quickly," Marry said. "If a player has a tendency, I pick up on it early in the game and I can exploit it the rest of the game. Being a good student also taught me how to work -- how you need to work in practice every single day. That's why this team is good. All of us work hard in practice."

"Yeah, he's a good student in the classroom and he's a good student of the game," Jackson said of Marry. "He plays hard on every down and he's just a darn good football player, period."

Good enough to compile 57 tackles on 33 solos and 4 for loss with 2 interceptions, a sack, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, a blocked kick, a safety and an interception for a touchdown. Oh my, but Marry has been Herculean.

"My strength probably would be stopping the run and blowing up a fullback who's trying to block me," he said. "I might not get the tackle, but it frees up the rest of our defense, and we're especially good at scraping."

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Without a shadow of a doubt, the two-way Bjorklund gives Plainfield a troubadour personality. He plays fullback and middle linebacker with equal panache, guiding his teammates from the darkest hours to the light of day. But even the 5-11, 190-pounder knows exactly when to become a passenger and take a backseat to the runaway Carr.

Remember, he is the brawn.

"I love playing inside," Carr said. "I started out on the outside at the beginning of the year, but they moved me inside again and that's where I've pretty much been playing my entire life. It's my favorite position because inside, you get more hits and more head-on collisions, and I just like the feel of playing there much better."

Calling Carr one of the five best players he has coached in a 25-year career that includes a stint as the defensive coordinator for state champion Naperville North, Jackson cited that innate quality found in the few.

"He has the good instincts, and you can't coach good instincts," Jackson said of Carr. "It's nice to have a kid who is that in tune with the game. He has a good nose for the football, he knows where he's going, and he and Tony complement each other well in the middle. Ryan is an imposing figure in middle of the field, too."

"I love the adrenaline of playing in the middle," Carr admitted. "I like to bring that intensity. I know outside linebackers take on some collisions, but most of the power running backs come through right off the guard or right off the tackle, and the inside linebackers have to take that stuff head-on. It's the best-feeling ever."

Arizona already has put out a feeler on Carr, and that is why. Carr -- who noted that "I've been playing football since I was 4-5 years old with the Plainfield Junior Cats and playing Division I football is what I've been working my whole life for" -- oozes the passion Butkus immortalized.

"I love blasting through the line, taking on blocks and shedding them," Carr said. "But I couldn't do it without Marry, Tony and Whitley, and it starts out on the defensive line before it gets to us. I have to give those guys a ton of the credit, too."

"Plus, we can put Carr down on the line," Jackson said. "He's a good athlete, he's a versatile athlete, and he has the good size for linebacker."

The numbers are as good as Marry's totals. Carr tops Plainfield with 58 tackles on 27 solos and 7 for loss, adding 3.5 sacks, a interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery that he returned 32 yards for a TD.

"I love getting the big hit, the big collision, the big tackle in the middle," Carr said, sounding like Butkus in his prime. "That's the greatest rush of playing on defense right there. And I feel comfortable right now. It's my third year of playing in the 4-4 defense, it's fun to learn, and it seems to be getting the job done."

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After a 47-25 victory over Elgin in the season opener, Plainfield plummeted in Week 2 with a 36-21 loss to nemesis Neuqua Valley. Both Carr and Marry mentioned that as a turning point for the Wildcats, though, the resulting seven-game upswing featuring fine wins over playoff qualifiers Oswego (6A) and Morris (5A).

Through the misfire against their nickname sake Wildcats of Neuqua and a resurgence throughout the SPC schedule, Marry and Carr have forged a bond as leaders of Plainfield's defense, as the linebackers inside and out, and as something far relevant for the rest of their lives.

Together: friends to the end.

"We couldn't do it without Keith," Carr said. "He's probably the smartest player on our defense. He's got the strength going for him, he can tell you what you do wrong and what you do right, and he's one of my good buddies. I couldn't do it without him."

"Playing with Ryan is awesome," Marry said, returning the compliment. "He basically shuts down the inside. He and Tony do a great job, so teams are forced to run outside or try to get the ball over our heads. He's a great asset to have, and hopefully, people will start looking at him because he's a big-time player for us."

The biggest wins for Plainfield occurred back-to-back, with a 7-0 decision over Morris in Week 6 and a stunning 22-6 win over Oswego in Week 7, greasing the road to here.

"Our defense has been getting better every week, and our whole philosophy is to hit them every play," Marry said. "Even if someone messes up, we're going to hit you every play and we're going to make you hurt by the end of the game. That's what we want to do on every play of every game."

Every week in the postseason throws a log onto the bonfire. A win over Belleville East creates the possibility of a rematch with fifth-seeded Brother Rice (7-2) or Sandburg (6-3). Plainfield Central, brains and brawn, plans on being a player this time around.

"I mean, I'm psyched about it," Carr said. "It's crazy. You have to get better one day at a time, one game at a time, and you're back to 0-0. You don't get any breaks. If you lose one, you're done, and you have to work hard to succeed. It's playoff football. There's really nothing else to say."