MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Hazleton quarterback Freddy Corrado is chased down for a sack by Williamsport’s Jamel Bailey and Jayden Ransom in the first quarter.

One could try diagnosing exactly when and how the Williamsport defense started rediscovering its early season identity and becoming a nasty, stifling unit again.

Really, though, it’s not about strategy or scheme, so good luck with that. There’s really no secret formula. In its most simple form, Williamsport started swarming again because it started playing as one.

As the trust and closeness increased, the opponents’ yards and points decreased. And at the perfect time, the defense played its best football, helping Williamsport become a district champion.

Williamsport allowed just six points in two District 2-4 Class 6A playoff points, and blanked top-seeded Wilkes-Barre, 14-0 last Friday to capture the program’s second district title since 1995. The Millionaires (7-5), who host State College in this Friday’s state tournament, held Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre without a point over the last seven quarters in district playoff play, holding both to fewer than 200 yards as well.

“Trusting each other and putting in our faith in one another is what changed it,” defensive end Jayden Ransom said after producing two more sacks against Wilkes-Barre and upping his area-high total to 12. “The keys are working together; not singularly. We’re happy for everyone. We don’t care who gets the credit. We’re all a team.”

It seems like a simple concept but it’s one so many teams sometimes struggle grasping. Williamsport doing it has dramatically altered its course. Starting with a 34-20 comeback win against Wilkes-Barre in Week 10, the Millionaires have surrendered six points in the last nine quarters, scoring more points (14) than they have allowed via Zion Hughes and Samir Williams interception return touchdowns.

The offense was slow to burn in districts, but the defense made whatever points that unit produced hold up, guarding their end zone like a rabid dog does a prized bone.

“The fan part of me is really impressed with what (defensive coordinator) Jesse Walker and those kids have done,” Williamsport coach Mike Pearson said. “They’re not the biggest team out there, but they are physical and disciplined.”

“We were saying all week in practice that we know we have to do it on defense. We know that if we can play good defense, we have a chance in any game we play,” cornerback Kyreek Bradshaw said after intercepting two passes in the district final. “We know if we go out there with the right energy we can lock them up and make them struggle.”

That is what Williamsport did during a 4-0 start. The defense did not allow a point until Week 3 and the starters surrendered just three through four games while recording two shutouts. Things changed after that, however, and Williamsport lost its next five games, the defense hitting some series bumps in the road.

After nearly defeating District 6 5A champion Hollidaysburg in Week 9, something clicked. The Millionaires started putting up a wall after Wilkes-Barre took a seven-point fourth quarter lead in the regular season finale and have excelled at all three levels ever since.

Williamsport won all three games, too. All have been close and hard fought, but 11 players functioning as one has helped the Millionaires make key stops time after time. It frequently did so last Friday with the pass rush swarming, the linebackers flowing and the secondary blanketing receivers.

Put it all together and Williamsport forced four turnovers and held an offense coming off a 35-point showing to 178 yards. It was not about one or two players coming together, but each one doing his job and believing in the teammate next to him.

“We work together and believed in each other. We worked and we’re confident and continue being unselfish,” said Ransom, who produced seven sacks in the Hazleton semifinal win. “We went through a lot of adversity and stuff like that, but we learned a lot about trusting each other and that helped a lot.”

“They’re just really confident that if they do the fundamentals right and hustle they feel like they can make a lot of plays on defense,” Pearson said. “They’ve all been doing that very well.”

Ransom, Kaleb Way, Cordoza Minor have come on strong up front, while sophomore linebacker Anthony Manley joined junior teammate Lucas Naughton in the 100-tackle club last Friday. Fellow linebacker Jamel Bailey also likely would be in that group had he not missed multiple games with an early-season injury but he also has made a huge impact there.

With the front providing pressure, defensive backs have stuck to receivers like glue. Williams, Hughes and Stanley Tidwell all have returned interceptions for touchdowns and Giovanni White and Trey Damschroder have provided quality secondary depth.

All three levels clicked against Wilkes-Barre. Williamsport bottled up the run and then shut down a potent passing game. Quarterback Jake Howe entered the game with 2,071 yards and 21 touchdowns. Four receivers had caught 21 or more passes as well.

But so many times, Howe was under fire from pass rushers and defensive backs gave him small windows in to which to try and thread passes. Williamsport limited Howe to 82 yards and no receiver averaged more than nine yards per catch.

“We knew their strength was passing. We knew they were going to try and take shots at the defensive backs and we were ready to do what we had to do,” Bradshaw said. “I feel like the d-line rushed the quarterback well and made them throw under pressure. That helped us and the linebackers with our coverage.”

Really, the defensive turnaround is that simple. It’s not about players helping themselves, but helping each other. It’s complementary football, focusing on assignments and playing confidently as one.

That is what Williamsport know it must do Friday. State College (10-1) scores points in bunches and has been scorching hot down the stretch.

In a season filled with challenges, State College presents Williamsport its biggest one. And that’s all the more reason to hang together as one.

“Nothing is better than playing high school sports with your friends, no matter what the sport is. That’s why practices are so fun now because everyone understands practices are earned,” Pearson said. “They’re not given to you. You don’t get these opportunities unless you do something special.”