High school football: Highland's Carson Noonan, Ryan Zywiec terrorize opposing offensive linemen

Highland junior defensive end Carson Noonan is 6-foot-3, 255 pounds and owns a 330-pound bench press, 570-pound squat and 575-pound deadlift. Hornets defensive tackle Ryan Zywiec, also a junior, is 6-3, 245 and can bench 265, squat 420 and deadlift 410. Together, the longtime best friends are a scary sight for opposing quarterbacks and running backs, but that's nothing compared to when the 16-year-olds are shirtless on a hot summer day while working for the Great Lakes Stair & Millwork Company, which is owned by Noonan's father, Tim. "We go from football workouts straight to work and are out there till dark," Noonan said. "It's 90 degrees and we're out there shirtless, sweaty and sunburned, moving real heavy stuff, pushing wheelbarrows, putting up hundreds of fence posts." When they're not doing that, Noonan and Zywiec are mulching, painting or mowing, but it's opposing quarterbacks and running backs that they, along with tackle Logan Waddell (6-1, 215, sr.) and end Jack Capotosto (6-3, 245, sr.), really enjoy plowing. "We're faster than most D-lines and we're more physical," said Zywiec, who plans to once again cut weight and wrestle at 215 pounds for the Hornets. "We're just a violent D-line. We get after it." There's plenty of proof in the numbers. While the leading tacklers on most teams are almost always linebackers, Zywiec ranks second on the Hornets with 36, which is almost unheard of from a tackle. Noonan is fifth with 26, Waddell is sixth with 23 and Capotosto is 11th with 10. More impressive are the impact plays made by Zywiec and Noonan. The former has 7½ tackles for loss and 4½ sacks, while the latter has 6½ and four for Highland (4-1, 2-0), which will host Barberton (3-2, 2-0) tonight in Suburban League American Conference play. "One of the strongest points of our team is the D-line," said Noonan, who is already drawing interest from several D-I and D-II schools. "We're always doing our job and being physical. We try our hardest every play. We are destroying O-linemen every single play and trying to find the ball and get them down." Highland has allowed 77 points through five games, 35 of which were scored in a season-opening loss to Hudson. That means the other four opponents have combined for 42, or 10.5 a game, with approximately half of that total coming against backups or on special teams. "We would love to get a shutout every game," Zywiec said. "If we don't get stops it's like we're losing on defense, and that's a bad feeling." Highland coaches use a point system that measures solo tackles, assists, tackles for loss, sacks, fumbles forced and recovered, interceptions and pass breakups to determine the team's Predator of the Week after each game. No one on the team has won it other than Zywiec (4) and Noonan (1). "I'm always trying to get there first and my other three teammates on the D-line are trying to do that, too," Noonan said. "It makes us really good at getting those sacks and TFLs. We compete, but we celebrate each other and help each other." The only time the members of the D-line move faster is when they hold their Thursday night cookouts, which also include the offensive line, where Noonan starts at left tackle. The team's tight ends are invited to attend, but they must fork over $10. The cookouts are organized by center Brody Davis, who was passed down "the spatula" by graduating senior Logan Marquis at the end of last season. "We're all family," Noonan said. "We're all brothers." The favorite feast to date has been brisket and macaroni and cheese, but the Hornets are starving again come Friday night, especially Noonan and Zywiec. "I'm probably the meanest and Carson is the smartest," Zywiec said of Noonan, who carries a 4.0 grade-point average. "My attitude is, 'No one can stop me.' You've got to get mad and get after it. (Noonan) is very tough and strong and has great feet. He's really fast off the ball. He makes big plays, but he also sets up plays for other people. He really helps out the defense with what he does." "He's a monster," Noonan said of Zywiec. "He doesn't care who's in his way. He will get through and just kill whoever has the ball." Add Waddell — "He's squatting 500 (pounds) for reps," Noonan marveled — and Capotosto — "He's probably the strongest kid on our team and he's one of our fastest linemen," Zywiec said — and the Hornets' front four is not only formidable, it's fearsome. "Most people say tackle is one of the hardest positions, but I like it," Zywiec said. "You're right there in front where the ball is, so it's easy to make a play. The ball is coming at you most of the time and I like being physical. I'm a big guy. Where else would I play?" Noonan, who had a yellow stripe on his helmet in youth football to signify he was too big to possess the ball, is equally passionate about defensive end and offensive tackle. "I've always been a bigger guy, so I've been on the O-line and D-line since I was young," he said. "But I've always loved the O-line and D-line. I've never thought about playing anywhere else." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.