"Everybody together, we're a band of brothers," said Predators defensive lineman Justin Jenkins. "We all know when it comes time for game time, we're ready to go to war."

Week in and week out, there is a new battle for the Chippewa Valley Predators to conquer. For 11 gridiron warriors, the goal is not putting points on the scoreboard. What is important is what does not show up in the statistics.

"Every game we go out, we definitely want to look for a goose egg," Jenkins said. "That's what we pride ourselves on is being a great defense. Great defenses don't go out there expecting to let anyone score anything."

Preying on opposing offenses, the Preds' defense is a big reason why Chippewa Valley owns an unbeaten 7-0 record. Twice, the Predators have shut out their opponents, and five times, they have made it to the end zone themselves.

"Our defensive backfield is wonderful, " said Predators head coach Martin T. Adams. "Our linebacker play is wonderful. Our defensive line is playing well, but I think we still have to continue to grow in that area."

"We just have to trust that the guy next to you is doing their job,"
said Predators linebacker Mitch Sperger. "Then you have confidence that once you do yours, everybody else is doing theirs, and we play together as a unit."

The individual stats are impressive, but for the Predators, it is all about the team concept. The approach has been very successful so far, as the Preds are allowing an average of eight points per game.

"Make sure you do your job and your job only," Adams said. "You know, sometimes when you have a lot of athletes that played on the college level or played at levels higher, they're set in their ways."

"It's up to me as a coach to break them out of it. They've all done a great job of slowly getting it."

In the middle of it all, literally, is Predators linebacker Jeff Hazuga. A standout in college with UW-Stout, Hazuga was a training camp invite of the Minnesota Vikings. His talents are now helping the Predators defense thrive.

"One of the most exciting days I've probably had in this league is when we knew that we were getting him, coming over from the Crush," Predatos defensive back Josh Kasuboski said. "What he did ... from day one, he's always been a leader."

While they are putting together an impressive season, do not expect to see the Preds' defense letting up anytime soon.

"We know we got a lot of work ahead of us, but, you know, we've got the confidence, we've got the talent, but we're still going to keep working hard to get it done," Sperger said.