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Week Thirteen by Ardent Cougar
Friday, November 23 - Salem Spartans (Region III Championship, Home): Series:
PC
leads 14-9.
This one is difficult to write about. Not because there is nothing to write, but because there is so much that one could say. In my preview before our regular season meeting, I said that it had been too long since a Pulaski-Salem game determined a district championship. Friday night, this game will decide a region championship. You just knew that it would happen. Two great programs. Two great coaches. A total of 5 state championships between them. Just
as soon as the results of last week were known, the Virginia
Preps AA Football Message Board lit up, with fans from both places
congratulating not only their own team, but their upcoming opponents, as
well. Early analysis of the game, and talks of tailgating extraordinaire,
would soon follow.
This Salem team has won their last 5 games, improving since the low point in their season, the 42-21 loss to William Byrd, their third home loss of the year. Sophomore QB Billy Cameron, who took over for David Christianson, has provided some offensive spark. This is a healthier team, than the one we faced in our sixth week. The Spartans are unbeaten on the road this year, 6-0, with a pair of wins over Blacksburg, including last week's 17-7 playoff victory. Salem has won 13 playoff games in a row, (including the last 3 Division 4 State Championships) and 18 of their last 19. Their only playoff loss in the last 6 seasons was to Heritage (Lynchburg) in the 1997 Region III Championship. The Spartans have won 6 consecutive road playoff games, and are 6-0 against BRD teams in the playoffs. This is the 16th consecutive year they have made the postseason, including every year since they dropped to AA. Expect the Spartans to put the ball in the air frequently, and don't be surprised if Willis reaches into his bag of tricks for a reverse on a kickoff, or something similar. For our part, we'll line up, hit 'em hard, and try to wear them down, control the clock, and patiently look for Calfee and Porter to break some long runs. Most of all, don't miss this game! It almost happened 15 years ago, if not for a bad snap on a punt play, that turned into a game-losing safety. The Cougar Den will be packed, on both sides. Get there early, eat, socialize, maybe meet some fans from the other side, take your seats (don't wait too long!), and YELL! This is high school football at its finest. (Team ratings in parentheses are Gilliam's Ratings for Division 4, not official VHSL ratings.) Region III Championship No. 3 Salem (79.27, 8-3) at No. 1 Pulaski County (90.38, 10-1) Region IV Championship No. 4 Magna Vista (58.87, 9-2) at No. 2 Marion (71.49, 9-2) Region I Championship No. 2 King George (69.43, 8-3) at No. 1 Lafayette (81.12, 8-2) Region II Championship No. 2 Liberty-Bealton (95.72, 11-0) at No. 1 Park View-Sterling (80.43, 10-0) State
Semifinal Matchups:
Division
4 State Championship:
.
If you have not done so, and want a conventional review of the game, click on Jeff Wolfe's Full Story and Interviews or my View from The Stands. This week, I am going to concentrate on something Byrd did several times during the game, tell a related story, and add some thoughts on game plans. Here is the formation that the Terriers used with some success:
The first time I saw this, was when I read about it in a book. The title was 'Wide Open Football', or something like that. The author was the coach of a team in a very competitive district, where football was taken very seriously, and the style was the old '3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust'. It happened that one year, things were just not going well at all. Midway through the season, his team was a dismal 0-4-1, and as you can imagine, spirits were low. The team wasn't even scoring many points, which would have at least provided some entertainment. The author mentions that one of his seniors spent a lonely night on a riverbank, contemplating suicide. He knew he had to do something. Not only was the team not winning, but it wasn't even fun, neither for the players, nor the fans. And, what did he have to lose? So, with a little bit of study and imagination, he came up with a totally new offensive plan. He introduced it at the first team meeting before the 6th game. He unveiled the new offense on the blackboard, to a disbelieving squad. He did not have a name for this new creature, so he asked for suggestions from the players. One of them stood up and said, "I think we should call it the 'Polecat', because it stinks!" Of course, they all got a good laugh from that. However, the name stuck. The 'Polecat' it would be. So, they ran this offense. At the snap, the "tight end" and the wideouts (the center-eligible included) would go out on pass patterns ('reading' the defenders, and adjusting routes depending on how they were being guarded), and the offensive line would move horizontally along the line of scrimmage, with the lone back following behind them. If they got to the other side of the field while the QB was still scrambling behind the line of scrimmage (of course, with no blockers, he often had to!), they would simply reverse direction. If the back ever caught a pass, he would yell out a signal for his ready made 'screen blocking line' to move forward. They absolutely refused to punt, no matter how much yardage was needed, if the ball was in the opponent's territory. Five wins followed, and the fans acted like they had won a championship. Most of the book describes the (saner, but still exciting) offense that was developed from this 'Polecat' formation. Never again would they go back to the 'cloud-of-dust' days. How does all of this relate to us? Although the differences are obvious, in some ways, the introduction of the Wing-T had a similar effect on the Cougars. We don't seem to run many plays, but most of the time, we run them very effectively. We don't see many 7-3 games. Those games now end up 21-10. Some still say our offense is "boring", but I'd much rather have "boring, yet very effective", as opposed to simply "boring". Fans have varying views on what constitutes "real" football. At one time, the game was simply a contest of brute strength, with both teams plowing straight up the middle. Trap plays were eventually developed. At some point, someone got the bright idea of actually running around the line. I can imagine how shocking that must have been, at the time. Other ideas, like moving a back close to the line (a wing), to block in on the defensive end, proved effective. Of course, passing eventually came into the mix. (In a famous game which highlighted the attitudes of the day, Notre Dame beat Harvard (a powerhouse at the time) 35-10, and the Irishmen passed successfully several times, ignoring the cries of "Play football, you yellow bellies!" from the home fans.) I am not certain about the exact sequence of events regarding offensive ideas, and I mentioned just a few. I brought up the subject just to illustrate that, after all these years, new ideas (or, old ideas with new twists) are tried, and some will produce success. Offensive (and defensive) concepts are not written in stone. Against Byrd, we had very little success in the first half, scoring zero points against the same team we burned for 55 first half points, just a few games previous. They had obviously made adjustments! Admit it. You were sweating. I certainly was. How could this be happening? What are they doing to stop us? Will Joel scrap this game plan, or at least pass some? First, thanks to the defense for keeping us in it. Calfee's fumble-causing hit on English was perhaps the biggest play of the game. Eventually, we did get our offense moving. But you might ask, what would have happened if Byrd had scored on a couple of those drives, where they were converting third downs, like it was no big thing? What if we had entered the 4th Quarter down 24-7? Does Joel have a "Bag of Tricks"? I think the reality is, he probably doesn't. Joel takes a dim view of most "trick" plays. If Willis finds a way to stop us this week, we don't really have a backup system. On the other side of the ball, you can be certain that he has a flea flicker, halfback pass, or a reverse on a kickoff ready. Of course, those plays have risks of their own. We live or die with the Wing-T. Creating turnovers, and not giving the ball away. Wearing the defensive line down. Playing field position. Joel believes that the game is won well before the opening kickoff, during team meetings, in the weight rooms, and on the practice fields. Thus, if you eliminate mistakes, make the opponent turn the ball over, and have stronger, better prepared players, you will win. As
long as you find something that consistently works - that's all that matters.
Previous 2001 Articles: FTB
Week One
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