The season opener against Danville is a mere five days from now, so I guess I had better get this page going. Sorry for the delay, but I have been having too much fun at practice.
Pre-Season
Those of you that are regulars to this page know that I try to maintain balance with my weekly previews. I want to give you, the fan, a thorough preview of the team we are about to face, without giving them any bulletin board material to use against us. In addition, I avoiding giving our players reason to feel over confident about their chances. I prefer the underdog role. It a much easier position to coach from. With that said, however, there is a significant buzz about this year's team, and for good reason. This is a talented team, with good numbers and a great work ethic. They matured last season in the face of adversity, and are now ready to take ownership over their own season. Well, there's nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself, but those feelings disappear quickly if you don't live up to your own expectations. It has been a good off-season for the Purple Raiders, but let's not forget that it is the SEASON that counts.
The following is a list of reasons why this could be a special season.
Off-season workouts: Four years ago we moved into our new weight room facility at Bloomington High School. That allowed the P.E. department to double the number of lifting classes offered and gave us the space to have 40+ lifters workout, all at once, afterschool. While beneficial to the 2006, 2007 and 2008 teams, we are just now beginning to reap the benefits of the new facility. This varsity squad has spent their entire career in the new weight room. Combine that with a good work ethic, and the results are impressive. The 2009 team has 36 members of the 750 Club and 8 members of the 1000 Club on the roster. I can't say with certainty that this makes the 2009 team the strongest ever, but it's right up there with the best. What makes this even more impressive is when you look at where the gains were made over previous years. The squat is typically the lift where the most weight is gained, and this year's team has made significant gains in that category, but it is the power clean and bench totals that set this team apart. There are 29 players that can clean over 200 pounds, and 19 that bench over 260 pounds on this team (for complete results, visit the Strength and Conditioning page), far more than any previous team.
Experience and Consistency: On paper, we return only four offensive starters from the Sacred Heart Griffin game that ended our season last year. Take a closer look, however, and you'll see that we have a great deal of experience returning to the offensive huddle. We began last season with four starters, three on offense, suspended for the first three games. That provided the opportunity for several underclassmen to get playing time as replacements. While only four starters technically return, four others return that started at least three games, and had significant playing time for the remainder of the season. Defensively, the experience level is even greater. Seven players that started all 12 games last season, and one additional player that started five games, return this season. This includes five of the top ten tacklers and the interception leader from a year ago. Another attribute of this team is their consistent effort in everything that has to do with football. While our summer camp was not the largest ever (averaging around 90 players a night), it did have one of the most consistent attendance rates ever. As a result, we were able to put in more that we typically can in those three weeks. And this team, thanks to your contributions, nearly doubled the previous record of money raised by our Gold Card fundraiser at the beginning of the season. It was the same card that we have been selling for years, but these guys just worked harder at selling it. From the weight room, to the classroom, to the field, this team takes their football responsibilities seriously.
Numbers and Size: At 53 players, this roster is not large by Big 12 standards, but for the first time since 2002, we can be a two-platoon football team. Not all starters have been determined yet, and anything can change from week to week, but if we want players to be at their best for the entire game, our depth will allow us to name 22 different starters without sacrificing quality in any area. Where this proves to be the biggest advantage is on the offensive and defensive lines. Big bodies wear down faster. If you can limit their reps in a game, you get better efforts. Our depth on the lines should allow us to pick starters and have two to three backups before having to cross over to the other side to find a player. The other advantage in this area is the sheer size of this team. Another coach from the Big 12 claimed he drove by our practice field the other day and experienced a solar eclipse due to the shadows from our players. While I do feel sorry for the parents that will be supplying the food for pre and post game meals, it is not the weight size that impresses me, it is the height. I think this is the tallest team I have coached at Bloomington. There are 20 players that are 6' or better, and these are not inflated heights, we take them directly off the physicals. So unless they bribed the doctor, they are accurate. For most high school teams, having two linemen that are 6'6", another at 6'2" and a tight end at 6'2" can be a problem. The quarterback can't see over them. But, if the quarterback is 6'2" and two of the three receivers he might throw to are 6'2" and 6'3" it doesn't matter. Short guys downplay it, but height is a tremendous advantage in football. Take a close look at most Division I recruits. It obviously allows receivers to catch balls that defensive backs can't touch, but it also leads to long wing spans that give linemen leverage. Bulk and strength can be built in the weight room and are vital to a player's and team's success, add the biological advantage of height your chances for success increase significantly.
Big 12 Conference
The biggest advantage going into this season could also prove to be our biggest obstacle, and that is that the Big 12 conference is loaded this season. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record when it comes to this topic. I've been touting the toughness of this conference for years, and it has been proven by the post-season performances of conference teams. The Purple Raiders and the Generals of Decatur MacArthur both advanced to the quarterfinals of their respective classes last season, marking the eleventh time in 13 season that a conference team has advanced to the quarterfinals. Although they don't mean anything at the beginning of the season (because you haven't proven anything till you have played a game), I fully expect four, possibly five, Big 12 teams to be ranked in the top ten of their respective classes when the pre-season polls are released later this week. Regardless of what they mean about a team's ability, they are a sign of respect for a team, or in this case conference, in the eyes of the rest of the state. While the Purple Raiders and Normal Community Ironmen have been regulars on the pre-season polls (due more to history than present), I expect to see the Vikings of Danville (6A) and the Generals of MacArthur (5A) ranked this season. I would also make a case for the Maroons of Champaign Cental in 5A due to the level of talent they have returning. With over 1800 students this year, Normal Community may find themselves in 7A, which could give the conference ranked teams in three classes. You'd be hard pressed to find another conference in the state that can boast of that.
Game #1 Danville
I was almost correct with my prediction that five Big 12 teams would find themselves ranked in the 5A/6A pre-season polls. All five did receive votes, but only MacArthur (6th in 5A) and Bloomington (tied for 6th in 6A) were actually ranked. A good show of respect, but not quite as much as I think the conference deserves.
I want to preface my preview of the Danville Vikings by reminding you that this is the first game of the season. What I am about to cover is based on what they did last season and taking into consideration any changes in personnel, coaching staff, etc. Disclaimer aside, I don't expect the Vikings to change much at all. Why? Well, read THIS. Plus, it worked last season. The Vikings beat us for the first time in a decade, finished 7-2, and BEAT Normal Community in the first round. Technically, the Ironmen advanced with a 7-0 score, but if you saw the game, you'd have to agree that the Vikings BEAT the Ironmen. It was a very impressive showing two weeks after a home loss to the Ironmen 37-14, and provided all the motivation that the Vikings needed in preparation for this season. And who do they get to take their frustrations out on? Us. Great...
Offensively, as they have for the past two seasons, the Vikings should feature a spread attack with the quarterback in a shotgun alignment, one back in the backfield and four receivers in balanced or trips formations. The biggest threat out of this are running back/quarterback Mario Crosby and tight end Cameron Ford. Crosby saw considerable time at quarterback week one against us last season, but had become the feature ball carrier by the end of the season. The spread sets allow Ford to get "lost" in the secondary from his tight end formation. He is the third receiver in the trips formation. Defensive backs have other concerns and the linebackers are thinking run. This allows Ford to sneak out into a flat or run a curl to middle of the field and not be seen till it is to late. If you find him, it probably won't matter, at 6'1", 250 pounds, he simply runs over any would be tacklers. Though they line up in a spread formation, the Vikings tend to think run first. Plays out of the trips consist of inside and outside zone, and pitch. Misdirection comes by way of a quarterback counter, trap and a reverse to an outside receiver. While the formation may not change much, the combination of plays do keep the defense guessing. Over commit to the strong side and the misdirection plays will burn you, and the Vikings have speed at every skill position. The most effective passes come through play action out of the backfield. If Crosby is effective at getting to the corner, linebackers will start to flow quickly. At that point, they pull the handoff and hit Ford on a drag or diagonal pattern as he streaks across the vacated linebacker zones. Another very effect pass is a slip screen to the first receiver in the trips formation. From his outside alignment, he run parallel to the line of scrimmage back towards the quarterback. Once he catches the ball he turns up field and follows the blocks of the other slot receiver and Ford. In addition, the Vikings will run a three step read route to the back side receiver, who more than not is in single coverage. They will also run a series of combination routes to the trips side and, if needed, will leave Ford as a blocker to give the quarterback more time.
Defensively, the Vikings will probably still line up in their 4-4 cover 3 look like they have the past couple of seasons. The beauty of this defense is that it can adapt to any look the offense throws at it by moving the outside linebackers in and out, back and forth. The Vikings run a very sound version of the defense in that they don't blitz much, or constantly change their alignment. They play their reads and dare you to move the ball. When needed, however, they have the skill to man up with the receivers. This frees up all four backers for stunts or to key on certain offensive characteristics without a fear of blown coverage downfield.
One closing thought. Last season, ten years removed from their last victory over us, the "young" Vikings found themselves down 20-0 at halftime. In the second half they held us in check, forced a tie, and won the game in overtime. Add a year's experience to the team that managed that, leave them with a bitter taste in their month after a playoff disappointment, and you got a very dangerous team on your hands. Week one could prove to be the toughest match-up of the season for the Purple Raiders.
Game #2 Normal Community
In hindsight, I wish I hadn't been so accurate with the last paragraph of my Danville preview above. Don't you wish we could combine the first half of last year's game against the Vikings with the second half of this year's game. We would win 34-3. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. It takes a consistent effort through four quarters, of the same game, to beat Danville, and we haven't been able to do that over the past two years. It was eerie how similar the two games were, one team dominating the first half the other dominating the second, yet with Danville having just enough to pull both games out in the end. The line-ups were even the same. Our suspensions last season had forced several of this year's starter into premature starting rolls at the beginning of last season. So essentially the same two teams squared off again last Friday. The big difference, however, is that last year we had experienced starters waiting in the wings. After the Danville game, we knew we would get better by simple addition. This year what we have on the field must get better in hopes of remaining in the conference race, and in preparation for a potential rematch against the Vikings in the 6A playoffs. With that said though, do give the Vikings credit. They are a very talented team. Good teams have a way making their own breaks, and the Vikings did that in spades on Friday night. Though I touted our experience in my pre-season preview, the Vikings brought a great deal more game tested experience to the field. Eight players in their lineup had started at least 20 varsity games already, heading into this season. And in the end, that experience won out. This was most evident in the last two possessions of the game. We had the ball on our own 10 yard line with a one point lead and three minutes left. Danville only has one time out left, so a couple first downs by us will be more than enough to run the clock out. We go three and out. So with 2:00 left we punt the ball back to the Vikings. The punt is a great one and pins the Vikings back to their own 12 yard line. So now they have less than two minutes left to get into field goal position. One missed interception, one long run and two tipped balls (that fall back into the receivers hands) later, the Vikings are on the 15 yard and kicking the game winning field goal. So was it our mistakes, or their stay collected despite the chaos going on around you attitude that concluded in a Viking victory? A combination of both. In the end, it was a great game, competitive literally to the last second (actually beyond that considering the second field goal was an untimed play), but from it we discover several things that we need to work on. Tackling, pursuit angles, secondary coverage, tackling, sustaining blocks, tackling, making errant passes uncatchable for receivers, oh and did I mention tackling... But this team is still very talented, we just need to improve. As I said earlier, this team has great determination and a great work ethic. Expect them to respond in a positive way and accept this challenge. Unfortunately, the improvement process needs to happen quickly, because in week two we face an equally tough Normal Community team and the pressures of the intercity game.
As part of their pre-season polling, the Champaign News-Gazette asked the coaches in the Big 12 to rank the biggest games of the season in the conference schedule. They ranked the Bloomington/Danville game as the second biggest game, and the Bloomington/Community game as the biggest. That's a heck of a way to start the season. It's no surprise that the intercity contest earned the highest rating. Ever since the Big 12 merged back into a single division and for years before that in the eastern division, the winner of this game has gone on to win, at least, a share of the conference championship. Obviously, Danville has taken a major step towards factoring into the outcome this season, but the intercity game is still a huge event in terms of conference standings.
As it has done several times in the past 20 years, the rivalry between the Purple Raiders and the Ironmen reversed course last season. After losing four consecutive match-ups with the Ironmen from 2005-2008, we beat them twice last season, 8-6 at intercity and 27-10 in the second round of the playoffs. Obviously the Ironmen come into this game hoping to regain the upper hand. Offensively, the Ironmen enter the 2009 season with a load of talent and experience in the backfield, but having graduated their entire offensive line from a year ago. Returning is tailback Travis Mullen who rushed for over 1500 yards last season and had to have led the conference in runs of 50+ yards. Once this guy gets in the open, his 4.3 speed in the 40 makes him impossible to catch. With that type of weapon carrying the ball, and a less experienced line in front of him, the Ironmen have returned to what once was a staple of their offense, the option play. This year's version is the outside veer. They can run it out of pro, twins or double tight, and will sometimes put the quarterback in the shotgun to give him a better look and the read as the play develops. ISU recruit Marcus Harris lines up at fullback this season. The only reason he is not at tailback is because Mullen is there. He looks equally as fast. The play begins with the playside tight end, tackle and guard walling everybody down inside. The end is left unblocked as the read. The fullback's path takes him to the inside leg of the tackle just off the down blocks. If the end steps upfield, the fullback gets the ball diving underneath the end. If the end squeezes down, the quarterback will pull and run around the end. The second read is of the safety or outside linebacker. If they attack the quarterback, he will pitch out to the tailback. If they attack the tailback, the quarterback simply keeps the ball. The play requires "running backs" at every backfield position and the Ironmen seemed to have a stable full of them. Tre Jones is the quarterback, and Jared Mungo and Jared Cross also rotate in as running backs. In game one, it was difficult to tell, other than their numbers, who was back there at any given time. They were all affective as they racked up a whopping 510 rushing against the Tigers of Urbana High School. Another version of the option that they will run is speed option. This play looks to get to the corner and involves just one read instead of two. The end is again the primary read, but the fullback, instead of diving forward, serves as a lead blocker for the quarterback/tailback tandem as they attack the edge. The pitch defender not only has to make the correct read, but he has to contend with the blocking fullback as the play comes at him. The disadvantage for the defense against both plays is that they isolate each defender and forces them to make the right read. The offense doesn't need to be overpower because it attacks with confusion. One wrong move will leave a potential ball carrier wide open. Yet option is only part of the game plan. Bite up to quickly and that down blocking tight end will release upfield for a playaction pass just past the linebackers. They will also continue to run iso, quick pitch, counter and lead as they have done in previous season. In each case, trying to outnumber the defense, at the point of attack, with blockers and open up a seam for Mullen to sprint through. The passing game wasn't used much in game one. Why use it when your racking up nearly 1/3rd of a mile in rushing yards, but it will be there when needed. There is too much talent in this backfield to split time with. If Mullen and Harris are in the backfield, they can put Mungo and Cross at slot receivers to spread the formation. Defenses will then have a choice, stack up to stop the run and get burned over the top with a pass, or put a legitimate coverage in to stop the passing game and leave running lanes open.
Defensively, about the only thing that has changed is how quickly the Ironmen flow to the football. They line up in the same 5-2 that we run at Bloomington. They do tend to run more cover 2 and man under coverage than we do, but the alignment in in the box is the same. While they have sacrificed a little size this season (Zach Liming is now challenging for a starting position at ISU), they seem to be much faster than a year ago. Against Urbana, defensive linemen were not only sprinting past offensive linemen in a pass rush, but also catching running backs from behind. The speed in the secondary is just as fast as that coming out of their backfield because it utilizes the same players. Harris and Cross start in the secondary and Mullen should also see time.
Game #3 Urbana
One team walks away from the intercity contest a winner, but usually, neither team walks away happy. There is just something about that game that seems to promote mental errors, physical mistakes and turnovers, turnovers and more turnovers (seven combined in last Friday's game). As one poster on the Pantagraph blog said, "Both teams played horribly, BHS just happened to play a little less horrible than Normal." Having coached the game, I would unfortunately have to agree. Though we may have played "less horrible" than the Ironmen, our performance still left much to be desired. The Ironmen moved the ball at will on us in their first two possessions. We failed to capitalize on two Ironmen turnovers that gave us the ball inside the 20 yard line in the first half. To a man, almost every defender failed to tackle Travis Mullen on a screen pass in the fourth quarter that resulted in a touchdown and brought the Ironmen within seven points of us. And we made several mental mistakes (i.e. alignment and coverage mistakes defensively, and jumping off sides and forgetting our blocking assignments offensively) throughout the game. But there were those moments (our first drive of the second half, and the defense in the third quarter) when everything came together and showed the potential of this team. I'll stand by what I said in last week's preview, this is a very talent team, but we have a lot of room for improvement.
Week three brings the first road trip of the season and a match-up with the 0-2 Tigers of Urbana High School. The Tigers lost to the Ironmen 42-21 week one of the season and were shut out 50-0 last week by the Maroons of Champaign Central. First year head coach Nathan Watson has definitely instilled a new philosophy in the Tiger program. If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be gambler. For those of you old enough to understand the reference, they would do Kenny Rogers proud. Offensively and defensively, the Tigers take lots of chances. This can lead to exciting touchdowns and big plays on defense, but it can also blow up on you give up big scores. The Tiger's week one game against Normal Community was a prime example of this. The Tigers three scores came off an 85 yard kickoff return, an 80 pass play and a 70 yard quarterback scramble. But they gave up 42 points by allowing the Ironmen to rush for over 500 yards and 5-6 plays of 50+ yards. At times it was like a fast break only basketball game.
Offensively, the Tigers will line up in a variety of spread formations with the quarterback always in the shotgun. Formations include a two-back twins split set, a one back trips split set and a no back five wide out set. Running plays out of the two back set include inside and outside zone, iso, and a speed option. In the one back set they are limited to inside and outside zone, but they can motion a slot receiver into the backfield for iso and option if they wish. The no back is primarily a passing set, obviously, but again, they could motion a back into the backfield to run their basic plays. Passing includes a series of screens to the split ends, slot receivers and tailback, play action off the zone play, and a series of route combinations to the trips and twins sets. Their favorite (most effective) pass seems to be a post by the outside receiver combined with a wheel route by the inside receiver. The Tigers are blessed with two very good athletes at tailback and slot receiver, and a quarterback that can get the ball to them. The gamble this forces defenses to deal with is whether to man up with these two, go after the quarterback and run the risk of getting beat one on one, or to sit back in a zone and give the quarterback plenty of time to find them.
Defensively, Coach Watson has brought the 3-5-3 defense with him from Champaign Central where he served as an assistant for the past few seasons. The 3-5-3 is the ultimate gambling defense. Three down linemen will cover the center and offensive tackles. Stacked behind them are three linebackers. Each lineman is assigned a gap to the right or left of the offensive lineman in front of him, the stacked backer is assigned the other. On any given play, the linebacker could blitz when they read flow their direction resulting in as many as six defenders at the line of scrimmage during the play. There are two additional outside linebackers that can blitz to provide additional pressure or drop back in coverage to help the secondary. Coverage in the secondary will mainly be a three deep zone, but in times when they are on a blitz, the defensive backs will man up to maximize the number of players that can go on the blitz. The 3-5-3 is designed to capitalize on team speed, which the Tigers have plenty of, and to remain simple enough to cover multiple different spread sets. Just for good measure, however, the Tigers will also line up in a 4-4 front. 5+3=8 and 4+4=8 so what matters you might ask. Well in the 4-4 the guards and tight end are covered, In the 3-5-3 it is the center and two tackles. These changes can force the offensive line to work two totally different blocking schemes through out the week of preparation, increasing the chances that they will screw up an assignment in the game.
Game #4 Champaign Central
It may not have gotten the preseason recognition that our first two games did, but this week's match-up with Champaign Central is every bit as important. The Maroons come to Fred Carlton Field Friday night undefeated and ranked ninth in class 5A. They are one of three remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12. After slipping by Normal West (26-23) week one, they have absolutely destroyed their last two opponents by a combined score of 91-0 (Urbana 50-0 and Eisenhower 41-0). Quite simply, they are on a roll. Offensively, there are two names that you need to know. Denzel Stewart, the three year starter at tailback and the school's all-time leading rusher coming INTO the season, and Doug Kyrouac, the senior quarterback who has played in every game against us since his freshman year, and needs only 130 yards to become the school's all-time leading passer. With those two weapons in the backfield, the offensive philosophy seems to be one of form that follows function. The Maroons are kind of like a Transformer that can take any shape they need. When they want Stewart to carry the ball, they will line up in a pro or twins set with an I backfield. With the fullback leading the way they will run lead, pitch and zone. They will also run pitch and zone out of spread sets like trips and double twins. There is no fullback in these sets, but with Stewart's speed and two to three blockers on the perimeter, it can prove to be even more dangerous. The passing game can come from any set, but is obviously more likely from trips and double twins. Typically when teams spread, they sacrifice pass protection to send more receivers out. This is not always the case with the Maroons. They will commonly leave the tight end home to block with the tailback out of trips, or motion a receiver back in from a spread set to become the 7th blocker. On most pass plays, they end up with only three receivers out, the problem is you never know which three it is going to be. The biggest target seems to be 6'2" Edwin McGhee who lines up at tight end, but can also widen out as a slot receiver. In addition to base drop back routes, the Maroons also run a series of screen and bubble passes to the receivers out of the trips formation. In essence, they are like long handoffs to quick athletes on the perimeter in hope that a mismatch could lead to a big play. Then to merge the running threat of Stewart with the passing of Kyrouac, the Maroons have a series of playaction passes off the lead and zone plays. Commit too much to cutting Stewart off at the corner, and Kyrouac will simply pull the ball back and hit his 6'2" tight end dragging across the middle or sprinting to the back corner of the endzone. With 117 points in three games, the offense seems to be working very well.
When Coach Jacobs first came to Central, he brought the attacking 3-5-3 defense with him. Quite honestly, it is something that has given us fits ever since. This year, the Maroons seem to have changed their base alignment to a more traditional 4-3 cover 2 set, but have kept the attack first mentality. In the secondary they will man up out of the cover two alignment against any one or two back alignment. This free the linebackers up to blitz or flow hard the second they read the play heading in their direction. This puts seven defenders in the "box" and puts stress on anything the offense attempts to do. One missed block can result in a two yard loss. It also puts tremendous pressure on the quarterback and can limit even the best passing game to three step drops and short passes. It is a gambler's defense however, with everyone so close to the line of scrimmage, a running back that pops through can run forever.
One thing that you can count on Friday night is a close game. Going back a decade, the scoring deferential in this game has always been less than 20 points.
Game #5 Mattoon
There used to be two things that you could count on when traveling to Mattoon to play the Green Wave; one, the best concession stand in the Big 12 conference (the best in downstate Illinois as far as I am concerned), and two, smash mouth football. Well the concession stand still lives up to its billing (please see the Gourmet Scout page). So if you are debating whether or not to make the trip (shame on you, you should be doing it to support the team regardless), picture grilled pork chop sandwiches, funnel cakes and lemon shake ups, jump in the car and hit the road. As far as the smash mouth football, things changed last season. Long time head coach Gerald Temples had retired, and the Green Wave took to the field in a shotgun formation with four and five wide receivers. Not exactly what the rest of the conference had come to expect from the Green Wave. It didn't take. This season, new head coach, Troy Johnson is bringing the "smash mouth" back to Green Wave football. Offensively, Mattoon has returned to their roots with traditional double tight, pro and twins sets and running backs that will run through a brick wall to get one yard if they have to. Plays include power, iso, outside zone and quick pitch. The line either blocks down or reaches and the fullback escorts the tailback through the hole. There is nothing real fancy about it, but it is effective. One twist is that they will run the power and zone plays out of a one back set. Now most teams will set the one back five to seven yards back and in a two point stance, so that he has time to build up speed and see the hole before he gets to the line of scrimmage. Not Mattoon, they leave the full back in the backfield, three yards deep and in a three point stance. One of the reasons that we have been so effective at stopping the run against Urbana and Central is that most of their plays start five yards deep in the backfield. Any surge by the defensive line should lead to a loss of yards. By the time you get to the Mattoon fullback, he is already at the line of scrimmage. This basically eliminates negative yardage running plays. The passing game will spread things out some with a trips set, but the third receiver is the tight end and more than not stays home to block. Most routes involve three receivers, with a combo route to the two receiver side and a post coming from the backside tight/split end. Another staple that has returned is playaction passing. This season it comes off the zone and power plays. Out of the double tight end set, one is dumped to the playside flat with the other running a drag from the backside. Out of the pro and twins, the fullback with be the receiver in the playside flat.
Defensively, things have also changed. After experimenting with the 3-5-3 defense last season, the Green Wave has gone back to a more stable 4-4 look this season. For years, Mattoon was a 4-3 cover two team. The 4-4 is very similar, but more flexible. With the same number of defenders on each side of the center, the defense can align to any offensive set by simply moving outside linebackers in and out. Unless the offense runs a trips set (which we do not), they will never be outnumbered to either side of the ball. The defense is stressed, however, at the outside linebacker position. These players have to be outside force players against any running play that attempts to get to the corner, yet also cover the flats against a pass play. Playaction becomes a nightmare. They read the fullback coming to block them so they step up to stop the run only to have the fullback fake the block and run right past them to a wide open flat that they are supposed to be covering. We have faced the 4-4 one other time this season, week one against Danville.
If you are still debating whether or not to make the long trip Friday night, consider this. Next to Intercity, there is no better atmosphere in the Big 12 conference to watch a game than at Mattoon. From the color guard's presentation of the flag, to the concession stand, to the student section behind the south endzone, to the SKY BOXES, to a town that lives and dies Green Wave football, you can't beat Friday Night Lights in Mattoon. I love our games at Fred Carlton, don't get me wrong. But (minus the two hours on Big Yellow) I enjoy our trip to Mattoon every other year. The last time we were there, we lost to Mattoon for the first time since the 70s. It was a disappointment, but part of me was happy for the players and fans in Mattoon because they had so much fun doing it. It is what high school football is all about. Jump in the car and come be a part of it.
Game #6 Champaign Centennial
Week six brings the Chargers of Centennial High School to Fred Carlton Field for a homecoming match-up with the Purple Raiders. The game pits the two most senior head coaches in the Big 12 Conference (Rigo Schmelzer in his 17th season and Mike McDonnell in his 13th) against one another for the 15th time. Long time fans of the Big 12 Conference know that neither of these teams have changed much over the years, so this one is rather easy to preview. Offensively, as always, the Chargers will feature a power running game behind a large, LARGE offensive line. Going into the season, I thought we had a big offensive line, and we do, but the Chargers match us inch for inch and pound for pound. The size difference offensively comes at the skill positions where the Chargers out weigh us 10-20 pounds a man, giving the power game a little more punch than we have seen to this point in the season. Base formations include pro, twins/split, double twins, and a one back set with twins to one side and the tight end and flanker to the other. Plays include power, iso, counter, inside and outside zone and trap. In an attempt catch the defense on their heels, the Chargers will shift or motion on almost every play. An odd front defense, like we run at BHS, is forced to make adjustments every time the offense changes it's strength. If they time it right, they can catch us in transition, giving their line an advantage and possibly blowing us off the ball. The most common response by the defense is to become very basic in their calls, thus limiting the adjustments that need to be made. Passing will first come by way of play action, but the Chargers also feature a couple of pass first formations and never seem to be short of speed and athleticism at the receiver position. Play action comes most often off the power and counter plays, and attacks with a flood look to the play side flat. After the play fake, the fullback will slip out to the flat with the tight end over the top on a deep out or drag route. The flanker will run off vertically in hopes of pulling off the deep coverage giving the tight end or fullback space to run after the catch. Drop back passing comes out of the one back and double twins sets and consists of combination routes between the two receivers to each side. Motion will again be used to catch the defense in transition in hopes that coverage will be blown and they will find an open zone. In light of all the spread formations, zone read option and quarterback centered offenses being run in the conference today, there is nothing real innovative about what the Chargers do, but they start every play with a "pop" of the line that very few teams in the conference are capable of. This will be the hardest hitting offense we have faced since intercity.
Defensively, the Chargers look a lot like we do, but they are far more aggressive. The run the 5-2 front, but do not drop ends like we do. They also must force all their defensive linemen to join the swim team, because they "swim" better than any front in the conference. The "swim" move is a technique used by defensive linemen to slip by the offensive lineman trying to block them, and into a gap. The defensive lineman swings his arm up and over the offensive lineman as he slants towards a gap. By doing so, he also turns his "skinny" side to the offensive lineman taking away the broad shoulder pads that lineman like to grab a hold of on blocks. Generations of Centennial linemen seem to have mastered this technique, and this season is no different. With so much pressure coming from the defensive line, they don't have to blitz their line backers much, leaving them to read and flow to the ball. The secondary will, most often, line up in a cover two look, but are generally in man coverage. The corners will lock down the outside receivers and the safeties cover all tight ends, slot receivers or backs out of the back field. The man coverage allows the safeties to be very aggressive when there is no pass threat to their side. Most offensive blocking schemes do not account for a deep safety, so it can be very disruptive when they line up at 7-8 yards and fly the the ball the second they read offensive flow in their direction. In addition to the aggressive scheme, the Chargers will also match our offensive size with that of their defense. This will be the biggest defensive front we have face this season.
At 2-3, the Chargers almost have to view every remaining game as a playoff game. They will need wins in three of their final four games to secure a playoff spot. In addition to us, they still have games against Mattoon, Central and Normal West remaining. We can secure a playoff spot for the 23rd consecutive year with a victory Friday night. In regards to the conference title, things are about to get interesting. With four games remaining in the conference schedule, we along with MacArthur, Danville, and Community are still in the thick of things. But we are somewhat on the outside looking in. MacArthur, Danville and Community still have yet to play each other. We only have a game against MacArthur remaining. All we can do is hope that someone knocks off Danville, the three beat each other up and we take care of MacArthur week nine. It all starts this weekend with Danville hosting MacArthur.
Game #7 Normal West
Let the playoffs begin. By virtue of their 2-4 record, the Normal West Wildcats must win their remaining three games of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. This journey begins with a 7:00 p.m. matchup with the Purple Raiders this Friday at Normal West High School. It's been a frustrating season for the Wildcats. Their four losses include a four point loss to MacArthur, a five point loss to Central and, two weeks ago, a ten point loss to Community in a game where they were down by only three with two minutes to go and the ball. The Wildcats have to feel that some time this season their time will come, and unfortunately, we have to play them when their backs are truly against the wall. There is nothing more unpredictable than a team that has nothing to lose.
Offensively, the Wildcats have been bitten by the same bug that seems to be sweeping through the Big 12 Conference, the shotgun, spread set. Base formations include a variety of trips formations, double twins, and twins split. The quarterback will be in a shotgun alignment 80% of the time with one or two running backs at his side. The running game is somewhat dependant on the number of running backs in the backfield, but the quarterback can double as a running back on any given play. Out of a one back set, they will run dive, and trap. With two backs, they run iso and outside veer. The quarterback is very effective off the veer play and will also be the feature back on their counter play. It looks like the counter play that most teams run out of an I backfield. The backside guard will kick out the end with the backside tackle leading up through the hole. The difference is, the quarterback will be the one behind the tackle as he looks to flatten an unsuspecting linebacker or safety. The counter play also looks to be the most popular play to run playaction off of. It is typically run out of a twins set with the fullback spilling out into the flat, a split end running a deep curl behind the linebackers and a flanker stretching the corner deep up the sideline. The play is especially difficult for the playside linebacker because once he realizes that it is not a run and begins to drop to his pass zone, he is likely to pull up on the fullback only to have the curl come open in the zone he is supposed to be playing. Drop back and rollout passes come mainly out of the double twins set and consist of crossing routes, verticals and mirrored combination routes out of both sets of twins (in other words, routes in which the outside two receivers cross each other and the route combination is run the same way to both sides. Passes out of trips include a screen to a bunch trips set, a bubble screen out of the backfield and an isolation route to the single split end to the weakside of the formation.
Defensively, the Wildcats line up in a base 4-3 cover 2 alignment similar to most college teams. Over the past few years, they have been very affective at slowing our offense down in this game. Coach Hess always seems to tweak the base alignment just enough to take away what we want to do. Last season's game was a case in point. After driving 80 yards for a touchdown (60 yards on one play) on our first possession, we are limited to only 140 yards for the remainder of the game, and have only a 7-0 lead well into the fourth quarter before a field goal and interception return allow us to pull away. The adjustment last season was to drop one of the linebackers down as a fifth defensive lineman and then walk up a safety to fill in for the linebacker. The result was 5-3 look that took away our double option play to the corner. With more balance in our offense this season, it will be interesting to see what changes the Wildcats make.
Game #8 Decatur Eisenhower
Well that was a little too close for comfort last week, wasn't it? Like a near death experience can cause a person to take stock in their life, the near loss experience caused me to stock in the season to this point. So before I preview Eisenhower, I would like to take a look at where we stand to date. First, the best we can hope for in the conference standings is for Normal Community to defeat Danville this Friday. That would create a three-way tie for first with us, Danville and Community all at 7-1 records. In week nine, Community plays Central, Danville plays Urbana and we play MacArthur. Based on current records, that would leave us with the most difficult path to a share of the conference title. In regards to playoff seedings in the event of a three-way tie atop the conference, the IHSA website states that ties will be broken "by a variety of formulas." What does that mean? I'm not sure at this point, but we will cross that bridge if we come to it. If Danville beats Community, it doesn't matter. In terms of the team, we progressed well in the weeks following the intercity game. The 43 point average against Urbana, Central and Mattoon marked the highest scoring average over three games since the 2002 and 2003 seasons. In my opinion, the 40 point first half explosion against Central can only be rivaled by 35 points we scored against Normal West in the second QUARTER, back in 2002. The best part about the surge in offense is that it comes from a balanced attack. Our leading rushing is approaching 700 yards on the season, but we have two other backs with at least 300 yards. Our 1000 yards in passing has been almost evenly split between three receivers, the flanker, the tight end and the split end. And we have three players within 12 points of one another for scoring lead. So as an opponent, who do you focus on? The last six quarters, however, have exposed a couple weaknesses that we need to work on. In the first half, Champaign Centennial had a total of 67 yards of offense against us while falling behind 20-0. In the second half, one back alone rushed for 210 yards on basic power and zone plays. The lesson learned: we need to do a better job against big running backs in a "smash mouth" system. Last week, the elements controlled us. Granted, both teams were playing in the same environment, and to Normal West's credit they took it to us, but the swagger that we had in the Central, Mattoon, Urbana and Centennial games was gone. And it was gone before the opening kickoff. The reality is, this is Illinois and mother nature will do as she pleases. Pardon the pun, but our Ferrari needs a set of all weather tires if we hope to make a long playoff run. This week's game at Decatur Eisenhower gives us another opportunity to test our footing on unstable ground.
The Panthers of Decatur Eisenhower enter the game with a 1-6 record coming off their first victory of the season, 20-8 over Urbana last week. They enter the game, however, with two distinct advantages. The first is their stadium. It is a bowl. The entire field is surround by a grass hill and elevated asphalt parking lots. All of the rain over the past couple of days will flow down onto the field, on top of last weeks rain. It may make last week's conditions look downright dry. The second is the unorthodox, spread and unbalanced formations that they use on offense. They force the defense to stay "generic" in it's approach and to take extra time to prepare for the different alignments. Time that unfortunately has been cut by the continued deluge that we have been experiencing for the past three weeks. The most common formation they use is an unbalanced set the three offensive linemen and a tight end to one side of the center, and only a guard to the other side. In this set, they will have a flanker set wide to the tight end side and twins to the back side. The quarterback will be in a shotgun alignment with the running back to his right or left. Out of this they will run pitch to the unbalanced side, double option and quarterback sweep to the twins, and a dive or quarterback iso to any interior gap that, by shifting the defense has left open. It's a simple game. The unbalanced forces any defense change its base alignment, they then select their play based on what the defense does. Commit too many defenders to one side and they run to the other. Leave the middle open by shifting backers out, and the will attack with the back or the quarterback to that gap. Passing out of the set consists mainly of playaction off of the dive and double option plays with vertical, curl and dig routes out of the receivers. Pure passing sets include double twins and a no back, five wide set. The route combinations out of these sets are limitless, but most commonly at least three receivers are running verticals, with the other one or two dragging through underneath zones. Just to keep the defense honest, they will also run a draw with the back out of the double twins, and the quarterback out of the no back.
The defense is a 4-4 cover 3, but the Panther typically walk up the outside linebacker to the tight end side. If the field is a mess, expect more pressure with as many as four linebackers coming on any given play.
Game #9 Decatur MacArthur
In the grand scheme of things, it seems a little unfair. After two months, nine games, and 36 quarters of football, it turns out that the Big 12 conference championship was decided by an extra play after 48 minutes of football in the first game of the season. That play, a 25 yard field goal by Danville, came after a running into the kicker penalty on a 30 yard field goal attempt as time expired, that was wide to the left. After that two point victory, the Vikings have proceeded to run the table, and for all intents and purposes captured their first Big 12 conference title since 1996 with a muddy 12-6 victory over Normal Community last week. Technically, they still have one game to play, but it is against an 0-8 Urbana team that is just looking to get the season over with. So congratulations to the Danville Vikings! Best of luck in the 6A playoffs. We hope to meet up again, when the stakes are much higher.
We, on the other hand, have our work cut out for us. In order to claim sole possession of second place in the conference, we must defeat the Generals of Decatur MacArthur this Friday at Fred Carlton Field. A loss would put us in a three way tie for second place with MacArthur and Community at 7-2. It would also "muddy the waters" considerably in the IHSA playoffs. There are several teams with good records in the southern half or quadrant of 6A. At 8-1, we would be hosting a first round game against an opponent with a 6-3 or 7-2 record. If we finish 7-2, however, all bets are off. We could find ourselves on the road against an 8-1 Rock Island, New Lenox Providence, or Quincy. So needless to say, there is a lot a stake in Friday's regular season finale.
The Generals of Decatur MacArthur are the best team we have faced since our week one match-up against Danville. Their two losses have come at the hands of Danville (21-0) and Normal Community (29-6) on a muddy, miserable night. But don't let that fool you. This team returned nearly every starter from a 9-3, quarterfinal team from a year ago. They returned the 2008 Big 12 offensive player of the year in quarterback Robert Smith, and they are hands down, the biggest team in the conference. At the beginning of the season, we expected the Generals to be THE team in the conference. As far as we are concerned, they still are. This team still has unlimited potential, and after this week, they will be dropping down to 5A for a playoff run. A victory over us Friday night would be a nice momentum builder. This team will play tougher than their 6-2 record Friday night.
Offensively, the Generals are built around the talents of Smith (think Juice Williams only more effective). They will primarily line up in one back, spread sets with Smith in the shotgun. Base sets include trips, double twins and the occasional quads alignment. They are, however, more likely to run out of these sets than pass. Smith can throw the ball, but he is equally, if not more effective, as a running back. The spread sets are simply to thin out the defense. In light of this, if the defense stops honoring the pass set, Smith will just simply drop back and throw down field. Base running plays include inside and outside zone to the running back, a quarterback counter with Smith carrying the ball, a quarterback sweep and iso with the running leading the way for Smith, and a sprint option. They will occasionally motion a slot into the backfield and run a jet sweep, or will line up with two backs and run a more tradition iso play, a crossbuck dive, and a lead option. Passing includes play action off the zone and crossbuck plays with crossing routes out of the slot receivers, isolation routes to the single receiver opposite the trips, and bubble screens to the slot receivers in trips, twins and quads. But most of the passing comes out of the double twins set and includes verticals, posts, and crossing routes. They occasional go to a five wide quads set or trips/twins, but even out of these sets, Smith is a threat to run the ball. As long as he is in the backfield, they still have a running back in the backfield, and at 6'3" 200 pounds, he can be a bear to bring down.
Defensively, like last year, the Generals line up in a 4-4 cover 3 set. With the athletes they have, expect a good deal of man coverage and plenty of blitzes. The 4-4 is the most versatile defense in football, and no matter what we throw at it, they will be able to cover. The key will be dealing with the pressure that can come from any one of the four linebackers, or all at the same time. If they can lock down our receivers and bring pressure, it could be a long night.
6A Playoffs Round 1 - Oswego
Rain, rain go away, come again another day... Boy, this is really getting old.
Round one of the 6A playoffs this year brings the Panthers of Oswego High School to Fred Carlton Field for their first ever match-up with the Purple Raiders. For the past several years, the southern half of the 6A field has been divided into quadrant, generally pitting us against a Big 12 opponent in the first or second round, so this year's bracket is both refreshing and interesting. Over the past decade, we have played a lot of playoff games, so how is it that we have never run into the Panthers before? Because they have spent most of their time in 7A, and have a great deal of experience themselves when it comes to the IHSA playoffs. Oswego has qualified for the playoffs 21 of the last 23 seasons. They have advanced to the quarterfinals twice, the semi finals twice, and won state titles in 1992 and 2003. They compete in the Southwest Prairie Conference and finished the 2009 regular season with record of 7-2, tied with Minooka and Plainfield North for the conference championship. Four of their opponents are also in the playoffs, Morris in 4A, Plainfield North and Minooka in 7A and Waubonsie Valley in 8A. The Panthers averaged 23 points a game while giving up an average of 11.4. Four of their games were decided by four points or less, and they won two games in overtime.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Oswego's colors are orange and blue. I don't know how much of it they borrowed, but their offense is definitely a combination of something old and something new. Consider the following. Jim Owczarski, a sports reporter for the Beacon News, earlier this season wrote "let's be honest -- when you say Oswego football," the quarterback position rarely comes up." Yet in the same article, he quoted a Panther fan as saying, this season "we've got a quarterback." Confused? So are those that have followed Oswego football over the years. Tradition at Oswego is smash mouth, in your face, power football featuring a BIG offensive line, and running backs that will continually run into a brick wall until their linemen break it down for them. Think Mattoon, only bigger. You still see a lot of that in their offensive scheme. They will line up in double tight sets with a power I or straight T backfield. Out of these formations they run a power iso, an off-tackle power play, pitch, zone, fullback dive and a couple of different backfield counter plays. The goal is simply to get three yards and then fall forward. Do that three times, and you have a first down. It can be mind-numbingly effective, and extremely frustrating to the opponent's defensive coordinator. For years, generations, of Oswego football, the role of the quarterback was simply to call the play in the huddle and handoff. Then along comes 6'2" quarterback Ryan West, and his sidekick 6'5" split end/tight end Joe Kwiatkowski, and suddenly the Panthers are lining up in twins/split, trips/split, double twins and a quads formation. The result? 1000 yards of passing over the course of the regular season and several new dimensions added to a previously, one dimensional offense. In the spread sets, the favored play seems to be to isolate Kwiatkowski against a shorter cornerback and through a fade, slant or vertical. But they also run a flood route to the trips, and a series of combination routes (curl/go, out/corner, flat/go) to the twins. The twins/split still gives them two backs in the back field, making the running game an option, but also opens up playaction. Playaction plays come off zone, iso and counter fakes out of the backfield, and usually result in Kwiatkowski streaking up the sideline, or dragging across the field to West as he boots out of the backfield. The Panthers also run a couple of hybrid sets where they will split both ends out, but still run a power I or straight T set in the backfield. A complete combination of old and new if you will.
Defensively, the Panthers run the always attacking 3-5-3. A year ago, we'd have been better prepared against this defense, as 2-3 conference teams used to run it. But this season, we only prepared for it against Urbana, who then ended up running the 4-3 against us instead. The 3-5 covers the center and both offensive tackles with linemen that are slanting to a gap. Behind each of them are linebackers who cover the opposite gap. This allows the linemen and linebackers to play games by switching gaps and blitzing when ever they feel like it. The key to the 3-5 is confusion. The offensive linemen is never sure, until the snap of the ball, whether the lineman or linebacker has the gap that he is assigned to block. Throw into that two additional "stud" linebackers that can be up on the line, or split out covering receivers, and as I once heard a coach at a clinic claim, you have over 900 different combinations of stunts and blitzes you can throw at an offense. Sound confusing? Try playing on the offensive line against it.
Post Season
Raider fans, this one hurts.
This one hurts because this was supposed to be a special season. This one hurts because these are a bunch of hard working, great kids that deserved more. This one hurts because a second place finish in the conference and a first round exit in the playoffs falls far short of symbolizing the true ability of this team. This one hurts because in the end, this team never reached it's full potential. This one hurts because these kids did things the right way, yet were not completely rewarded for it. This one hurts, because this was a good team.
At the end of a season, it is usually easy to look back and find a team's short comings. Coaches know about them all along. As the season progresses, they try to fix them, try to over look them, try to minimize them, but in the end, after the season ending loss, they are glaringly obvious. They become the focus/inspiration for off-season workouts heading into the next season. With this team, the process is not that simple. It's not that we as coaches don't know what the weakness was, I just don't know that we can do anything to fix it, because the root cause is simply out of our control. The Achilles Heel of this team was it's inability to handle the sloppy conditions that dominated the final month of the season. Now, within the coaching fraternity, you are not supposed to blame the weather. "Both teams have to play in it, there's nothing you can do about it, just suck it up a deal with it," is the prevailing thought. Well, in a perfect world it would be that simple, but mother nature really pulled one over on us this fall, and there are some teams that are bound to be impacted by it more than others. This was one of them. It's not that the players didn't try to cope. They didn't give up. To their credit, in the sloppiest of games they did find ways to adjust, and played with great intensity in the second halves. But there is no doubt that the conditions took away a confidence, a swagger, that we had in the games where weather did not factor in. Need statistical proof? We had 20 turnovers this season, but nine of them in only two games. I bet it won't take you long to figure out which two... Normal West and Oswego. So after Normal West, we as coaches should have been all over it, right? Well, we were in a way by practicing in it daily, and mother nature helped out by giving us plenty of crap weather over the past couple weeks. And if you have ever been on our practice field, you know that you can't find worse conditions after a few days of rain. There is, however, a huge difference between working in sloppy conditions at practice, and trying to cope with game pressures in them, especially when bad events begin to steamroll the way they did in the first half Friday night. A slight hesitation, a small twinge of doubt is all it takes to drop a punt, bobble a snap, drop a pass and fumble the football, and those hesitations and that doubt seemed to multiply with this team in sloppy weather. This was a team built on speed and a balanced offense. Sports cars might be fast from 0-60, but if the wheels have no traction, the car doesn't go anywhere. One slip on a pass route and the timing between receiver and quarterback is gone. Throw in six turnovers, three bobbled snaps and a snap over the punter's head, and, well, it was simply too deep a hole to dig ourselves out of.
So with four of the six offensive skill players returning, we just cross our fingers and hope that mother nature is more kind next season. Yes, I plan on doing that, but there is also a more basic, psychological hurdle that must be overcome. The lack of swagger in the sloppy games was symbolic of a bigger tentativeness that this team exhibited early on in the big games. I apologize if up to this point, it seems I have been singling out the running backs, quarterback and receivers on offense. It's just that their mistakes are more visibly and statistically provable. This general tentativeness is more subtle and affected everyone. For statistical proof of this, I turn to my defense. In the first halves of the big four games of the season (Danville, Community, MacArthur and Oswego) we surrendered 75 of the 157 points that we gave up the ENTIRE season. That's 48% of the points in 20% of the quarters. In the 3rd quarters of those games, we surrendered 0 points. Bleacher wisdom will suggest that the coaches must have done a good job at half time firing the players up for the second half. I would love to claim credit for that, but if it were that simple, why didn't I just do it before the game? Aside from talking through a few things, what really happened at half time was that these kids realized that they could play with, and beat anyone. In the second halves of those four games, we outscored the opponent 68-10. Give this team credit, once they believed they could do it, they did so, and very impressively. Confidence that you will come back, when you are down at halftime is a great thing. Unfortunately, a little of that confidence in the first half of the two losses that bookended our season, could have done wonders. We lost two games by a total of four points. A simple way of looking at it reduces that down to making one play (and there are several examples) in the first half of each of those games, to keep the opponent from one score. We do that, and we are currently 10-0, conference champs, and the top seed in the upper bracket of 6A. It was extremely painful to just write that. In the sixteen years that I have been at Bloomington, I've never seen the difference between success and failure so razor thin, and I only bring it up to demonstrate the quality of this team, that unfortunately will go overlooked when comparisons are made with the successes of previous teams.
It would be great if we could bottle the never say die, fight to the very end attitude of this team and their work ethic. Combine it with some of the favorable playoff draws we have gotten in the past, and you'd have a couple of state champions. These attributes can be credited to a wonderful senior class, that took their lumps as freshmen and sophomores, but persevered and in the end went down fighting. I thank each of you for your efforts and for restoring my faith in character of Purple Raider players. What they leave behind is a junior class with a lot of talent, that played major roles this season. In 2010, we will be returning seven starters on offense including a quarterback that averaged nearly 150 yards passing a game, the leading rusher, the second and third leading receivers and one of our top scorers from 2009. Defensively, we will return four starters including a defensive tackle and three quarters of the secondary, and two defensive ends that saw considerable time in our nickel set. Factor in that as sophomores, this class went undefeated through the conference, and we should have team that will once again contend for a conference title, and all the playoff advantages that go with it. But there are two lessons that they need to take from this season; one, that every play and every game counts, and two that confidence in your abilities is a potent asset.
With all that said, this one still hurts. Hopefully, the suddenness of it all builds a hunger in the varsity players of next season, but for a while, it's just going to hurt.
See you next season.