RallyNorth.net

Hot new offense spreading across the region

Wednesday, October, 31 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

Brian O'Reilly fears little on the football field.

Superior preparation, repetition, concentration, attention to detail, and sheer dedication keep his Astros perched atop Division 1 in New Hampshire.

But even the Astros, who are unbeaten in the state, have a weakness. For two straight state title years, they have come up empty, or close to it, trying to solve Nashua South's spread offense.

"Two years ago, they beat us," said O'Reilly, whose club hosts South Saturday (1:30 p.m.) with the No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs hanging in the balance. "And last year, they were around .500, we come in after pounding Brockton, and it comes down to the final 25 seconds for us to pull it out.

"As Michigan found out (giving up 34 points in an opening week loss to Division 1-AA Appalachian State), it can be a tough offense to defend."

"The spread" is currently sweeping the nation in the high school football ranks.

In it's purest form, the offense utilizes no-huddle, with a quarterback in the shotgun, a halfback, five linemen and four receivers. There is no tight end or fullback.

The spread takes pressure off blockers by stretching the defense, opening lanes for the halfback or an athletic quarterback to exploit.

Unlike the wing-T, which is used by O'Reilly and at least a half-dozen clubs in the region, or Salem's straight-T, it emphasizes using every inch of the field, from sideline to sideline.

It's an offense that became prevalent in the South, where superior athletes are prevalent, but has stretched deep across the nation for its big-play capabilities.

Two of the nine clubs in N.H. Division 1 are pure spread teams, South and Memorial. In the MVC, Dracut has turned a dormant program around under coach Patrick Murphy's spread. Andover, Methuen and Billerica, while not pure spread teams, use it frequently.

In the Cape Ann League, Lawrence dedicated itself to the spread this year, joining Lynnfield and North Reading as true spread clubs. Amesbury and Newburyport mix in aspects of it as well.

"It's an offense for our personnel, built on athleticism and speed," said Lawrence High coach Mike Yameen. "It takes kids who will be really dedicated to it, and our kids are excited about it. They've come a long way, but we're still new at it. We're still learning it. In the offseason, we'll keep researching it and get better at it."

Enough time to master it?

So far, spread teams have endured mixed results here. Nashua South has been dominant, but Memorial still hasn't clicked.

Dracut has been the ultimate success story, with undersized linemen slugging it out effectively in open space with bigger, deeper foes like Andover, Chelmsford and Billerica. As for the CAL, Lawrence, Lynnfield and North Reading are a combined 7-16 overall.

"The spread takes time to learn and understand," said Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos, whose club uses the Wing-T. "It works down south because they have spring practice and get right to work in the summer. Here, it's different, and it's tough for the kids to pick it up as fast. Although, it is interesting, you see these teams at the 7-on-7 summer passing tournaments, with all the wrist bands in use."

The wrist bands are how the coaches call the plays without a huddle. Each play is assigned either a number or name. The players utilize a special formula to decipher the plays and responsibilities, all written down on the special band.

It is the uniqueness of the spread, that creates problems. "It's all about one-on-one, open-field tackling, that's what it comes down to," said O'Reilly. "If you're able to combine the running game with athletes to a deadly passing attack, I just don't know what we'd do then."

Defensive backs are stretched to the edge. Linebackers see those wide formations and worry first about the pass.

Once they start to move backward, the advantage slides strictly to the offense, in which the first option is the quarterback's decision whether to hand off or attack the opposite side of the line on a keeper. Often times, a defensive lineman is allowed through the line and is forced to decide on whether he goes after the halfback or QB. Also, it often creates a numbers advantage for the offensive line.

Risk vs. reward

"Automatically, you're taking linebackers out of the box and putting an awful lot of pressure on a three-or-four man defensive line to play the run," said Yameen. "It's big risk, big reward, but like I say, we're still learning. It's going to take time."

The two weaknesses of the spread?

"It's not a good offense for teams that aren't good," said O'Reilly. "Throwing the ball, you stop the clock and often times bad teams give the ball back to the opponent too quickly."

And then there's the elements, a factor South has faced not only the last two Novembers, but even earlier this month against Salem.

"A bad weather day, or bad field day, causes it problems," said O'Reilly. "The best example for that? Nashua South hasn't lost to anyone, and they got crushed by Salem in a monsoon. You want to face the spread on a monsoon night on a garbage field in the condition it was that night in Salem."

No rush to change

Don't expect two of the local powerhouses, Pinkerton or Central Catholic, to join the rush to the spread anytime soon.

"I had a premier passer in Bryan Farris last year and got plenty out of the Wing-T," said O'Reilly. "I understand the ins and outs of the Wing-T. I know exactly what we need to get out of it.

"But I can understand why other teams will go to the spread."

Central remains staunch, as well.

"We're a Wing-T team," said Adamopoulos. "Everyone is multiple nowadays. Do I ever see us as a spread team, never say never. We've always been a program with strong linemen. It's just something we want to take advantage of."