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Newburyport using a pass-first offense for first time in years

Friday, September, 28 By Jimmy Carroll
Correspondent

Historically, the Newburyport football team's offense has been fairly predictable.

The offensive players' roles are as follows: *The quarterback needs to be able to take the snap from center, turn, and hand the ball to the running back.

*The offensive line needs to be able to create holes through which the running back will run.

*The receivers need to be able to block downfield, keeping safeties and linebackers off the ball-carrier.

*And the tailback needs to be able to carry the team. Not this season.

The Clippers' offensive roles have become far more complex on offense. Thanks to a passing game that has accounted for 474 passing yards and eight touchdowns, teams must account for the pass as much | if not more so | than the run.

This week, it's River Rival Pentucket (2-1) that is adapting to the changed look of Newburyport (2-1). The Sachems' success tomorrow (1:30 p.m., Pentucket Regional High) will depend on the ability to limit the big passing plays.

Newburyport is coming off a 26-0 victory over Triton Regional, where quarterback Joe Clancy completed 8 of 12 passes for 124 yards and 3 touchdowns.

"Clancy has matured a lot, he's got a better understanding of the offense," said offensive tackle and senior captain Kevin Ryan. "But I don't think we are just a passing team, we are more of a double-edged sword."

Whenever there is a team that is able to achieve success through the air like the Clippers, there quite obviously has to be someone out there making the catches, as well as blocking up front. And Newburyport coach Ed Gaudiano is quick to point out that, although they have been finding success through the air, they are not a one dimensional team.

"Joe is doing a great job spreading the ball around to all our guys," said Gaudiano. "But it all starts up front, and our guys have been doing a great job keeping people off of Joe."

Pentucket coach Steve Hayden admits preparing for Newburyport involves a bit of extra attention to the aerial attack. But he has been careful to maintain his normal routine in the days leading up to the game.

"We always work on the pass, but this week we tried to focus on it a little more," said Hayden. "Clancy is a great athlete who has great fakes and protection up front."

Pentucket's offense has been able to rack up a total of 103 points on the season (34.3 points per game), coming off a close 35-28 win over River Rival Amesbury. Senior fullback Nate Bunnell scored five times, three rushing, with 165 yards on just 14 carries, as he continues to torch defenses with his 6-2, 205 pound frame.

As each high-powered offense tries to outscore the other, the key to victory will clearly be defense in Saturday's showdown.

"Last year we couldn't run the ball on their defense," said Hayden. "They are a little bigger than us, so we've really got to be able to move the chains against their D. We've got to get off the ball and be persistent, that's it." Whether Newburyport's line is still larger is up for debate. Nearly all of the players on the front line are new this season.

"Although we've got seniors on the offensive line, most of them are in the first year starting or at a different position," said Gaudiano. "It all starts with them. They've been working hard and doing well and hopefully that will continue."

One staple in Newburyport's offense has been the ability dial up the deep ball, which has been effective thus far. Newburyport has connected on 10 passing plays of more than 20 yards this season.

"We have been running the ball well enough to be able to throw deep play action passes downfield," said Gaudiano. "We put a lot of pressure on opposing team's secondary units." Teams that are able to effectively stretch the field almost always rely on a solid running game, and Newburyport is no different.

"We like to use our running game to balance out our passing attack," said Ryan. "We are pretty confident that we can score either way."