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OCTOBER, 2004

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  October 29, 2004  "Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July. Democrats believe every day is April 15th." Ronald Reagan  2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here      A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  ************ NEWS FLASH: MADISON HIGH (Portland, Oregon) 41, Jefferson 6. In a battle for one of the 10-team Portland Intersholastic League's three playoff spots, the Madison Senators won big over the Jefferson Democrats. Without throwing a single pass, Madison rushed 64 times for 390 yards, putting together six drives of 50 yards or more, and three drives of 70 yards or more. The win, the Senators' seventh in a row, moved the Madison record to 7-1 on the season, and set up a Friday night match with Grant High for the city championship. To view video highlights from KATU-TV Portland... http://www.katu.com/sports/sports_extra.asp (Click on "Game Highlights #1) *********** I am scared to death for the future of our country. I say that because I am losing faith in our ability to hold an honest election, the very basis of our representative government; I have already lost faith in one party's willingness to accept the results of an election. What is so sacred about enticing uninformed fools to vote? Why is there such a thing as "Early Voting?" Why are there more registered voters in some counties than there are living citizens? Why aren't the two parties united, for the good of our country, against ineligible voters and multiple registrations and multiple voting, etc. etc? Thomas Jefferson's premise in the Declaration of Independence was that people are given certain rights - by their Creator, not by any government - and the only reason they establish governments is to secure those rights. Jefferson wrote of any government's "deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed," - it only exists so long as the people wish it to exist - and further, "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends (securing peoples' God-given rights), it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to establish new Government..." What could be more destructive of the purpose of government than failing to ensure honest elections? When the governed can no longer with confidence accept the outcome of an election as legitimate, then it would seem, if one accepts Jefferson's reasoning, that government no longer has its consent. At which point, according to one of our most precious documents, the people have the right to "alter or abolish it." That was the argument by which the American Revolution was justified. Don't get me wrong. I am not ready to shave my head. I am not stockpiling weapons. I don't own any real estate in Northern Idaho. But I am scared to death for the future of our country. No matter who wins on Tuesday. Or a week later. Or a month later. Or a year later. *********** Goood Morning Hugh - Hell has finally frozen over!! Imagine - the Sox are World Champs. 86 years, curses and frustrations are now gone. In 1959 I was 12 years old when my grandfather announced he had tickets to the Sox game and would we be interested in traveling to Fenway to see a game? Now as 12 year old you can imagine the excitement of a first major league ball game. From then on I was one of those die hard fans who lived and died with the Soxs. Gramp never got to see a World Series Championship but was reasonably sure I had a chance to see one in my lifetime. Now, whether you are a fan or not, seeing history in the making is exciting, and history that re-writes the nature of a sport is truly worth noting. What the Soxs have done over the last 8 games is amazing and brought back memories of that long ago trip with Gramp to a first major league baseball game. A memory one never forgets. Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine PS: lots of side stories but one that sticks out in my mind is Wakefield volunteering to give up a start to save the bullpen by pitching in the 19-8 blow-out to the Yankees. His willingness to sacrifice for the team went a long way to helping the Sox win. A great example for all in this day of high priced egos who only think of themselves. Joy oh Joy!!!! *********** I'll be long gone from this earth and coaches will still be telling their kids to hang in there and fight, even when thinsg seem hopeless, and they'll be using the 2004 Boston Red Sox as their example. *********** Coach Wyatt, Are you any relation to Bowden Wyatt who coached at Arkansas in the mid 50's and ran a lot of DW? Gabe McCown, Edmond, Oklahoma I have tried to research it but can't find anything. I don't know how his family originally got to East Tennessee, where he's from, but my dad's folks were originally from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Bowden Wyatt was a GREAT football player at Tennessee, and a top coach at Wyoming, Arkansas and Tennessee. As a Tennessee guy, he ran the same Tennessee single wing as his college coach, General Bob Neyland. He was Coach of the Year in 1956. How about this for an amazing coincidence: his father's name was Hugh Wyatt *********** Another one of those "how do you stop the Double-Wing" guys wrote a friend of mine, asking what he thought about the 5-4 (5-2 with rolled-up corners) that the guy was planning on running against a Double-Wing team. My friend wrote me, and here's what I wrote back: I wish the guy well with his 5-4. He obviously doesn't have enough experience to know that a 5-2 defense looks good against everything - on paper - but it isn't worth a damn unless you have a VERY good nose, VERY good tackles, VERY good ends, and VERY good linebackers. Not to mention a good secondary, with, in the case of a 5-4, corners tough enough to play run support and quick enough to cover - and smart enough to know when to do which. But what am I saying? If you've got all that, you don't need to be writing anybody for advice. You can run ANY DEFENSE YOU WANT. *********** There was a letter addressed to the Editor of the Portland Oregonian urging people to vote against George W. Bush, and it was signed by Bill Walton. Bill Walton, hippie Trail Blazer. Bill F--king Walton, pot-smoking Bill F--king Walton, telling the town he deserted to vote for John F--king Kerry. *********** Michigan and Ohio State were planning to peddle their annual game as the "SBC Ohio State-Michigan Game." I sh-- you not - for $1 million, they were all set to sell out. But they must have caught some hell from old-fogey traditionalists, who somehow thought there was something inappropriate about selling "naming rights" to their annual game, because shortly after their initial announcement, they announced that the deal was off. As I understand it, Texas and Oklahoma have already sold SBC on sponsoring the SBC Red River Classic. Rumor has it that Minnesota and Michigan will soon be playing for the Little Brown Jug of Gallo Wine. And Mississippi and Mississippi State will be playing in the annual Egg McMuffin Bowl. *********** They kept interviewing celebrities in the World Series audience - while the games were going on. Are you kidding me? Is nothing sacred? This isn't football, where we're forced to grit our teeth while they routinely talk right through the plays. THIS IS THE WORLD SERIES! *********** Coach, Congratulations on your current season. What a turnaround. Sorry it's been so long since my last update. The 2004 edition of the Hillcrest Huskies has not lacked drama. When we get all of the kids to come out we can compete with anyone. The problem is that most of the parents associated with our program seem to think every other activity under the sun is more important than the commitment their young men made to the team. We are currently 4-4 and entering the final week of the season needing a win to get to the postseason. We have won our last two games pretty convincingly and the super powers are really carrying the load. We'll be missing both of our starting tackles this weekend (family vacations) but the boys are fired up and ready to go. It is so frustrating that the parents of these absent kids don't realize how disrespectful they are being to the boys that come out every night. I have been looking everywhere for a copy of "100 years of Army Football" but just can't seem to locate one. I would love to preface my Black Lions presentation with something visual. Could you put something out on the website to help me find a copy. I would really appreciate it. Will the Black Lions certificates be available as early as 11 November? I believe our banquet will be around that date. I have a couple of really deserving young men and will be consulting my assistants this weekend in order to make a final decision. I will probably bring my Captains into the decision also. Thanks again for everything you do for the game of football and for your tireless support of the Troops. It is refreshing to know that there are people out there that still see things the way they really are - or at least how they should be. GO BUSH! Very Respectfully, Glen Page, Salt Lake City, Utah *********** Hey Hugh! Congrats on the Madison Win. You guys must be getting really good and running the ball well. Don't you need to start spreading it out a bit knowing that this offense probably won't work in the playoffs? Ha! I'm just as wowed by the stupidity of the extra point rule. It's as stupid as the Pro's getting 3 points for a field goal. My opinion is that you shouldn't be able to score at all kicking the ball. It should only be a field position play. That is just me, but I am a traditionalist outside of that. Can you imagine a game with no extra points kicking or field goals??? I can. It would be like living without political correctness. oooops, that slipped Keep up the great work and thanks, Larry Harrison, Siloam, Georgia *********** The Atascadero Raiders continue to roll through the league. I don't think any of the teams are as strong as the last couple of years, but we'll take it. We faced a tough 4-4 this past week and they gambled a great deal sending their backers, especially trailing our motion. I'm going to make a real effort this week on not running motion, but I sure do like setting teams up for the counter. 47c for 25 yd. TD one play, spanked by the trailing LB the next. It was a real physical, rival (Paso Robles) and we needed to adapt. Red Red for a TD and a Double Pro formation, slant to our stud who is way to tough for man on man coverage. We may face them again and we still have Spread, Widcat and Stack in our pocket. (Raiders 26 - Paso 6) Hope all is well! Mike Norlock, Atascadero Raiders, Atascadero, California P.S. A friend gave me a couple of tickets to the Oakland/Denver game and they came with pre-game field passes. My son had never been to a pro game and I sure wasn't going to drop a few hundred to see one ,so what the heck! The best part was spending time with Lamonica and Otto on the sidelines. No chest thumping, just good conversation about football of the past. My son, Jacob had a good time and it was different being on the coliseum floor. *********** Coach Wyatt, The Oviedo Lions Senior Midget team (7-1) won the Division I Southern Conference Championship with a 22-19 Homecoming victory over South Central last Saturday. The victory gives us a first round home playoff game next week after finishing the regular season this weekend. We put the game out of reach in the 4th with a 68 yd TD run off of Wedge. Faking the 29 sweep when running Wedge has really paid off for us. On the game film, I counted 7 defenders still tracking our QB and C back as the B back rumbled downfield on that TD.  What an outstanding group of young men we have the priviledge of coaching this year, they have really learned the team concept and how to win this season. We have no exceptional talent, just an awful lot of heart. At the Homecoming dance that night, solely on their own, the players "demonstrated" the wedge for the girls, what laugh that was. I said to one of our coaches, "yep, they are now as hooked as we are on this stuff!". A couple of weeks ago we were honored to have Coach Donnie Hayes attend one of our games. What a great job he has done up at Belleview HS. Always good to have a fellow DW coach at your game (we met at the Atlanta clinic), I am hoping to return the favor this year. Kudos to your team's success so far, I know you must be very proud, as we are here. Best regards, Lee Griesemer, Chuluota, Florida *********** Coach, Friday night produced some of the strongest thunderstorms to come through our area in a long time, forcing nine area games, ours included to be postponed until Saturday. The 4-4 South Fulton Rebels had to get back on their bus at 9:00pm for a 1.5 hour bus ride home, only to get back on the bus at 10:00am on Saturday to come back to play us. I have to admit, I didn't mind that one bit. We didn't play well, a lot of which I chalk up to the strange circumstances. High school boys are truly creatures of habit, and having them ready on Friday night just to tell them to cool off until Saturday is a lot for them to handle. But, we played better than our opponents, which is all that really matters. We won 28-7, bringing us to 8-1 on the season (tied for the best regular season record in school history - last year). Offensively, we produced numbers similar to those we've had all year while going against the second best defense in the conference (behind ours). We rushed 53 times for 283 yards. We passed 5 times, completing 3 for 53 yards. Defensively, we limited them to under 100 yards of total offense. They rushed 30 times for 55 yards and passed seven times for 40 yards. Not too bad. We're now in the 3A (of 8 classes) playoffs and are seeded 3rd in our eight team quadrant. We have a good first round draw, playing a team that is 6-3, with one coming via forfeit and the others against sub-.500 teams. Should we win, we could see a second round re-match versus Petersburg PORTA, who handed us our only loss of the season in Week 6. We are both 8-1, but they won the conference championship tie-breaker based on head-to-head matchup, so we'd really like to take another shot at them. What an exciting time of the year. Good luck to you, your team, and all double wingers the rest of the way. Todd Hollis, Head Football Coach, Elmwood-Brimfield Coop, Elmwood, Illinois *********** We just have too many jv players playing now to compete with quality varsity teams. On defense we started three seniors (both de's and a tackle), three juniors (noseguard and both safeties), four sophomores (both corners, a linebacker, and a tackle), and a freshman (linebacker). On offense we started five seniors (fb, both te's, and both tackles), three juniors (qb, c-back, center), two sophomores (a guard and the a-back), and a freshman (guard - our best offensive lineman, by the way). The vast majority of our subs were freshmen and sophomores as well. Our last game is this Thursday at our big rival. They are 7-1 and play a very physical style of football, so I am a bit concerned about the welfare of some of our younger kids. However, the majority of my seniors are out of action because their parents rush them to the doctor for the littlest things, so we have no options but to play our younger kids. If nothing else, playing the younger kids at the end of this season gives us an opportunity to evaluate and begin preparing for next year. NAME WITHHELD Farmers (he lives in a farm community) will understand what you are doing. You are planting a crop that won't be ready to harvest until next year. Not to mention doing some weeding. *********** So Steve Spurrier is supposedly coming back to Florida, is he? Even after the way he left, without so much as saying good-bye to the players? It's a good thing that Larry Coker is winning at Miami, because at least there won't be any speculation about Butch Davis returning there. Hah. Fat chance, after the way he took off. *********** Don't get me wrong. I like Tyrone Willingham. But his record at this point is almost identical to that of Ron Zook, who last week suddenly became the former Florida coach. Granted, Ty stepped into a program left in a shambles by Dob Davie, while Zook got on at the top floor, but you have to wonder how hot things are getting in South Bend. *********** The most recent publication of the WEA magazine (that would be the Washington Education Association - the teachers' union) lists the candidates it endorses for the state legislature. 46 of 47 are Democrats. The lone Republican must be gay. *********** Putting his job on the line (he writes for a newspaper that is slightly to the left of Pravda), Bob Lochner of the Portland Oregonian wrote: Q. Why are so many athletes who enter politics - Jack Kemp, J.C. Watts, Steve Largent, Jim Bunning, Tom Osborne - Republicans and conservatives? The only Democrat I can think of is Bill Bradley. A. I think these people are no different from me. They understand the difference between right and wrong. They don't want everything to be muddled and gray. They don't want to live in a politically-correct world. *********** So John-Pierre Kerry went into the hardware store in Ohio and, tryin' to talk like one a' them there huntin' guys, asked, in his best attempt at combining a NASCAR drawl with his Back Bay Boston accent, "Can I get me a hunting license?" He tries so hard to be something that he isn't - an ordinary guy - that I've often thought about what Saturday Night Live (if they weren't so f--king liberal) could do with this one: Premise - John Kerry steps out of character - way out of character - and into a working-man's bar in a steel (or coal mining) town someplace in Ohio or Pennsylvania.... Items to work into the skit... "Do I need a reservation?" "Do you have Chateau Lafitte Rothschild?" "What are those coin machines over the urinal for?" "Why, yes, certainly. I'll have a boilermaker." "Why, no - I can't say I've ever had a Blind Robin. But I do enjoy hunting foul." "What sort of beast is that up on the wall?" "What is a punch board? What is a pull-tab?" "What is the purpose of those pockets on the billiard table?" "How do you think the high school soccer team will do this week?" "You say these are gizzards? What are they made of?" "Mr. Kowalski, nice meeting you. What's that? You say I insulted Poland? Mr. Kowalski, if I gave you the impression that I included Poland when I said that the countries supporting the Bush Administration in Iraq represent a coalition of the bribed and the coerced, please be assured that I never intended to do so because I have nothing but admiration for the noble Polish people, who helped throw off the Communist yoke and gain freedom for themselves and countless millions elsewhere, the wonderful Polish people who came to America yearning for freedom and have made innumerable contributions to the fabric of our great nation, and the nation of Poland itself, homeland of Copernicus, which now stands tall as an equal among the great nations of Europe. I was educated in Europe, you know. In Switzerland. And if I am elected President, I will work hard to build lasting ties with our European allies..." "Do you take American Express?" You get the idea. It almost writes iself. *********** It's still a free country. Vote any way you damn please. But at least take the time to read this first... The following is a letter to Joe Scarborough and John O'Neil from Medal of Honor Recipient and former POW Colonel Bud Day. (Col. George E. "Bud" Day is the most decorated officer since Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and was Senator John McCain's cellmate in the Hanoi Hilton.) Dear Joe: The major issue in the Swiftboat stories is, and always has been, what John Kerry did in 1971 after he returned from Vietnam. Kerry cast a long dark shadow over all Vietnam Veterans with his outright perjury before the Senate concerning atrocities in Vietnam. His stories to the Senate committee were absolute lies.. fabrications.. perjury.. fantasies, with NO substance. That dark shadow has defamed the entire Vietnam War veteran population, and gave "Aid and Comfort" to our enemies..the Vietnamese Communists. Kerry's stories were outright fabrications, and were intended for political gain with the radical left..McGovern, Teddy and Bobby Kennedy followers, Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, and the radical left who fantasized that George McGovern was going to be elected in 1972. Little wonder that returning soldiers from Vietnam were spit upon and castigated as "baby killers." A returned war "hero" said so. Kerry cut a dashing figure as a war hero, lots of medals, and returned home because of multiple war wounds..even a silver star. His Senate testimony confirmed what every hippie had been chanting on the streets.."Hey hey LBJ..How many kids did you kill today"????? He obviously was running for political office in 1971. Until Lt. John O' Neil, himself a Swiftboat commander, spoke out before the 1972 elections against Kerry's outright deceptions, there was no one from the Swiftboat scene that could contradict Kerry's self serving lies. I was a POW of the Vietnamese in Hanoi in 1971, and I am aware that the testimony of John Kerry, the actions of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden, and the radical left; all caused the commies to conclude that if they hung on..they would win. North Vietnamese General Bui Tin commented that every day the Communist leadership listened to world news over the radio to follow the growth of the anti-war movement. Visits to Hanoi by Jane Fonda and Ramsey Clark gave them confidence to hold in the face of battlefield reverses. The guts of it was that propaganda from the anti-war group was part of their combat strategy. While the Commies were hanging on, innumerable U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Air Force members were being killed in combat. Every battle wound to Americans after Kerry's misdirected testimony is related to Kerry's untruthfulness. John Kerry contributed to every one of these deaths with his lies about U.S. atrocities in Vietnam. He likewise defamed the U.S. with our allies and supporters. His conduct also extended the imprisonment of the Vietnam Prisoners of War, of which I was one. I am certain of at least one POW death after his testimony, which might have been prevented with an earlier release of the POWs. My friend and room mate Senator John S. McCain denounced the Swiftboat video by John O'Neil. I have a different take on the Swiftboat tape and disagree with my good friend John. John Kerry opened up his character as a war hero reporting for duty to the country with a hand salute...and his band of brothers..of which he was the chief hero. Most of his convention speech was about John Kerry..Vietnam hero, and his band of brothers. John Kerry's character is not only fair game, it is the primary issue. He wants to use Bill Clinton's "is", as an answer to his lack of character. The issue is trust. Can anyone trust John Kerry?? "Never lie, cheat or steal" is the West Point motto. When a witness perjures himself at trial, the judge notes that his testimony lacks credibility. Should we elect a known proven liar to lead us in wartime?? I draw a direct comparison of General Benedict Arnold of the Revolutionary War, to Lieutenant John Kerry. Both went off to war, fought, and then turned against their country. General Arnold crossed over to the British for money and position. John Kerry crossed over to the Vietnamese with his assistance to the anti-war movement, and his direct liaison with the Vietnamese diplomats in Paris. His reward. Political gain. Senator..United States. His record as a Senator for twenty years has been pitiful. Conjure up, if you will, one major bill that he has sponsored. John Kerry for President? Ridiculous. Unthinkable. Unbelievable. Outrageous. Col. Geo. "Bud" Day - Medal of Honor - Vietnam - POW 1967-1973 MC  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2004 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  October 26, 2004  "To be great, to achieve, you must pay the price. You must earn the right. This is true of everything in life. Everything worthwhile must be bought with sacrifice." Ara Parseghian  2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here      A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  *********** OREGON - MADISON (Portland) 35, Marshall 23 - It was Marshall's Homecoming, so back before the season when they schedule such things, they made sure the opponent was a guaranteed win, scheduling perennial doormat Madison. And just in case they needed additional firing up, this was the game that they turned on their brand-new lights for the first time, and played the first night game ever on Marshall's field. The Marshall Minutemen played hard, taking advantage of two first-half interceptions (yes, you read that right) to match Madison drives and knot the score at halftime, 15-15, but then Madison combined power football with a stingy defense to pound out a 35-23 win and run its win streak to six. The opening Madison drive took just over three minutes, and featured two successful fourth-down conversions with Tony Stutevoss running from punt formation. The score came on a 19-yard pass from Stutevoss to big tight end Alex Nalivaiko. An interception, followed by a long return, followed by a personal foul penalty put Marshall in position to tie the score, but then Madison responded by driving 65 yards to take the lead, with wingback Andy Jackson and fullback Damiean Young trading carries on the drive. Jackson ran off-tackle from a yard out for the touchdown. When a Jackson interception (first of three for him on the night) gave the Senators the ball on their own 35 with two minutes to play in the half, the Madison offensive coordinator, not content with a 15-7 lead, got greedy and called a pass. It was intercepted and returned to the Madison 12, and despite making a strong stand, the Senators gave up the score - and the lead - with 12 seconds left in the half. The two teams went into the lockerrooms tied, 15-15. Any thoughts that the last-second score might have broought about a change in momentum were dispelled on Marshall's second play of the half, when Jackson came up with his second interception of the night and returned it to the Marshall 30. From there, it took just six plays to score, Stutevoss sneaking in from the one, and just three minutes into the second half, following a two-point conversion, the Senators were in the lead to stay at 23-15. Three counters by wingback Grant Meyer were instrumental in the drive. Following a Marshall score which narrowed the Madison lead to two at 23-21, the Senators drove 66 yards to put the game on ice, the final 42 yards coming on a Jackson run. Jackson's third interception ended any chance of a Marshall comeback, and the final Madison score came when the Senators held on downs deep in Marshall territory and punched it in, with Jackson going in from 13 yards away. That made in 35-21, but the final two Marshall points came as a result of Oregon's idiotic decision to experiment this year with the bizarre, dumbass college rule that gives two points to the defensive team if it can return a blocked extra point attempt for a score. (Can anybody tell me how the game is improved by this rule? Can anybody tell me how this justifies the potential danger of adding an additional open-field play with all its potential for clips and peel-back blocks? Can anybody tell me the reasoning behind penalizing a team by what amounts to one-third the value of the touchdown it just scored, because of one freak play - on an untimed down? I can understand the concept of awarding a bonus - a potential extra point or two - for scoring a TD. That's as old as the game itself, a carry-over from rugby. But score a touchdown and lose points? I'm damned if I can understand the reasoning behind this rule.) The stats pretty much reflect the nature of the game - Madison rushed 58 times for 312 yards, and completed the one pass (of just three attempts) for 19 yards. The Minutemen were held to 116 total yards - 81 yards rushing on 28 carries, 35 yards passing (13 attempts, 4 completions). In addition to his three interceptions, giving him six for the year, Jackson carried 23 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns. Through seven games, he has carried 166 times for 1298 yards - second-best in the state - and 18 TDs - best in the state. For the season, the Senators have rushed 393 times for 2227 yards and 23 touchdowns. They have thrown 34 times and completed 14 for 290 yards. Of the 14 completions, almost half - six - have gone for touchdowns. Thanks largely to the genius of their offensive coordinator, they have thrown a total of four interceptions. This Friday, Madison (6-1) can clinch a playoff berth by defeating Jefferson, the only other team with a shot at the league's three playoff spots. Don't know exactly how to interpret this, with Election Day next Tuesday, but Jefferson's nickname is the Democrats. Maybe we should take along some lawyers just in case the game is close. *********** Coach Wyatt, Congratulations on your season so far. Good article on Andy Jackson (great name, btw). I love this quote: "This Friday: at Marshall, where we are the Homecoming opponent. (That's what people used to think of us.)" Think they'd like to reschedule their Homecoming game? An update on our season: We're 9-0 so far. Have our last regular season game this Saturday. We're already in the C.F.F. championship (for the 5th straight year). We have 8 shutouts in 9 games and have outscored our opponents, 278-6. We have rushed for 1,494 yards and have held our opponents to Minus 1 yard rushing for the season. Our QB is 14 of 15 for 254 yards and 3 TDs. Full steam ahead! Good luck at their Homecoming. Dave Potter, Durham, North Carolina *********** Hey Coach, with East Carolina and Tulane still left on the schedule, I can see Army winning at least two more this year; however, beating Air Force, UAB, and Navy will be somewhat more difficult (but not impossible). Great to see the photos of Michie Stadium after the Cincy win. If I can believe my eyes, it looks like the Cadets tore down the goal posts! I was at the UNC-NC State game at Chapel Hill a couple of weeks ago (won by UNC 30-24, with State fumbling the ball on the UNC 1-yard line as time expired). What a beautiful stadium. My UNC-alum wife hadn't been back to Chapel Hill in about 25 years, and was amazed at all the changes. UConn has Temple at home Saturday for Homecoming, after a tough loss to West Virginia last week by a 31-19 score. Connecticut had no business beating WVU, they are just not as consistently fast and athletic yet, but UConn could have made it a real game with a couple of breaks (including two dropped sure TD passes). Finally, watching the Miami-Louisville game last week, it's clear that L'ville would be the class of the Big East if they were in the conference this year. Ass you know, they're joining the BE next year along with Cincinnati and South Florida, while Temple goes bye-bye and Boston College goes to the ACC (All Cash Conference). By the way, Miami has now surpassed the Oregon Ducks as having the butt-ugliest unis in all of college football. Great to hear about Madison's success. Good luck the rest of the way! Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island (Sorry about our disagreement over uniforms. I still think Oregon's are the worst. Maybe that's because the Ducks, who were pretty good when they first introduced the space suits, are not very good now. Miami? Anything looks halfway-decent on a good team. It's when you lose that people notice how foolish you look. Rip Engel, who preceded Joe Paterno at Penn State (and coached him at Brown and mentored him at PSU) is the person behind Penn State's tradition of plain-vanilla uniforms - he is said to have rebuffed assorted suggestions to tart up the Lions' uniforms, saying, "How will it look when we lose?" HW) *********** ALABAMA - Ardmore - 40 Madison County - 0, 6-3 on the season. Back to back winning seasons - First time that has happened in 28 years. A win this Friday night puts us in the state playoffs. Barry Gibson, Ardmore, Alabama *********** GEORGIA - Nathanael Greene Academy 52 Holy Spirit Prep 0 We had one of those "I'd rather practice" type games Friday that did us no good at all with the exception of getting some young kids some well earned playing time. We dominated in every area and I know had another upper 400 yard game and we were throttling down after the first quarter. We are really not "all that" in reality but Holy Spirit is in their first year of football at the school and are going through the growing pains. We have our big cross town rivals next week "John Hancock" and it will determine First seeding in the playoff picture. They are a good tipple option team with very hard nosed players and it will take our absolute "A" game to win it. I'll keep you posted. We moved to 8-1 out scoring our opponents 308 to 64 on the year with one game left in regular season play. Thanks for all, Coach Larry Harrison, Head Football Coach, Nathanael Greene Academy, Siloam, Georgia *********** GEORGIA - Columbia (Decatur) 26, North Atlanta 14 (Eagles win two in row for first time in anyone's memory) *********** IOWA- Galva-Holstein 71, River Valley 0 - Varsity won 36-0 in 1st half, JV/Freshmen won 35-0 in second half 492 total yards - Starters A Back- 9 carries 87 yards 2 TD's, B Back- 9 carries 89 yards 1 TD, C Back- 11 carries 68 yards 1 TD, 1 reception 28 yards 1TD, QB- 2 carries 8 yards also 2 of 9 passing for 55 yards and a TD Backups, A Back- 2 carries 47 yards 1 TD, B Back- 4 carries 16 yards, C Back- 5 carries 120 yards 3 TD's I had to put the freshmen in to keep things under control up 71-0. JV beat them last night 68-0 in a little more than a half of football. They are banged up, and we tried to go easy on them. All told we beat them 193-0 (71-0 varsity, 68-0 JV, 18-0 Freshmen, 36-0 Jr High) Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa *********** KANSAS - Washington 12, Frankfort 8 - Coach Wyatt, Howdy from Washington, Kansas. Well, Coach I thought I'd drop you a line to let you know we moved to 4-3 with a 12-8 win over perennial powerhouse Frankfort on Friday. They were coming off four straight convincing wins after opening the season with four starters sidelined because of injury. Also, they were state semifinalists last year and almost always in the hunt. They lined up with 11 guys in the box. and because we had to play into a strong wind we were forced to run. The wind was so strong our punter even kicked to himself for a first down. We didn't manage much in the first half and gave up 88 yards rushing to them (they run the Wing-T and well), but in the second half we went to 6G and down blocked like we were supposed to and we rushed for over 100 yards in the third quarter alone to pull out the win. We threw a 41-yard TD pass from Over Strong Roscoe Red Red to my assistant coach's son in the fourth quarter. Then. we had to stop them inside our 20 on four plays in the final minute. It was awesome because a week ago we played another traditional powerhouse in Kansas and after jumping out to a 20-7 lead at halftime we gave up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including one in the final minute to fall 21-20. I think our kids are starting to get some of the mental stuff out of the way. However, we had the worst practice we ever had on Thursday after having a great practice on Wednesday. I wasn't sure they wanted to keep playing. Anyway, with one more win we are in the playoffs. Thank you coach for everything. Again congrats on a great season at Madison. By the way, I think I have several Black Lion candidates. Steve Cozad, Washington, Kansas *********** MINNESOTA- Benilde-St. Margaret's (7-1) finished the regular season as the Metro Alliance Conference champs by cruising to a 47-7 win over Mound-Westonka, and in the process earned the number one seed in the section 5-4A playoffs. We now have a first-round bye and don't have to play that Tuesday night game. Our next game will be in the section semi-final on Saturday, October 30 at 1:00. The extra few days off this weekend will be a big help especially since our A back Shane Fox tweeked his ankle on the first play of the second half. But even without Shane (who picked up 126 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown in just the first half) we managed to get our C back Joe LaVigne 118 yards and a touchdown, and Shane's back-up Rudy Luther raced for 116 yards and a score in only six carries in the second half! QB Alex Katkov was 3 of 5 for 65 yards and a touchdown. We piled up 486 yards of offense and held M-W to a total of 146. This is the second time in the past three years that BSM has gone undefeated in conference play, and the first time EVER that a BSM football team has finished the regular season with only one loss! Joe Gutilla, Minneapolis *********** MISSISSIPPI - Ocean Springs 28, Pascagoula 0 - We beat Pascagoula friday night 28-0. We had 341 yards of offense. We are now 8-0 on the season and ranked #5 in the state. We play the division championship game friday at home against Gulfport(8-1). Congrats on your fine season!! I'll keep you posted. Good luck! Steve Jones, Ocean Springs, Mississippi *********** NEW YORK - Queensbury 46 Mohonasen 14 . Coach, Mohonasen had 60 yards of offense and we had 450+. Actually completed 2 passes on Brown and Black O just so they know next week. Rematch with Burnt Hills next week. A 15-14 win for us last time . Hope you did well. John Irion, Queensbury, New York *********** NEW YORK - Lansingburgh 56  Albany Academy 35 - A great ground game tonight boosted us into the playoffs. A back (freshman) Kenny Youngs 15 carries  253 yards  3td's; b back AJ Faraci  20 carries 179 yards 1 td; Brandon Canty   11 carries  106 yards  3 td's. We had 620 yards of total offense. Pete Porcelli, Lansingburgh, New York *********** NEW JERSEY - St. Augustine Prep 26, Pleasantville 14 - Dear Coach Wyatt, finally, some good news to report. after enduring 5 straight losses to start the season, the. St. Augustine Hermits notched their first victory of the season, 26-14 over Pleasantville. For the first time this season, we were able to put together 4 quarters of football. The offense finally got into gear, rushing for 294 yards on 50 rushing attempts, and completing 6 of 9 passes for 90 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The offensive stats would have been a little more impressive if not for a 20 yard run and 30 yard touchdown pass erased by penalties, and a 20 yard touchdown pass that a back judge ruled was out of bounds when the side judge with a much better view of the play initially signalled touchdown. We scored twice on 88 super power, and once each on a 4 base lead and a bootleg right.senior devohn butler (22 carries, 125 yards, 2 catches 14 yards)and freshman Angel Clybourn (13 carries, 85 yards) spearheaded the rushing attack. This week we face an improved Middle Township team. While we have been eliminated from playoff contention, we can end Middle Township's chances of making the playoffs as we atempt to use the final half of this season as a spring board for next season. Sincerely, Francis Amar, Richland, New Jersey *********** WASHINGTON - Lakeside 24, Bishop Blanchet 12 *********** WASHINGTON - LaCenter 61, Hockinson 7 - It's not easy playing an old friend when you have one of the best teams in the state and he's working hard to get a brand-new program under way. So La Center's John Lambert faced the upleasant task of going up against friend and former assistant Rick Steele, in Hockinson's first year of football, and after the Wildcats built a 48-0 halftime lead, John pulled his starters. Now, only Ridgefield, which two years ago released Double-Wing coach Art "Ossie" Osmundson, only football coach in Southwest Washington ever to win a state title, stands in the way of an unbeaten regular season. Go Wildcats. *********** WISCONSIN - Coach Wyatt, I wanted to drop you a quick note and let you know that we won our 2nd consecutive conference championship. We are 9-0 and play in the first round of the play-offs tomorrow night. We have lost 4 starters in the last week to injury but our kids are ready to step up. We have outscored our opponents 360-38 on the season. This is our 7th season running the double wing and we have qualified for the play-offs each season. This has been our most successful season. We have rushed for over 2,600 yards and passed for over 650. Our A and B backs have 750 yards each and our C back has 450. We have added a few wrinkles of our own but super power, power, trap, 6/7G, reach, and counter are our base plays. Thank you for sharing your ideas and providing your website for the double wing. I would have emailed you sooner but I am a little superstitious about talking undefeated seasons. I will keep you posted on our play-off results. Sincerely, Keith Lehne, Grantsburg High School, Grantsburg, Wisconsin *********** I had 4th and 8. Ball carrier was forced out of bounds 1 yard short, however, the tackler continued the tackle after the whistle was blown and a personal foul was called for a late hit out of bounds. I thought I had the 1st. They gave the other team the ball and marked off 15 yards. Correct? Correct, unfortunately for you. They evidently ruled that it was a dead-ball foul (after the play was over), so the result of the play stands - runner is stopped a yard short, so the ball goes over - and then the penalty is marched off. HW *********** This is what we get as a result of all that "Zero Tolerance for Violence" crap... During lunch today some little piece of crap kid who was expelled half of last year jumped my back-up corner, so my starting center jumped in to break it up. Even though he did not throw a punch he will likely be suspended tomorrow and will not play. NAME WITHHELD Just another way that our society gelds the young American male. In an older, better day, the principal would have told the little creep that he was lucky he didn't have his lights punched out - if, in fact he didn't. Of course, in that older, better day, no little puke wouldn't have dreamed of jumping a football player, because he knew what would happen to him. *********** When Army beat Cincinnati two weekends ago, it ended a 19-game losing steak, the nation's longest. When Army followed right up and beat South Florida last weekend, it meant the Cadets had put together their first win streak (however short) in five years. There was excitement on the bluffs overlooking the Hudson, and with the football team facing a mid-season bye this past weekend, the superintendent rewarded the team by giving the players weekend passes. No one enjoyed the free weekend any more than plebe (freshman) linebacker Marcus Millen of Easton, Pennsylvania. Not only was he able to pay a visit to his friends and family on Saturday, but on Sunday he was able to attend the Giants-Lions game at the Meadowlands, in the company of his dad - Lions' GM Matt Millen. *********** I was thinking about what a dull-ass college football season this was becoming, what with all the Northwest teams in full-suction mode, and the usual industrial-strength powerhouses at the top, when I realized that I had completely forgotten about Auburn. That is the story of the year, when you realize that this time last year, the president and AD sneaked up to Louisville, behind Tommy Tuberville's back, and tried to hire Bobby Petrino as his replacement. While Tuberville was still on the job, trying to rally his kids. Just in case you think there's no justice - that president and that AD are now gone, and Tommy Tuberville's still on the job and unbeaten. Wonder where those two scuzzes got to. I also find it interesting because Auburn's first-year offensive coordinator, Al Borges (pronounced BOR-jiss) is a very bright, innovative guy. He is totally engrossed in football, a real student of the game. I got to know him when he was OC at Portland State back in the late 1980's and I was doing telecasts of their games. He was doing some really cool things, and helped get them to a national D-II title game. I remember once, early in my "career" as a color commentator, when I happened to note that on a particular play Portland State had used an unbalanced line (which they had). He told me afterward that when he listened to the tape and heard that, he thought, "this guy knows what he is talking about." I was flattered that he thought so. When Portland State head coach Pokey Allen went to Boise State, Al was offered the head job at PSU, but he turned it down and went to Boise with the rest of the staff, saying he wasn't ready to be a head coach. Good career move. From PSU he went to Boise State, then to Oregon, then UCLA, Cal, Indiana and, finally, to Auburn where, if the proper planets should align, he could be on the staff of a national champion. And who knows? Maybe this time he's ready to be a head coach. *********** Illinois BGYFL 115 LB NFC Gold Division: Bloomingdale Bears 47 Hanover Park Hurricanes 0 For the 3rd straight year the Bloomingdale Bears win the regular season title going 23-1 in that 3 year span. This has been a remarkable run for these 12 year old boys and it has been a privilege to help coach these boys over the last 3 season. The last 3 years has been tough for us in the post season but hopefully we will get over the hump this season. The last 3 years we have won the regular season championship but come up short on our quest for the BGYFL championship but this year is our year and we are determined to win the title this year at Northern Illinois University in 3 weeks. Today's game was very well executed on both sides of the ball. We kept it basic for the last game to not show to much for the playoffs. C back Clay Cooper scored on two long td runs off of 99 SP and 47 C XX and a 45 yard bomb off Red Red and continues to show why he is one of the top backs in the leagues. A back Nick Campanella scored on a beautiful 88 SP that he broke a number of tackles and scampered on a 40 yard td run. QB Erick King continues to operate this high powered machine and again hooked up with Cooper on a nice Red Red pass that covered 45 yards for a TD. Every time King throws the ball in this offense it goes for a TD or big gainer which makes us tough to stop. Well it's time for the second season and in the playoffs it's win or go home baby! Hopefully we will continue our dominance of the BGYFL and bring home that state championship this year. Next up Buffalo Grove Bills in the 1st round I'll let you know how we did coach. Hope all is well. Stacey King Bloomingdale Bears (Notice that Stacey King's sons don't play soccer. Neither do the two sons of his former Chicago Bulls' teammate, Michael Jordan. They are all football players! HW) *********** Hello Coach, The Hanover Park Hurricanes 100# gold team defeated the Bloomingdale Bears team 37-0 this past Sunday. Javon McDonald got the scoring going early on a 40 yard XX47C. And then again on 47C. Spread Rocket 38 Reach accounted for another score by Aaron Tabateau just before halftime. We really ate up the clock well and controlled the ball in the first half. Keith Wilson added two touchdowns in the second half on Over 38 G-O reach and 88 SP. During halftime I visited briefly with Coach Stacey King and saw his powerhouse team after our game. He's loaded with horses this year. A very precision offense indeed...these kids looked awesome. We have a bye week this coming weekend, and then a rematch with a Hinsdale team before the Bill George Championship at Northern Illinois University. This team is very excited. I'm happy for them, they've never had this kind of success before this year. Rgds, Coach John Urbaniak, HP Canes, Hanover Park, Illinois *********** Coach, Edmonds Cyclones 22 vs Mountlake Terrace 0, our big rival game. The win puts us seeded first in the playoffs with one game to go. The offense ran the clock and scoring when we had to (TR47C and Spread 88 Power). I was very happy with our defense scoring once and shutting them out. MLT is a very good team that's also well coached. Big win for the kids, we're now 7-0. Glade Hall, Seattle *********** Coach, Hope you had a great weekend. We moved to 5-2 on the season with a 33-0 win over Burnt Hills. Our last regular season game is next Saturday night against Ballston Spa. We scored all of our points in the 2nd quarter. 1 on 88 power keep, 1 on 56c, 1 on tight red red pass and 1 on a fly pass to our end out of spread formation. Our final score was on a punt return. We lead our division in scoring this year and have had 8 different players score a touchdown. The kids & parents love the Double Wing! I hope to have our whole organization running it next year. Thanks for everything! Mike Cahill, Guilderland Colts, Guilderland, New York *********** Their football certainly ain't what it used to be, as Stanford dropped an ugly 16-13 contest to Oregon when a last-second field-goal attempt failed. Used to be, though, they could take at least some solace in the fact that they were not your ordinary run of the mill knucklehead football factory. Oh, no - they were Stanford, the Harvard of the West, blah, blah, blah. Now, they can't even say that, judging from this post-game comment by their kicker: "if we were a half-yard closer, it would have went in." *********** Coach, I am really interested in your double wing system. My only reservation is the age at which I coach (7-8 yrs). At this age, some of the kids have trouble remembering if we're on offense or defense. I am afraid that it may be too complicated for them. In your play book do you have some basic plays that would be successful for this age level? I am an assistant coach this year. The head coach never even played football, but was willing to take the job because his kid is playing. I was offered the position but was hesitant because of my working conditions. At the time I wasn't sure if I could devote enough time to it. Now that I am involved, I love it, I make time to be there, and have already been told that I can have the HC job next year if I want it. The current HC and I didn't know each other prior to the season and he seemed reluctant to trust me and my suggestions. Luckily for the team there is another AC (an old team mate of mine) who the HC did know and trust. This other AC was our salvation. The HC listened to him. The HC has a problem of only being concerned with the action positions. He has it in his mind that there are important positions and unimportant positions. He only wants to focus on what he considers important and completely forgets the other kids, so long as they stay out of the way. He does have a history in baseball and seemed to want to coach the team as if we were playing baseball. Like only 1 or 2 kids could be or would be involved in a play. Our success this season has made it especially tough to change this guy's way of thinking. We are 6-2 at end of regular season and headed into the playoffs. This is the first year for a youth or pee wee football program in our area since when I played (25 yrs ago). Most of these kids knew what a football looked like, but that was about it. It is my opinion that we didn't spend enough time teaching the kids the basics; stance, correct blocking, correct tackling, etc. We are blessed to have some really good athletes and one in particular who is very fast. Our offense for most of the season has been "fast kid right" or "fast kid left". One team was able to shut down that play and by doing so, shut us down, totally. I suspect that if we had started from the beginning teaching the kids the basics, it might have been easier to teach them this offense. The league that we are in requires this age level to run a 5-4 defense. DE on outside shoulder of TE. OLB in line with DE. Every one else is head up. Any variation from this can be pointed out by the coach and the other team has to comply. Offense is a little more open, the only restrictions I can think of being; all tight, no split out, no shotgun. One coach can be on the field at all times. The advantage is that you always face the same defense. But again, are kids at this age ready for trapping, pulling, etc? As I mentioned we are still in season. But, I am already gearing up for next year. Rest assured that the kids will know the basics before the first game. I've probably given you more info than you needed. I guess I felt that if I am going to doubt that the kids are capable of running this offense, I also had to admit that our kids weren't coached very well in the first place. Any suggestions will be helpful. Thank You, NAME WITHHELD (**I doubt that the coach I mentioned would ever bother looking into your website (he already knows everything about football) Just the same though I would appreciate it if name and location were omitted, should you choose to post my question.) I will of course respect your confidentiality and not publish your name or address should I print your letter. In short, kids the age of yours can, indeed, be taught to pull and trap. Coaches all over the country will attest to that. I probably should do a better job of assembling the letters they write me and putting them on one page, instead of just printing them in my NEWS as they come in. It continually amazes me that people - I am not including you in that group - will insist that young kids can't pull and trap, and then those same people will build their offenses around having their kids drive block a man straight in front of them, which in my judgment is a much tougher technique to master. And the beauty of this system for a young lineman is that he really does get to feel that he is an important part of the play. *********** I just heard Erasmus James claim something along the lines of the cut-block that hurt his ankle against Purdue was premeditated and the offensive lineman was trying to take him out of the game. (You may not have seen the play - James on the line was cut from the side by an offensive tackle outside him.) Mark May lectured Joe Tiller from the studio: "Don't teach back-cut-blocking, it's dangerous, it's wrong, you can take away a player's career!" He did concede that front-cut blocking was fine. Trev Alberts chimed in with some sense to say "do you think Joe Tiller is teaching his players to take people out of the game?" Again, I don't see what's illegal - if the rules permit blocking behind the knees, then there's nothing unethical about it. I question why the rules allow that sort of clipping, but if it's legal then no one has an argument. Alberts had another point - "if James makes a big deal about this and lets people know it's in his head, they'll cut him every play." Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California (There sure seems to be a lot of ignorance on the part of the news media, players, and, apparently, coaches, as to what is a "cut" block, and what is a "chop" block. The former - a popular generic description, of any low block (a term, incidentally, which can't be found anywhere in the rule book) - may or may not be legal, depending on where the participants (blocker and blockee) lined up, and where the contact occured. The latter - a block below the waist against a defender who is already engaged with another blocker - is illegal under all circumstances. As you describe it, I get the idea that what Mr. James is complaining about may very well have been legal, in which case it was the responsibility of Mr. James and his coach - not Joe Tiller - to do something about it besides complain. I like Mark Mays, but this wouldn't be the first time he sounded off without first making sure of what he was talking about. HW) *********** Coach Wyatt, Just wanted to drop you a quick note to congratulate you on being recognized by Army for the Black Lion award. Enjoy your time with the Long Gray Line. That is quite an honor. Also wanted to congratulate you for the start of a fine season and record at Madison. 6-1 is a great start to the season. Watched Cal play this past weekend against UCLA and Cal's QB surely has fine mechanics. He holds the ball way up behind the ear which is the proper way to hold it as I understand it for proper football throwing technique. His footwork and faking show that he has been well schooled. Anyway also wanted to comment on always practicing finishing drives in practice with red zone offense. Remember the practice organization I talked about in earlier emails - well when practicing offense we always drove up and down the field. We always emphasized getting first downs to sustain drives when driving between the 20 yard lines. But when we got in the redzone our emphasis would change to we must always score. When we were running the double wing, the super powers were always our base play and we emphazed in the red zone we must score with this play. We would put 15 to 18 people on the defense and run these plays on the goal line. This gave us confidence that we could successfully run these in the game and make them work. Every drive was finished off with redzone O and scoring. Also wanted to comment on the coaches working on offensive linemen's stance for a week. I felt this was one of the keys to great offensive line technique and I worked on the linemen's stance every time I was with my linemen. Every day in practice that was the first thing we did in individual work and in the off-season during weight workouts or conditioning, we worked on it everytime I was with the linemen. The stance can never be worked on enough!!! The old line coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California *********** Hugh, Happened to catch a few minutes of these guys (Evangel Christian, of Shreveport, Louisiana) playing a Minnesota high school on FSN last night. While they're known for their wide open offense (no backs, etc.) the thing that most impressed me was how well they tackled! Next to last play of the game, an ECA kid made a tackle in which he put his face in the ball carriers chest, wrapped and made a clean tackle. But get this, his helmet came off during the tackle but he did not let go of the ballcarrier! Regards, Matt Bastardi, Montgomery, New Jersey *********** Regarding the kid whose mother excused him from high school football practice because it was his birthday, and she wanted the family to spend some time together, a youth coach writes: Regarding this cite... I had a similar call a couple of weeks ago, I told Momma that her little darling will not be playing if he misses practice. Needless to say he was at practice. I asked him, on the side, if his mom was upset at me and he said "My Dad and I grabbed my gear to come to practice early because she was yelling and crying and we needed to get away from her...." *********** I was dismayed that nothing was said about A-Rod's swatting the ball our of his opponent's hand. Yes, his team was penalized - he was out, and the runners had to return to base - but nothing happened to him, even though what he did was blatant cheating. Maybe that's because baseball has always taken a somewhat cavalier, boys-will-be-boys approach to the breaking of rules - spitballs, corked bats, pine tar on bat handles, stealing signs, slapping the ball out of a fielder's hand. *********** The Curse of the Bambino obviously doesn't apply to Boston College - at least not when the Eagles play Notre Dame. *********** Did anybody else hear about Kerry walking into a store in Ohio and asking, "Can I get me a hunting license here?" Wonder how long his aides had to work on him to get that blue-blooded aristocrat from St. Paul's School and Yale to say "get me." I suppose it would have been too over the top for him to ask for "one 'a them there huntin' licenses." Wonder what he'd have done if one of the fellas in the store had offered him a little snoose? ("Copenhagen, eh? Wonderful place! A great European city! When I'm President, I'll work more closely with our friends in Europe! I was raised in Europe, you know! Whatever it is, if it's European, it must be good! Why, yes, I believe I'll have some.")  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2004 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  October 22, 2004 "The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit." W. Somerset Maugham  2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here      A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS    EXTRA - MADISON (Portland, Oregon) 35, Marshall 23 - For the fifth straight week, our Madison Senators went in at halftime with the game in doubt. And for the fifth straight week, the Senators responded by dominating play in the second half. This time, the teams were tied at the intermission, 15-15. Madison sealed the deal with Andy Jackson's 13-yard touchdown run with 1:28 remaining. Madison is now 6-1, (5-0 in league play) with crucial games remaining against Jefferson (3-2 in league) and Grant (5-0). *********** The Puyallup (pronounced "pyu-AHL-up"), Washington School District has cancelled Hallowe'en celebrations in its schools this year. Reasons given were the need to concentrate on school work, concern for those kids who couldn't afford a costume and - get ready for this - concern for witches. Said a spokeswoman for the District, seemingly with a straight face, "We do have people in our community who are members of the wiccan religion (she really did say that) and blah, blah, blah, multicultural, blah, blah, blah, diversity, blah, blah, blah, respect for all cultures, blah, blah, blah...." I am not sh---ing you. *********** After practice the other evening, I noticed one of our freshmen players hobbling out of the locker room, and asked him what was wrong. He said he'd hurt his ankle. I asked him how it happened, and he said, "in the dude in the circle drill." *********** Now that my wife is retired, we often go out to dinner after practice. It's been pretty cool this past week, catching the last innings of the National and American League Championship Series at various pubs. The best place of all to watch a baseball game - and the one place we haven't been able to squeeze into - is a tavern in Northeast Portland called Li'l Cooperstown, which is guaranteed to be chock full of baseball fanatics whenever there's a game on TV. The Red Sox' four-in-a-row win is, of course, an incredible story. But what about St. Louis? There can't possibly be two better - and more deserving - baseball towns in this World Series than Boston and St. Louis. Man - St. Louis has got the answer to that obnoxious breed of little girls who insist on using the National Anthem as their audition tape: it's "God Bless America," played during the seventh-inning stretch. Just an organ playing it. No vocalist necessary - everybody in the stadium sings it! *********** I just got back from our morning walk. Walked past the school district offices and noticed a car parked in one of the administrators' spots bearing a series of Kerry-Edwards stickers. Prominent on the middle was one that said, "BUSH IS A MORON." I I walked in and told the secretary that as a patron of the district I was offended that anyone being paid with taxpayer funds and parked in a taxpayer-paid-for parking spot (clearly marked "ADMIN") would have such an inappropriate sticker on his/her car. Said that while a district administrator's pushing any candidate on school property is questionable, insulting our President was over the line. (Moron, eh? You don't suppose that drone administrator is pissed because George W. Bush got into Yale and Harvard Business School and he didn't?) *********** General Tommy Franks says that Mr. Kerry is not telling the truth when he claims we "outsourced" the capture of Osama bib Laden to "Afghan warlords." Wow. Talk about conflicted. Who to believe? That's a tough one for me. *********** COLORADO - Lyons 55 Wiggins 13 - Coach: We had 455 yards rushing and still lead the state in rushing yardage. I am starting to believe that the best plays against these goofy, unrecognizable defenses are 6G and 7G with a great option fake. We never run the option because we don't have enough time to work on it, but the fake after 6G and 7G is awesome. Thanks again for all you do! Gary Creek, Lyons, Colorado *********** IOWA - Coach, Clarion-Goldfield (5-2) secured its first back to back winning seasons in over 15 years last Friday night with a 18-13 win over Sumner-Fredericksburg. (You have to go back another 15 to get to the previous back-to-back winners.) Even with two first-team all district kids out with injuries, we were able to plug two kids into the offense who had hardly played all year. Many other offenses claim to be a "system," this offense truly is. *********** NEBRASKA - Stanton 14, Plainview 7 - Coach, Well, we played 5-1 Plainview who dropped down from C1 this year. They were 1-7 last year, playing all sophomores. We only ended up winning 14-7, but we dominated the game. We had 300 yards of offense to their 150. We also had 6 fumbles, losing two which would've been scores. (inside the 10 on one and inside the 20). I know every coach says the refs sucked, but I'm serious here. I think i'm going to send in a copy to the NSAA. We had 11 penalties for 105 yards to their 2-10!!! They called a personal foul once because we didn't get off the tackle soon enough!! On one penalty we scored to go up 21-0 with 3 mins to go in the game, but misteriously a flag fell AFTER our kid went out the back of the endzone!! Put us back to the 10 and then our QB fumbled. So the score looks way closer then the game really was. On their scoring drive we got 3 late hits on their QB and an unsportmanlike on me for contesting the third roughing the passer. It looks like we'll meet up with them again in the second round of the playoffs though. We have a chance to have back to back undefeated regular seasons in Stanton, which has NEVER happened in this town's history. Good luck next week! Greg Hansen, Stanton High School, Stanton, Nebraska *********** Coach - Hope all is well and congratulations on your season thus far. Couple of things to update you on. * As you know, we run the double wings at all levels and this is starting to pay dividends. The JV team in our organization (Lathrop Titans) is still undefeated at 7-0. They have a super quarterback who handles the ball like a magician. I have been coaching DW for 7 years now (has it been that long? Seems like yesterday we fist communicated) and he is probably the best I have seen. * My team, the Varsity, is also 7-0 and averaging about 44 points a game. Our best back Jon Jackson is at 999 yards for the season. He is averaging more yards per carry than Surrell from last year who I thought was "all-world". * For me, I have been transferred. I am heading back to Los Angeles as the SAC. Bigger Division, more responsiblity and a little more pay. I guess that means I will be bringing your clinic back to LA next spring, you can bet on that! * Big game this weekend. Have never beat this team in my 4 years here. In previous years I have installed all kinds of new things to attempt to beat them. This year we will stay in our base, Double TIght formation with a little spread. Keep it simple and block (and tackle) the hell out of em'. We will see how this approach works. Take care coach and good luck this weekend. John Torres, Lathrop, California *********** Hello, My name is Michael Buoniconti.  I am a youth football coach for a 13 yr old team.  I have coached the same kids since they were 7 yrs. old.  We put in the DW 4 yrs ago. WOW what a difference.  We went from 2-1-5 to 5-3 the first season.  During the second season, I figured out we scored 35 points a game despite my play calling.  We have been to the Super Bowl for the last two years winning one !!  However, this year I have a A back that runs like a deer.  He is so fast he can not be caught on the 38 reach (rocket motion).  He is strong and fast.  Slight problem though.  HE FUMBLES.  He fumbled 4 times in our last game.  Do you have any advice on how to handle the problem.  We have been through the standard drills on how to hold the ball.  If you have any drills that would be helpful it would be appreciated.  In addition, I believe it is becoming a mental issue for him as well.  Thank-you again. Officer Michael A. Buoniconti, Parker   Police  Department, Parker, Colorado Nice to hear from you. I'm glad that things are going well for you. I'm assuming that possibly Scott Barnes, a former Parker resident, may have been instrumental in the spread of the Double-Wing in Parker. If a player has a tendency to fumble, the approach, I have found, is: (1) Drilling (there are several drills listed among my TIPS), which you say you've been doing; (2) Insistence on having the ball carried in two hands - "both hands on both points" - until the runner is in the clear. "Unwrap it to score." Zero tolerance. (3) Curtailment of playing time. No matter how talented a player is, the coach has a responsibility not to put him in a position where he can cost his teammates a game. Before you can try to win a game, you first have to eliminate the ways you lose a game. I personally have no use for a player who fumbles. My philosophy is that a kid who can get us five yards and leave us in possession is far better than the guy who gets us 30 yards on one play and fumbles the next. Amazing sometimes what wonderful things "Coach Bench" can do. *********** Coach, As we approach the later part of our season we are running into teams that have scouted us heavily. We also run a good chance of playing a team we have already played in the playoffs. For this reason I was thinking of installing some "slot" plays to change things up a bit. With all due respect--- Nobody gets scouted any more than I do. The answer at this point in the season, I think, is not to do something radically different (which slot is) but to work on getting your kids better. *********** Coach Wyatt, Just wanted to pass you a little note, to thank you for letting us into your playbook and teaching all of us double wingers a simple yet very effective offense. Barnum went 5-3 this year, losing only one conference game and two nonconference game to the number two ranked team and the number 12 ranked team in the state of minnesota in class 2A. We are a class A team with half the numbers of those 2A teams. We reached number two seed in our section playoffs and won our conference title. The first time in 14 years to bring a conference title game to our little town of Barnum, Minnesota. Kevin Haley, Barnum High School *********** Hi Coach Wyatt, I wanted to give you an update on how the regular season ended for my 6-8 YO team. We ended the 10 game regular season undefeated. We scored a total of 235 points in those games and we had 13 of our 20 players score for us. Our starting defense gave up a grand total of 6 points all season. We now head into a 32 team tournament. Looks like we can make a serious run at winning it all this year. Thanks for all your help over the years. Craig Thomas, Kettering Firebirds, Kettering, Ohio *********** Hey Coach, Congratulations on your 5-1 record! Thats a huge turnaround for that program. Sorry for the delay in the update but, its been a crazy week so far. We are getting ready to play our 3rd game in 7 days this Friday. Last Friday we improved to 6-0 by beating Vangard HS 49-21 to become district champs. We had a great game scoring on all but one possession (our kicker got a FG attempt blocked - he never got the ball more than 18 inches off the ground), and rolling up 511 total yards (385 on the ground and 126 through the air) on a total of 57 plays. Our QB was 6-9 with 3 TDs. Our defense was excellent as well. After giving up 2 TDs in the 1st Quarter, we pitched a shutout until late in the 4th when we were playing our scout defense against VHS's starters. Most of our starters did not play in the 4th quarter. After our great game on Friday night, we came right back on Monday and played even better during our make-up (hurricane related) game against North Marion HS. Our offense cruised to a 28-0 halftime lead and added another TD on the first play of the 2nd half on 2 Wedge to go up 34-0. We then started to sub liberally and our 2nd team offense managed to move the ball into FG range and we made our first FG of the year (yeaaaa). Our scout defense did give up another late TD to NMHS's starting offense and the game ended with a final score of 37-8. In just over one half of work, the offense rolled up 429 total yards, with 323 coming on the ground and the other 106 through the air (3 for 4, no TDs). We managed to stay relatively injury free in our 2 games in 4 days and have been busy getting ready to play this Friday at Gainesville. It should be great game being that GHS was at one time ranked 4th in the State in our classification but, have since dropped 2 games to two very good teams. I will try to do a better job keeping you up to date. Good luck this week. Regards, Donnie Hayes, Belleview HS, Belleview, Florida *********** Coach, Millersville 42 - Maryland City Mustangs 0 We are now 8-0 with our shutout win over the Mustangs this past weekend. For a change this game all the scoring was done offensively. We scored on SP's, Counters, wedge and a 5-X. We threw the ball four times and completed 3 of them for 63 yards. The field wasn't in the greatest condition, a rain storm had passed through a few hours before the game started. On thing that I was able to do - which makes being a coach so rewarding. I have a player on my team that was starting as an End (X), however he had gotten hurt and was sidelined for two weeks. Well just so happened that his grandparents had flown in from Idaho to watch their grandson play a football game. This player is a second team running back and I was using my second team backs. To make a long story short, he was able to score on a 9-yard SP. We then followed it up by allowing a career lineman of 5 season to run the extra point in on what else.....another SP - which was truly the highlight of the game. We have a bye this weekend, so we are going to take the time to rest and begin to prepare for the playoffs. Until next week... Take Care, Jason Clarke, Millersville Wolverines - 115lb Team, Millersville, Maryland *********** Hey Coach, Just finished up our first season running the DW. We had a very successful season going 6-1. Our stats for the season: Team rushing 216 - 1495 YPC 6.92 Starting backfield. I taxied my plays in with my B-backs A back 72 - 666 YPC 9.25 B back 16 - 141 YPC 8.81 B back 29 - 169 YPC 5.82* C back 58 - 496 YPC 8.55 *sit down for this one coach this B-back was a girl. Doug Pauley, 7th grade football Chestnut Ridge High School, New Paris, Bedford County, Pennsylvania I can believe it. I once had a player, when I was coaching semi-pro ball, who came from a little patch named Beans Cove, PA, in Bedford County. His name was Terry McElfish, and when I first came across him, he was a recent Vietnam vet who was riding with a motorcycle gang in Cumberland, Maryland. He was a bruising 5-7, 240-pound fullback whose running earned him the nickname "Mack Truck", quite an honor in a town whose biggest employer was Mack Trucks. He also kicked extra points. Barefoot. But he didn't kick soccer style - he kicked straight on, toe into the ball. Mac lived life hard, and he met a tragic end when he was shot to death a couple of years ago on a snowy country road in rural Bedford County. It suspect it was an execution. They'd have had to shoot him, because he was the toughest human being I have ever known. And his mother was as tough as he was. *********** From the official site for Yale athletics: For the first time since the U.S. Presidential election process came down to Republicans vs. Democrats, candidates from the same undergraduate institution oppose each other. Since a Yale man (graduate school included) will occupy the White House for the fifth straight term - and both of the current candidates were athletes - we surveyed the largest Bulldog team to see who was getting the most support. The 2004 Yale Football team leans to the right with 62 players voting for George Bush '68 (baseball). John Kerry '66 (lacrosse, hockey, soccer), who shared the Yale campus with his opposition for two years as an undergraduate, got 27 votes while 11 players said they were undecided. Well - they may be intellectuals, but they're not stupid. *********** And we're expecting these kids to defend our country and pay into our social security... I thought I had heard some pretty good excuses for missing fb practice in the past, but the one I got today may top them all. I just had a voice mail from a mother of one of our sophomore players. She was explaining that because her son works weekends and has football practice and games, they don't get much family time. Therefore, since today is his 16th birthday, they are letting him skip school and he won't be at practice tonight so they can spend time together. NAME WITHHELD When he comes back he will probably want to know why he isn't starting. *********** Earlier this season, I subscribed to ESPN GamePlan in the hope that I might get to see an Army game or two. Sure enough, we've seen four already. The first was against UConn, and after just one quarter of that one I had my doubts as to whether Army would win a game. But the next week, against TCU, I saw a totally different team, and the difference, it seemed to me, was in intensity. They played like an Army team. They didn't win, but they were in control for a little more than 59 minutes. The came the Cadets' win over Cincinnati, ending the nation's longest losing streak. Alas, it wasn't on TV. But last Saturday more than covered my investment, as I watched a convincing Army win over South Florida, giving Army its first "win streak" (okay, okay - only two games) in something like six or seven years. I am getting excited about November 6 and the game against the Zoomies - as Army guys derisively refer to the Air Force. *********** This explains a lot - I just read that Ray Lewis was a two-time Florida state 189-pound wrestling champion. *********** This week's Political Incorrectness Award goes to the bozos announcing the North Carolina-Utah game who kept pronouncing Tar Heel receiver Jarwarski Pollock's last name not as POLL-ock, but as POLE-ock. Where I come from, if you'd called a guy named Jarwarski a Polack, you'd have been guaranteed a knuckle sandwich.  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2004 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  October 19, 2004  "I hate intellectuals. They are from the top down. I am from the bottom up." Frank Lloyd Wright, famed architect   2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here      A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  *********** OREGON - Madison (Portland) 18, Franklin 14 - The Madison Senators made it five wins in a row with a come-from-behind Homecoming Game triumph over the Franklin Quakers (as a Pennsylvanian, one thing I know is that Benjamin Franklin was many things, but he was definitely not a Quaker.) The Senators took the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards for a score, the TD coming on a 25-yard pass from Tony Stutevoss to Alex Nalivaiko. But the Senators stumbled offensively the rest of the half, and fell behind at halftime, 14-6. Among the stumbles were three major penalties and a lost fumble, only the second of the season. In the second half, the Senators totally shut down the Quakers defensively, holding them to just 32 yards (29 rushing, 3 passing), while rushing for 171 yards and two TDs. Time of possession was 15:48 to 8:12 in Madison's favor, and the game ended with the Senators taking a knee at the Franklin 10. All told, Madison rushed 57 times for 294 yards. Talk about pressure - knowing full well that a feature story on him was scheduled to run today in the Portland Oregonian, A-back Andy Jackson carried 30 times for 198 yards and two TDs, giving him 1130 yards for the season. (The story can be found at http://www.oregonlive.com/prepfootball/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1098187567136340.xml ) This Friday: at Marshall, where we are the homecoming opponent. (That's what people used to think of us.) *********** Coach Wyatt, I have waited until now to give you an update on the success of our team because I wanted to be able to report after this past weekend when we played the only other undefeated team in our 4th Grade league. Our team, the Lions, and the Cougars each had perfect 6-0 records coming in to the game, and the Cougars had not allowed a single score against them all season long (we had only allowed 2 TDs total in our 6 games). The opposing head coach had told our HC ahead of time (they are friends) that he didn't think our DW scheme was a 'real' offense and that they weren't really worried about our little 'scrum' play (referring to the Wedge). To make a long story short, we ran our 'scrum' play down their throat, averaging 4.7 ypc, and shut them out 12-0. Toward the end of the game, one of the opposing coaches was overheard saying, "Well, I thought it was a joke offense……..I'm finding out it's not." We had two other great chances to score that we squandered, and they never came close to scoring on us, netting only 57 yds and 4 first downs the entire game. We are assured a first round bye in the playoffs having clinched our conference title, and expect to meet the Cougars again in the City Championship game in a few weeks. If we take care of our business, however, we might be facing the only other DW team in our league that is in the Cougars' conference!! They have only lost one game this season (a close loss to the Cougars a couple of weeks ago). All in all, quite a testament to the effectiveness of the DW. Another coach of the only 6th grade team in our league that runs the DW (also 6-1 this season) came to our last game to watch us play. He had heard how well we ran the DW, and he told me after the game that 2 years ago, he and one other coach of a youth team in another suburb of Dallas were the only two coaches in North Texas he knew of running the DW offense at the youth level. He said he also had obtained the coaching materials from your website, and has even attended a coaching clinic you put on. He complimented us, saying that he couldn't believe we were running the DW so well in our first year without any of us ever having been to a coaching clinic. This is really a great compliment to you, Coach Wyatt. Your playbook and coaching videos we purchased are so well produced and we have tried to follow them to the letter. The kids believe in the system, and our best running back understands that he succeeds when we set him up with our other plays that don't go to him. Our base set of plays includes the Wedges, 88/99 power (we're beginning to work on installing SP), 47/56-C (ditto on the XX), 38/29 G-O, and recently 77-Rip-Stop and 66-Liz-Stop (we struggled with 5/6-G early on &endash; we'll work on that next season again.) We have also run Red-Red and Blue-Blue successfully when we need to pass. Our starting B back is averaging close to 7 ypc on the Wedge this season, and it has become our 'signature' play. The linemen love running it!! We have run all our plays this year out of the basic tight formation, but can't wait until next year to start running some of our plays out of different sets to further confuse the opposing defenses. Before our first scrimmage just a couple of weeks after we starting installing the DW, our head coach came to me and said "you know, it's not too late to put the 'I' back in." Fortunately, he was only half-serious at the time, and I'm certain that a large degree of our success is due to our complete devotion to your philosophy. We thought we were really going to sneak up on some teams with this offense, and nearly fell over laughing when the very first team we scrimmaged against also came out running the DW!!! That team turned out to to be the 6-1 team I mentioned above. I'll keep you posted on our progress through the playoffs, but we were convinced a long time ago that the DW offense has given us our best chance to win week in and week out. Thanks again for providing all of the fantastic materials and advice on your website. I hope you'll consider coming to Texas next year when you're putting together your clinic schedule!! Scott Huffman, 4th Grade Optimist Lions, Arlington, Texas *********** Coach, The Guilderland Colts Pop Warner Jr. Midgets won Saturday night 20-0. I finally have convinced my best player that he needs to take some snaps at QB and he scored on 88 power keep. We were up 20-0 at half and stayed strong on defense and let the second team finish the game on offense. We have improved to 4-2 on the season and lead our league in points scored through 6 games. Our defense has also tossed 3 shutouts so far this year. We have high hopes to finish at 6-2 and get a home playoff game or two next month. I hope you had a good weekend and our kids can't wait to go to West Point on November 6th to see Air force and Army square off. I hope you can find it in your busy schedule to say hi to the team. They are really looking forward to meeting you. Mike Cahill, Guilderland Colts, Guilderland, New York *********** NFL head coaches who have taken a team to a Super Bowl and then returned to college to coach in Division I-A: Walsh, Robinson, Allen, Ross, Callahan *********** Hi Coach, Here is a load of BULLSH--. Yesterday our middle school team was getting there ass handed to them but I looked at the score and it only read 2-0. It turns out there is some rule in Washington that they don't keep score in the 2nd quarter or something. Have you heard of this? Have the soccer moms invaded football in this godforsaken left wing communist state! Mike Studer, Kittitas, Washington Don't know anything about that - I don't believe that the WIAA has any jurisdiction over middle schools. Sounds like something Senator Patty ("Osama did a lot of good things") Murray would have concocted. Sure hope those kids felt better, knowing that nobody was keeping score. *********** Coach Wyatt: What will it take to get you to quit coming to Iowa? You can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting a DW team!! Within a 50 mile radius we have, Galva-Holstein (ranked #1 Class A), Alta (5-1), Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn (5-1), Manning (state ranked) and Hinton. Alta, MMC & Hinton are in the same district!! Enough is enough!!! When I was coaching at Keokuk, we were one of the first (if not the actual first) teams to run the DW. I remember thinking, "What in the world is this offense?", when coach Don Capaldo brought it to the coaching staff. That year we had a LOADED junior class that was just beginning to learn the multiple set system that Coach Capaldo brought with him two years earlier. At the time, I thought it was a bad move. But, the staff bought into the system, and the next year we went undefeated, finishing the season ranked #4. I totally understand why all the teams in this area are looking at the DW. They need to look no further than Alta. Alta had not had a winning season since 1978 (as far as anyone around here can remember) before installing your version of the DW. Alta had been running their own version, with some success, but could never get over the hump. Too much confusion among the players. The system wasn't systematic like your system is. Upon arriving at Alta, I was able to convince the staff that we should look at your DW system. They were quickly sold, and the program took off from there. I believe my experience with your system at Keokuk was a big selling point. Combine the DW with quality kids who work hard (we are a bunch of ankle biters...we won't scare anyone getting off the bus), and you get a program that has gone 6-3, 7-2 and currently 5-1 the past three seasons. This team controls its own destiny for the school's first ever playoff appearance. The offense has made our kids stronger and more aggressive on both sides of the ball. It has also helped them become more disciplined in their approach to offense and defense. It's amazing how their understanding of attacking different defenses carries over to understanding what different offenses are trying to do to us. This is not just an offensive system...it's a program-changing system. So, I guess if you must come to Iowa...then by all means...come. BUT...could you keep your visits a secret? I'm getting tired of staying up at night trying to figure out how to defend against all of these other DW teams!!!! Scott Lovell, Alta High School, Alta, Iowa *********** I mentioned last week that H. Ross Perot had bought 10,000 sopies of a book on Medal of Honor winners, to be donated to every public school in Texas, and I mentioned that I consider him to be a great American. This from Scott Barnes, in Rockwall, Texas, who has worked for Mr. Perot for years: Most everyday Americans don't have a clue what HRP does for this country's veterans on a daily basis. He recently (a few weeks ago) stepped down as Chairman of the Board. To the casual observer, it seemed like the "thing to do", given his age. But I know better. He is still one of the first in the office -- but he spends his entire day just helping others -- primarily vets. That's not speculation, it's fact. And all you have to do is visit my office and you'll see the corridor walls lined with gratitude from our service men and women, starting back to the Vietnam era. But that sort of thing doesn't make good press, and most liberal media don't understand it. They think he must have a "motive" or he's just a "kook". Well, neither is true. He's just a REAL American Hero who loves his country more than most, and puts his money where his mouth/heart is. I'm passionately loyal to the "o'l man", and I'd lay it all on the line for him. No questions asked. *********** On another note, my friend 2nd Lt ----- ----- said he is "very nervous" about the idea of Kerry becoming commander in chief. He said if most of Unfit For Command is true, Kerry has "serious issues." He also said he's yet to find an officer at Benning who supports the guy. One referred to Jawn as a "lying sack of sh--." Regardless of Kerry's decisions as CiC, it seems he's already lowering troop morale! NAME WITHHELD In this most shameless of campaigns, the people of the armed forces continue to display more professionalism than any other profession I can think of in refraining from comment on an issue that impacts them more than any other profession. HW *********** Hello Coach Wyatt, Week 7 is in the books and my team has improved to 6 & 1. We beat the Panthers 27 to zero. So far in the last two games calling both offense and defense (which I call a stunt/blitz every play) hasn't drained me. My team has made me look like I know what I'm doing on D by pitching two back 2 back shut outs. The O scored on the second play of the game on a 40 yard perfectly blocked (vs. the 6-1) 3 Trap @ 2. My B-back was untouched and I think it surprised him when he popped through the first level on his way to the endzone. The D got the ball back in 4 downs and after running 2 88 Super Powers I came back with XX 47 C. My C-back walked in from 35. I replaced my starters on O after that because only 4 minutes into the game we were up 14 to zero. I kept the starters in on D though. My 2nd O scored on Stack 22 Wedge, and I have to tell you after never running Stack prior to this year, I am a Stack "I" lover. Especially on a wet/muddy field, which is what we played on Friday night during a slight rain storm. The 2nd unit scored again on 99 Super Power from about 30 yards out. What made this work so well was that the C back ran so close to the pullers that once he hit the hole he passed the first level and cut back right, on the slick field, and was untouched into the endzone. What I liked most about the game was that the official on my sideline asked me (during a break) what kind of offense was I running. I told him it the Brian Mackell version of Hugh Wyatt's Double Wing. He then said well what ever it is, he had never seen it before and he said that it seems to be unstoppable. He then said if my teamed moved the ball this well on a bad field in the rain, he could only imagine how good it would look on a dry surface. I told him far more effective. Up next for us is the team that beat me twice last year (12-6 each time). This game will determine who the 2 & 3 seeds will be. We win and we will be the 2 seed and should finish the season at 8 & 1. This is the team that runs a blitzing 5-3 Stack defense. They will get a few plays from slot and over/under tight this Friday night. But of course a heavy dose of Tight, and some Stack I. I have my Game Face on already. :-), Thanks Coach Wyatt, Brian Mackell, Severn Seminoles 130lbs, Glen Burnie, Maryland *********** Coach, Edmonds Cyclones 50 - Eastside Crusaders 13 - Played another hard hitting team but they could not catch up with our counters and mis-direction. It also helps to score 14 points on defense as well. It was 42-0 at the half so I emptied the bench in the second half and scored another 8 points to make it half-a-hundred. Our kids have so much confidence in our offense that they feel they can score on every play. Next week we play our cross town rival in the big game of the year. We'll be ready. Glade Hall, Seattle *********** Hello Coach....The Hanover Park Hurricanes 100# gold team defeated the Hinsdale Falcons by a final of 31-6. Aaron Tabateau got things going on the 7th play with Lead XX 56C from 35 yards out. Next possesion Javon McDonald sprung Spread Lazer 29 Reach from 40 yards. Lead XX was there all day going both ways...Alex Morrow got chucks of yards on 3 trap at 2. With this victory and 1 to go it puts us in a great position for an appearance at the Bill George Championship game at Northern Illinois Univ. We'll be the second seed. Our speed should be a huge advantage over the number one seed. We'll see what happens. I'm anxious to hear about your game over the weekend. Regards, John Urbaniak HP Canes 100#, Hanover Park, Illinois *********** Hello coach, I just went through the "tips" section of your site and did not find any "situational" play calling suggestions! You know.  What to call on 1st and long, 2nd and short, 3rd and whatever.  Those kinds of situations.  I think it might benefit me to make up a play sheet that I can refer to, during a game, rather than trying to come up with the right play during a game's 25 seconds between plays.  Having a pre-planed set of 2 or 3 plays for each situation just might make my game play calling better.  As always, any advice is appreciated. I may get around to it, although I don't really go by any hard-and-fast guide, but by what I sense is the best play to run at that particular moment, after mentally weighing any number of factors. HW *********** Are you as pissed at the idea of intentional grounding as I am? There is something definitely wrong with the rules when a guy lines up in shotgun on his own 15, first and 10, the ball is snapped over his head, he runs back and scoops it up in the end zone and throws it out of bounds and there's no penalty, no safety, no nothing. It's just an incompletion. Second and 10. (Stanford vs. Washington State last Saturday night) *********** FLORIDA - Umatilla 40, Mount Dora 6 - Sonny Cunningham ran for more than 100 yards for the second week in a row, rushing for 161 yards and scoring two touchdowns. *********** FLORIDA - Goleman (Miami) 43, Miami Lakes 42 - Dear Hugh, We did it!!! We beat Hialeah Miami Lakes 43-42. 534 total yards and we came from behind a twelve point deficit to win not once but twice. We threw the ball a whopping two times for two completions and a TD. I have to believe after this win we are serious contenders for the district title. We play Miami Springs this saturday night. Springs is struggling, but we cannot afford a let down. We are 4-2 and leading the district. Thanks again for all the help. Hope all is well with you. Leonard Patrick, Goleman HS, Miami *********** GEORGIA - Nathanael Greene 30 Thomas Jefferson 14 - Hugh, We got a huge win over top ranked Thomas Jefferson Friday with a comeback of most unlikely proportions. We got jumped on quickly by a group of very quick and very aggressive, very well coached kids and was in the hole 14-0 after only 7 minutes had been played. I was thinking that "Oh my goodness, we are going to get slaughtered!" The character of my kids really started to show as we began punching away on offense and after the first two series, we got adjusted to their speed and shut them down to less than a handful of first downs on the night. Our offense butchered the TJ defense and was up in the 450 yard range. Not bad against the top rated team in our region. I guess we will be at the top now but we have 2 games left, both region games that will be very important on the playoff layout. 30 unanswered points was a great relief for me after that sleepy start but I have been blessed with a great group of fine, skinny, unassuming but hard working country boys of character, that refuse to except that they aren't big enough, fast enough, or strong enough. They are doing the offense proud. 286 points VS opponents 64. We are 7-1. Thanks for all, Coach Larry Harrison, Head Football Coach, Nathanael Greene Academy, Siloam, Georgia *********** GEORGIA - Columbia 38, Forest Park 0 - Eagles end 13-game losing streak, dating back to September 26, 2003 *********** ILLINOIS - Elmwood-Brimfield 20, Lewistown 18 - Coach, The E/B Trojans traveled to 5-2 Lewistown last Friday, a place we hadn't won at in thirteen years. Following a slow start, in which we spotted them two first quarter touchdowns, the Trojans battled back to win 20-18. The difference in the game - they couldn't convert extra points (they attempted a kick following their first TD - only the fifth attempt all year) and we could (2 for 3 kicking). I really feel we had the game under control going into halftime, even though we were down 13-18 (they scored with one minute to go in the second quarter). The second half proved I was right. Defensively, we took them out of their long-ball game plan by getting pressure on the quarterback, keeping the receivers in front of us, and forcing them to march the ball, which they couldn't. Funny that when you force somebody to earn their points when they're not used to doing so, they can't (and frustration sets in). Offensively, we took nine minutes in the third to score the go-ahead touchdown. Then, following a three and out by them, we took another nine minutes to march to the 1 yard line. We fumbled, but we had definately won the mental and physical game at that point. We intercepted them on their next two possessions and took a knee. Proof the double wing works: Their defensive line, from left to right - 6'4" 260, 6'6" 275, 5'8" 150, 6'2" 210, 5'10" 185. Our offensive line from left to right, including tight ends: 6'2" 170, 6'2" 175, 6' 175, 5'10" 210, 5'6" 165, 5'11" 175, 5'7" 145. They flip-flopped, trying to guess where we would run Super Power. It didn't matter. We ran right at the big guys just as much as away. And when we went to the stack, oh man did we kick their tail! 281 yards rushing on 47 carries. We were also 4 for 7 passing for 2 td's and 38 yards. We're now 7-1, playing our final regular season of the game this Friday at home, with the potential to match our best record ever, (8-1from last year) and lock up a home playoff game. Eight wins would also make seniors the winningest class ever (22 wins - not great, but a step in the right direction and something they can be proud of). So, another big week for us. Have a great day, Todd Hollis, Head Football Coach, Elmwood-Brimfield Coop, Elmwood, Illinois *********** IOWA - Galva-Holstein 61, Lawton Bronson 0 - 34 rushing attempts 423 yards - 2 of 3 passing for 11 yards STARTERS- A Back 9 carries 125 yards 2 TD's, B Back 2 carries 4 yards 1 TD, C back 8 carries 125 yards 3 TD's, QB 6 carries 37 yards Backups - A and C backs 6 carries 78 yards 2 TD's, B back 1 carry 3 yards, QB 1 carry 8 yards Also wing (in punt formation) 1 carry for 43 yards. Yes I faked it up 40-0. I would not have done it BUT their kids were being very cheap! (kneeing us in the cojones, headbutting, scratching and clawing at us. Should see my backs, looks like they crawled through razor wire. Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa (This was Coach Knight's career win #50. HW) *********** MINNESOTA - Benilde St. Margaret's 28, St. Anthony 21 - Hugh, Benilde-St. Margaret's clinched its second conference championship in three years as the Red Knights held off St. Anthony 26-21 on a cold, windy, rainy night. The Red Knights offense churned out 392 yards with A back Shane Fox accounting for 185 of the yards rushing. While the St. Anthony defense was keyed on stopping Fox, B back Ryan McCarthy stung them with two break-away Red-Red B Draws, and C back Joe LaVigne broke away for big gains on Wing Right 47 C and Tight Criss-Cross 47 C. When the St. Anthony defense brought nine in the box to stop the run QB Alex Katkov threw a 2 Red Pass out of Wing Right to TE Cody Anderson for a TD, and hit Anderson again on a Stack 47 C TEX Pass (Tight Ends Cross) for a big first down late in the game. We currently hold the number two seed in the section now thanks to Northfield's win over Holy Angels. All that's left in the regular season is for us to beat Mound-Westonka (1-6), and hope that St. Paul Highland Park can knock off the number one seed in our section (Minneapolis Washburn) in the Twin Cities championship game. If that happens we'll get the number one seed via the tie-breaker AND get a BYE in the first round of the section playoffs. That would be HUGE because it would mean we would not have to play that Tuesday night playoff game and our kids would get a lot of rest before we play in the section semi-final game. Joe Gutilla, Minneapolis *********** MISSISSIPPI - We won our 7th game in a row friday night. We defeated Harrison Central 40-7. We are 7-0 on the season. We have had over 450 yards of offense each of the last 4 games. next friday: at Pascagoula. Steve Jones, Ocean Springs, Mississippi *********** NEW YORK - Corning West 22, Elmira Southside 0 - Jeremy Blanchard threw two touchdown passes to Kenyan Hicks and ran for a third as Corning West shut out Elmira Southside 22-0. Blanchard was 3-for-3 passing for 117 yards and 2 TDs. *********** NEW YORK - Lansingburgh 47, Cohoes 8 - HI Hugh: We beat Cohoes today 47-8 and improved to 6-1. Our A and B backs (brandon canty and AJ Faraci) both combined for 210 yds rushing. overrall, we had 375 yds rushing. We head into a matchup with albany academy next week with the winner automatically getting a playoff berth. Pete Porcelli, Lansingburgh, New York *********** NEW YORK - Queensbury 36, Amsterdam 20 Coach, I guess we are pretty good. We have 2547 rushing yards so far this year in the 7 games. Leading our section. We are last in passing , though, with 84 yards. Believe it or not, we CAN pass. No one believes me. Hope your game went well. Thanks, John Irion, Queensbury, New York *********** NORTH CAROLINA - Enloe 14, Southeast Raleigh 10 *********** WASHINGTON - La Center 61, White Salmon 14 - La Center moves to 7-0. This one is especially sweet for Double-Wing coaches everywhere, because for years the White Salmon coach has taken pride in his Double-Wing defense package, the basis of which is illegally cutting blockers at the knees. Halftime score: La Center 48, White Salmon 0. *********** WASHINGTON - Newport 10, Kettle Falls 6 *********** Out of control parents in youth sports reared its ugly head again this week. One of our younger teams had a parent storm the sidelines and threaten the coach three separate times that he was going to take him out and/or drop him. He was upset over the fact that the other team was winning and he felt a new coaching strategy should take place. This guy has been given enough rope to hang himself several times over this season. I now have the task of expelling him from our organization on Tuesday. I'll have one of (our town's) finest in tow to make sure things run smoothly. It's just a shame that parents can't let their kids play without acting like f--king morons. This guy spent two years in jail for domestic violence and still does not get it. Tuesday should be interesting. NAME WITHHELD *********** Coach, will you be doing a clinic in or near Kentucky this year?  I love the offense and would like to attend one of your clinics.  Which high schools in KY are presently using this offense?  I teach and coach in Murray, KY (west corner) so you may have a school in west Tennessee or southern Illinois or Missouri that I could go watch, if not in Kentucky. We are a single-A school and we went 5-2 this year; this is my first year in KY (brought the offense with me from Louisiana - Block High School); the two losses were to three-A schools; we outscored the other A and AA schools 146 - 6; we rushed for 1249 yards on 161 carries for the season ( 7.8 yards per carry) and we completed 14 of 29 passes for 328 yards( 23.4 yards per completion / completed 48% of passes). Thanks, Paul Glynn - Murray Middle School (The closest is probably Crockett County HS, in Alamo, Tennessee, where they've built a heck of a program. HW) *********** Coach, Reading about the Idaho kicker problem and your take on "specialists" made me laugh for two reasons. First, last year one of my assistants (who doesn't work at the school) was asked by a co-worker if we allowed our soccer players to kick for us. His response: "we don't have soccer, and if we did, we wouldn't allow it. You're either on the team or you're not." She replied that we must not want to win very badly. Well, we went 8-2 and her son's team went something like 2-7. Guess they needed more soccer players. Second, within the last week I was approached by a sophomore girl about her playing football next year: "I want to kick for you." I told her I wouldn't stop anybody from going out, but that we should probably speak individually if she was serious. I quickly got out that she would be required to do everything everybody else does, though. She agreed before she moved on to her next class. Whether she tries to play or not, at least she seemed to get that she would have to be part of the team. There's an issue in Illinois right now dealing with a football player who was ejected from a game. The rule is that he miss the next game. Who knows what story to believe, but it seems the IHSA ok'd him for the next game (#2) while they reviewed it, and then suspended him for the following game (#3). Then, the IHSA came back and said he shouldn't have played in game #2, and that the school must forfeit it. Problem is, nothing was ever in writing, so there's not proof as to what transpired. In the end, the school and coach should have just suspended the kid for game #2 and taken their chances with that opponent. It never would have been an issue and a clear message that rules are meant to be followed would have been sent. Todd Hollis, Head Football Coach, Elmwood-Brimfield Coop, Elmwood, Illinois *********** I've been saving this quote for a while... Remember the LSU-Oregon State game, when an OSU kicker missed three extra points - the third one in overtime - to cost the Beavers a chance at an upset win? Well, one of his teammates, defensive tackle Sir Henry Anderson (one sure way of getting people to address you as "Sir") expressed what I've generally observed to be the attitude of real football players toward the twinks who only kick: "I figure if all you do is kick, if you've got all that free time and you're not out there in the heat practicing three or four hours, then you need to make the kicks. I feel no sympathy for kickers. I don't think they should miss." I guarantee you that the vast majority of real football players feel the same way. I have heard their comments as they looked up from the drudgery of drills to watch the keekers over on the adjoining field keeking the bol back and forth. You might want to at least consider that, the next time you invite a soccer player to come out and just kick. *********** Leo Morris, editorial page editor of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, summed up the difference between the parties about as well as I've seen. See if you can figure out which party he's describing here: "There is a big pot of wealth somewhere, appearing somehow. The privileged few figure out a way to get there first and take too much of it, leaving only crumbs for the rest of us. It is the federal government's job to spread that wealth around."  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2004 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  October 15, 2004  "You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late." Ralph Waldo Emerson   2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here      A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS    *********** FLASH - Madison (Portland, Oregon) 18, Franklin 14. Madison improves to 5-1. Details at 11. (Tuesday, actually) *********** I was talking recently with General Perry Smith (Air Force Retired) who was Don Holleder's roommate at West Point. General Smith is very active with a number of organizations, including the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. He told me about a book by Peter Collier entitled "Medal of Honor" which General Smith helped edit, and he said that H. Ross Perot bought 10,000 copies, in order to present one to every school in Texas. My thanks and appreciation to Mr. Perot, a great American, for this and the many other things he does for his country that go unnoticed. *********** A Double-Wing coach writes --- I'm curious to know how many DW coaches out there would ever consider coaching a Division 3 college DW program? Both offensively AND defensively. I'm interested in finding out how many of them out there have that kind of ambition? Also, would a college level DW team need to adjust any part of the offense (splits, B back depth, etc.) because of the dramatic differences in speed between the high school and college level defensive players? I would be very interested in the answers to these questions. All of this done anonymously of course. Could you mention it in your news and let me know what the response is, and from whom and where? (If you do shoose to respond, be sure to sign your name, but please be sure that you will remain anonymous unless you wish to have your name passed along to my correspondent, who, I might add, is a first-rate coach. I should mention that right here in Portland, the new coach at Lewis and Clark College, Roger Vandezande, is a double-winger, and two of his assts were on our staff at Madison High last year. They were all at our game a couple of weeks ago. They are not winning. Yet. They inherited a really weak program that plays some very tough teams (Linfield College is now either #1 or #2 in D-III). They have starting offensive linemen who are not as strong as our kids, and we are not an overly strong HS team. But, significantly, they are moving the ball. HW) *********** Hey Coach -- I didn't see any Husker talk in your news!  Amanda (daughter at Texas Tech) called me from the game...wow ... How bad did that knucklehead coach hurt his young QB's confidence???? You are not the first guy to notice my silence on the subject, and now I must speak out. I laid off because I know how passionate the Huskers' fans are, and I know how much they hurt right now, and I really had begun to sense that I had been piling on. But damn - this is the next level that Frank Solich was supposedly unable to take them to? I know, I know - they don't have the players to play the West Coast offense yet. I always thought that this was what California JC's were for. But given that the excuse is valid, I can't believe that Callahan's not enough of a coach to phase things in - to give his players a chance to win this year. (Does this also excuse Nebraska from playing defense, too?) HW You're a good guy for not piling on...I'm a Husker fan &emdash; not necessarily a "passionate" Husker fan, but I really like the tradition they have and the passion of most of their fans. Heck, ya got to love a program where all the car lots in town park their red/white cars out front on game day! My big issue, from a Coaching perspective, was the way he put that "deer in the headlights" kid in and just left him out there to self destruct. It wasn't a real "disaster" until that point. They were gonna lose, but not get humiliated. I don't know how that kid goes back to class this week. I know you agree, because I've heard you say it --- It's part of our job to make sure we don't put kids in a position to fail because they weren't prepared. That's what Callahan did Saturday, and that's what irritated me about that game the most. It was a total "give up", and that program deserves better than that. Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** Coach, Millersville 25 - Severn Seminoles 22 Pleased to say that we are still undefeated but it didn't come easy! In an exciting game due to errors that we made we beat our conference rival this past weekend. We jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter scoring on 44base Lead and 47-C. In the second quarter we dropped a crucial pass, had it been completed we would have been looking at 20-0! Well my team found out first hand, why you do not give 'good' team a chance to believe they can win a game. Severn came roaring back on play where our defense did not do there assignments correctly. We answered back, only to give up a touchdown pass to Severn. Severn would score again after recovering an onsides kick. We were trailing 18-22 with about 6 minutes left in the fourth. Severn attempted another onsides kick, and this time - we did recovery it. We marched right down the field, scored and made the extra point. Giving us the lead 25-22, our defense stood tall and forced a 4 and out. The game ended with having the ball inside the 10 yard line threatening to score. In a game like this you find out the 'character' of your team! It was great to see how the team dealt with some adversity for once. We ended up gaining 345 yards on the ground. My A-Back had 18 carries for 233 yards and 3 td's. The C-Back had 9 carries for 73 yards and 1 score. One thing I want to add, is this team took there Middle LB and tried to guess what side we were coming and would blitz the A-gap. After a couple of series, the Tackle Over/Under adjustment to care of that. On a final note, we all learned how important it is for everyone (player) to do there job. Mistakes, miscues against good team can be costly! We have a mid-week game so I will email you with the result. Take Care, Jason Clarke - Millersville Wolverines 115lb Team, Millersville, Maryland *********** Coach, Millersville 60 - Buccaneers 0 - We won our seventh game last night. The defense and special teams were outstanding. The defense held the Bucs to -174 yards on 34 plays. We had three interceptions returned for touchdowns. Additionally, we returned a punt for a score. Unfortunately, we did not get to run a lot of offense, the damage was done on defense. If our stats our correct we only ran 5 offensive plays in the first half, and finished the game with only 16 offensive plays total. At the conclusion of the game, the HC and several of his assistance approached me immediately following the game and told me our team is incredible. He said that even though he was on the backend of a lopsided game, he appreciates an excellent football team. During the conversation he noted how disciplined the team was, commented on how they executed and said it was a real pleasure to watch the team play. It takes a lot for anyone to admit that they were impressed after losing a game like that. I have said this time and time again, it's amazing how far these players have come since I first started coaching them. A lot of which I credit to you and your willingness to work with youth coaches like myself. We play again on Saturday and will email you with the results. Take Care, Jason Clarke, Millersville Wolverines 115lb Team, Millersville, Maryland *********** Coach Wyatt, We just finished our season unbeaten. The first perfect record in school history. Last night we had 0 turnovers and no penalties. We scored on every possession except our last when we had the subs in the game. Final score Riverside 28 Grovetown Middle 0. They tried to slow down the game by using every second on the clock. We stopped each drive and as time ran down in the second qter we passed to quickly move the ball down the field and score. They threw a pass late in the half which we intercepted and took it down to their 6. At half we were up 22-0. They got the ball in the 3rd qter and we held again and score another TD using the counters and traps effectively. For the season we scored 204 points in 6 games. We also have kicked 8 extra points in a row which I think is pretty good for a bunch of 12 and 13 year olds. Numerous parents complimented our staff on how well coached the kids were. They made particular comments on how well we taught the boys to keep the ball covered in traffic and that we ran to the ball on defense and swarmed on every tackle. There is no doubt in my mind that having you as an "offensive assistant" is one of the reasons we did so well. I appreciate every email that you have sent giving us insight and encouragement. You are well known by our players. They all say that we run the Hugh Wyatt Double Wing Offense. Got to go now. Making plans to go to Disney World this weekend during our fall break. I'll try to send you a copy of our season's hilites in a couple of weeks. Dan King forever grateful, Evans Georgia - PS its going to be tough thinking who our Black Lion award winner will be with a team with many outstanding kids who also play a pretty mean game of football *********** I loved the service that USA Today's Andy Gardner provided his readers a couple of weeks ago. He was describing Olivet College's Wing-T, "a run-oriented offense that reached its zenith in the 1940s and 1950s under University of Tennessee coach Robert Neyland. The formation features a fullback, blocking back, a tailback (who is positioned like the quarterback in the shotgun) and a wingback." Grrr. Football people know that he is describing the single wing, which while not necessarily reaching its zenith under General Bob Neyland at Tennessee, certainly made the Vols a national power. The very letter "T" in the name of an offense has come to mean a formation in which the quarterback is under center. *********** We seem to have a problem with our backside ends on shoeshine blocks, they seem to drop to their knees and get stepped over by the defender or just don't get to their block. Would you happen to have any drills or suggestions to help correct this? Coach- We occasionally throw blocks at bags, but we don't have any live drills because we can't do it against live men without taking the chance of hurting someone. It is not a particularly difficult technique. I think it is more a factor of a kid's personality - whether he enjoys hitting people enough to want to do it. It can be seen by kids who like to hit as an aggressive block - which it is - and by others as a chance to take the play off by merely flopping in front of a defender. I find myself fighting this battle occasionally. We have to stress making aggressive contact. Your end usually has to take a couple of steps down the line without coming out of his stance before launching himself at the knees of the defender. *********** Coach... let me tell you what a wonderful football season we are having with the Double Wing!!!! This is my third year as head coach and we are currently 2-1. This is the first time we have had a winning record in the past 6 years. I love the system and so does my team!! My staff is on board - I did have to let one coach go because he could not get on board - I know he regrets it now. This past Saturday we won our homecoming game. We defeated a team that has owned us for the past 6 years. The score was 20 - 6. They didn't know what hit them. We scored twice on 40+ yard counters with Tight Rip 47C and with a 25 yard pass on TIght-Rip Stop-Thunder- X Corner. The kids and the parents went crazy!!! We also had three 30+ yard TD-runs called back on blocks in the back ( a problem we are working hard to eliminate). We lost our opener 12 - 0. It was very encouraging however. We played a much bigger school that plays in the division above us. We have typically lost a game like this 30 - 0. Had we not fumbled the ball away a whopping 6 times, we may have won the game. Thanks for all the great material. It has been invaluable. We are just beginning to develop Wildcatting and the Stack I. Hope your season is going well. Best Regards, Chris Kelly, The Harvey School, Katonah, New York *********** FROM OUR BUSINESS AND INVESTMENTS SECTION - Hot tip - Invest in bowling alleys. Bowling, - yes, bowling - is slowly growing as a high school sport, not only as an outlet for those kids not drawn to conventional sports, but also as an answer to the need to provide more opportunities for girls. One of its attractions to a high school program it that it is an indoor sport, which means it can be played in any season. In the last year alone, according to the National Federation of High Schools, 291 schools across the country added bowling as a new sport for girls; 196 added it for boys. *********** My question is this. Our kids gave up two big plays in the fourth quarter for touchdowns and seem to shut down after failing in the second quarter. One of our coaches said: "That's --------- kids." How can we get past this. Physically we dominated them and should have been in a position to win the game, but they shut down mentally. We have a playoff caliber team Friday. I know we have eight kids starting on both sides of the ball that were not varsity kids last year, but physically these kids are way better than my (previous job) kids, but the (previous job) kids were mentally tougher. How can I convince these guys they can win? Any remarks would be welcomed. We are 3-2 and should be 4-1, possibly 5-0 with our talent. I don't want to screw this up, because we do have talent. Your situation is not an uncommon one. Please bear in mind that no one has THE answer, and I sure don't, so all we can do sometimes is play our hunches. I sometimes think that it isn't possible to change the competitive spirit of seniors who after years of playing a certain way may be hard-wired to give up when things get too tough for them. This may apply to some juniors, too. But not necessarily to the younger kids. I don't think it is in the water, or in what their parents tell them. I think a winning culture can be developed. In other words, do the best you can with the guys you've inherited, coach the hell out of them and don't give up on them, but really get the job done on the 7th grade, 8th grade, frosh, or frosh-soph, or JV level, where they learn to compete and learn that it is not inevitable that Washingon must lose when crunch time comes. Don't beat yourself up. A team, community or corporate culture is nto easily changed. Rather than getting frustrated at your inability to change the culture immediately, instead look for signs that changes are occuring. *********** Coach, We played a tough Stanwood team last Saturday. We had to work for all our points, nothing was a given. We won 34-0 on a muddy field and rain coming down most of the game. We had five different kids score touchdowns on five different plays. A back- Spread 88 Power; B back- T 2 Wedge; C back- T 47 C XX; A back- Stack 88 S Power; X end- TL Blue Blue (55 yards) It was a good game for us as we head into tougher competition. Our record now stands at 5-0, averaging 50.2 points a game. This week I'll keep hitting the basics and stress the things that make this offense great. Hiding the ball, carry out the fake, blocking- gap, on, away. Tackling- Head up, eyes to the sky, chop the feet. Those are the things that will get us where we need to be. Go Senators! Glade Hall, Seattle *********** When Army faces South Florida this Saturday, nothing could put the contrast between the two programs into sharper focus than this: Brian Fisher, last season's offensive MVP at USF, is no longer a member of the team, after serving five jail terms in the last six months, all of them related to nonpayment of child support to two women in his native Pensacola. Two women. *********** Don't know about the state you play in, but Oregon's High School association, the OSAA, can sometimes seem cold-hearted when it comes to enforcing its rules. Especially those regarding eligibility. Every year it seems at least one team has to forfeit at least one win because it used an ineligible player. But it's never a case of some stud whose transcript was altered; it inevitably involves a team that was way ahead in the fourth quarter, and cleared the bench to get every kid in the game. And one of those kids was a fourth-string sophomore who just moved into the district because his mother missed her last three rent payments at the old place whose transcript - when it arrives - showed that based on his work at the old place, he wasn't eligible to play. And then there is Idaho, whose rule states that a player who is ejected from a contest must sit out the next contest as well. So it was that a soccer player in Idaho was thrown out of a game last Thursday for spitting in the opposing goalie's face. Out of the next contest, right? Wrong. The next contest - for that kid - was the football game the very next night, and damned if he didn't kick the winning field goal with nine seconds to play. I can just see the little puke being carried off the field. The Hero. All is forgiven. (He was lucky he spit in the face of a soccer player. If he'd done that on a football field, he wouldn't have been in any condition to play the next day.) But wait - he shouldn't have been playing at all, should he? This was, after all, the next contest. What to do? In Oregon - and most other states - that's easy. Forfeit, for using an ineligible player. In Idaho, though, it turns out that the violating school has a choice - forfeit or pay a fine. A giant, punitive fine of $100. Well, in case that sounds too harsh to you, you'll be happy to know that the final ruling that came down said that the rule is too vague as it applies to two-sport athletes, and there will be no punishment. But where was the football coach in all this? He, after all, was the one who appeared to let that kid play on his football team after what he'd done the day before. The story goes that he didn't know the kid had been ejected from the soccer game. But left unanswered was whether he knew the kid had spit in another kid's face. You coaches out there - would you let a kid play the night after he'd spit in another kid's face, on or off a playing field? Is winning that f--king important? (One sure solution is not to open up your team to a one-night-a-week specialist who plays another sport and doesn't necessarily subscribe to all the stuff you've been feeding your kids - corny stuff like "commitment." How many other kids would you allow to play without ever having to practice with the team? Another is to reduce the role of the kicking specialist in our game. Of course, first we would have to defend all those lawsuits brought by the parents of keekers.) *********** Speaking of kicking specialists... did you see the Miami punt return for a TD against Louisville? Did you see the last man to have a shot at him, the Louisville punter? What a pussy. *********** Hi Coach Wyatt: I hope everything is going well. Thought you might be interested in the high school game that is on ESPN 2 tonight. It is being played in Southlake Texas. Denton Ryan Vs Southlake Carroll . That is the town where my daughter and her family live. They have a 15.2 Million Dollar Stadium, along with an 8.2 Million Dollar indoor practice facility with turf grass. It is so good that the cowboys use it when the weather is bad. They dress around 90 for a varsity game. They have two JV Teams, two freshman teams and two middle school teams. Off the record the head coach has no academic responsibilities. His salary is around $90,000. At Ledyard our kids still have to pay a $100.00 dollars to participate. However, they still play with mental and physical hardness, intensity and as a complete team. We are off to a good start. I hope we continue to improve. We have some very tough games coming up. Sincerely; Bill Mignault (Coaching at the sort of semi-inner city high school where I'm coaching, I am less of a Texas big-school and more of a Ledyard-type guy. But each to his own. What I don't care for is when they start televising high school games out of their immediate area. The camel's nose is in the tent. The rich will get richer. It is only a matter of time before Nike/Adidas/Reebok and/or ESPN and/or Disney sponsor some sort of national playoff. HW) *********** Hi coach, I just wanted to say thanks again for all your videos and clinic that we attended in Philly. We were on the Harleys (Scott and Steve). Our team is 4-2 with 2 should-be wins ahead of us. We won't take them lightly but we should handle them pretty good. I am not sure if you remember but our rec. runs the Deleware wing, which is run by the High School. The head coach told me the offensive line stunk and asked if I could help. They were 1-7 last year. After installing your system - well, as much as I could given the offense - we started the season 3-0. Our line has blown out all but one team so far. I have A Fine Line, Dynamics, Installing the system, And the tackling video. Inside hands are down, line splits are as close as the coach will let me have them, and he now understands the importance of bird dogging. I have also put in the G, and O call, and added a T call or offside tackle pull for the reverse. The line sure likes to know where they are going and who they are to hit. Drive blocking at its best. I was watching a Fine Line this morning and thought I would drop you a line to say thanks for everything. It is not a surprise that your attention to detail has spread to Steve and I. We spent the first week learning a 3-point stance, lining up and all the first steps that they will take, and how to pull. They scored more points in the first three games than they did all last season. I don't mean to ramble on, but I just wanted to give credit where credit is due. Thanks again. Scott Schmidt, Belair, Maryland - P.S. We will see you next year at one of your clinics *********** I was reading recently about a place called Nalcrest, Florida, whose population consists entirely of retired letter carriers (we used to call them mailmen or postmen) and their families. Residence in the town is restricted to former members of the National Association of Letter Carriers. (NALC - Nalcrest. Get it?). Its population is only 800, but, perhaps in honor of its residents, it has its own zip code. Sounds like a nice community, not unlike other Florida retirement communities. And since it is a place where letter carriers expect be able to enjoy their golden years in peace, Nalcrest has one hard and fast rule. No dogs. *********** I have been reading your Web page and am considering the Double-Wing as our offense for the future after this season. What type of defense gives the Double-Wing the most problems? After running this offense for nearly 15 years, both here and in Europe, I can safely say that just when I think I have seen every possible defense, I could very well go out this Friday night and see yet another one. I tell my kids that that's life on a Double-Wing team - no matter what we expect the opposing team to show us, no matter what we've prepared for, we have to be ready for the "Friday Night Surprise." No particular offense is any tougher than another. All present unique problems that our kids will be able to handle if they know the rules. Not to sound cocky, but I think you will find that most experienced Double-Wing coaches will tell you that the defense that gives them the most problems is not some crazy invention, but instead a sound, basic defense played by a team that is just plain better than theirs. *********** Keith Miller, Australian cricket hero, died last week. He spent five years of his career as a World War II fighter pilot, flying hundreds of missions for the RAF. He was a love of classical music, and once, after doing combat with German Messerschmitts, he made an unauthorised flight over Bonn because it was Beethoven's birthplace. When asked years later how he dealt with the pressure of big-time cricket, he said that compared to World War II, cricket was no pressure at all. "Pressure," he said, "is a Messerschmitt up your arse." *********** Hello Coach Hugh..... Congrats on your success at Madison, I knew it would happen. And good luck this weekend against your big next opponent. This past weekend the Hanover Park Hurricanes 100# gold team defeated a big strong Carol Stream team 25-6. It was slow going as we fumbled twice on our first possesion. However we settled down and scored on a beautiful Lead XX47C by Javon McDonald. These kids from Carol Stream were coming hard and big. Our defense got tough and stuffed them time and time again inside our 50. Often in the red zone. Carol Stream kept flying to the ball and were susceptible to our counters. Just before halftime we ran RIP 3 trap at 2 and Alex Morrow ran it in untouched from 50 yards out. Unfortunately our squib kick got a little too deep and got to their best deep back. He ran it back for a TD as time ran out. After a big defense stop to open the 3rd quarter we had a nice drive down to the 12 yard line. Alex capped off another well executed 3 trap at 2 for the score. While lining up for the kickoff the ref came over to me and told me he never saw where the ball was....that it was a very tricky play. We ran 88 SP early and often to set up that play. It helped alot that Carol Stream was flying to where they thought the ball was. It was there all day but had to use it sparingly to maintain the plays usefullness. We also added RIP outside 7C and took huge chucks of yardage when we needed it. Alex capped another 45 yard run in the 4th quarter on the trap once more just to let em never forget. This was big for our team. With two remaining games against loosing record teams we're well set to get the 2nd seed in the playoffs. That mean a round one bye and mostly likely this Carol Stream team again in the playoffs. Then it's on the the Championship game at Northern Illinois University. I'm very happy for this team. They had an offyear last year, running a whitebread offense, that didn't offer them the chance to succeed. The parents are thrilled....excited and confident at the chance of going to " The Show" at NIU. I'll let you know how we do. The offense is really firing right now. Rgds, John Urbaniak Hanover Park Hurricanes 100# Gold, Hanover Park, Illinois *********** Many, many years ago, I learned a valuable lesson: when you got the ball - keep it! I was coaching at Vancouver, Washington Hudson's Bay High, and we were playing our archrival, Fort Vancouver High. Fort punted to us and the kid got off a good kick, which we fair-caught. But a Fort kid was caught holding on the play. "What the hell?" I thought - let's make 'em punt it over - they'll be kicking it from ten yards farther back, and he almost certainly won't kick it that far this time. So they punted it over. And this time, my return man muffed the ball. And a Fort coverage man scooped it up and ran it in. (He shouldn't have been able to, because it was a muff, not a fumble, but that's officials for you.) Anyhow, I learned my lesson. Last Saturday, after an Alabama penalty, Kentucky made Bama punt over. This time, Kentucky went for the block and narrowly missed, and the Bama punter, forced to reload, decided instead to run for it. He made it. First down, Alabama. *********** In the space of less than a week, Fresno State and Louisville have both fallen, leaving only Utah and Boise State as potential BCS busters. *********** Here's a good one for you - a total of five NFL head coaches have taken their teams to the Super Bowl, then returned to college to coach Division I-A teams. Answer on Tuesday.  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2004 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  October 12, 2004  "There's more to boxing than hitting. There's not getting hit, for instance." George Foreman   2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here      A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  *********** ARMY WINS! Army ended Division I-A's longest losing streak at 19 Saturday, with a convincing 48-29 win over Cincinnati. The win, in front of a home crowd, ended a 15-game losing streak at Michie Stadium. As many of you know, Army is the first college Black Lion Award team, and in conjunction with that, I have been invited by the Army Football Club, which will be sponsoring the award, to attend the Army-Air Force game at West Point on November 6. Naturally, I am excited about the opportunity to take part in expanding the award to a college program I've always held in highest regard, and I'm excited about seeing West Point again. My excitement is, however, tempered by the fact that Madison High will be playing a very important game on Friday night, November 5. Fortunately, the team is in the good hands of head coach Tracy Jackson, who understands the Double-Wing, having run it himself in the past. My challenge is to leave him a solid game plan. Here's some really big news you can pass on to your kids - Army will name its Black Lion Award winner prior to the Navy game, and Army's Black Lion will be wearing the Black Lion patch on his jersey - on national TV! Just a reminder - award certificates and patches will be ordered before November 1 so that we can begin mailing before the end of November. So that we know how many to order, we must have an exact count, so if you have been planning to present the Black Lion Award and your team's name is not on the list on the Black Lion Award page - be sure to contact me immediately - coachwyatt@aol.com *********** What can I have my assistants look for when they are in the box? They are rather inexperienced and don't know what to look for or tell me what's going wrong.  I've thought about moving into the box, but as head coach, I am the "on-field, motivator". Not sure what you can ask anybody to do, without knowing how much he knows and how trustworthy he is. Unless he is sharp and trustworthy, I would rather have nobody up there. I agree with you that you need to stay on the sidelines. In the best of all popssible worlds, you would have a good pair of eyes upstairs, but the kids need your leadership down on the field. I am only able to stay up in the booth as I do now because I am not the head coach and our head coach does a great job down on the sidelines taking charge, maintaining the atmosphere and tone and keeping the kids playing hard. *********** John Madden said all the "procrastinators" picked Green Bay to be better than they are. Say what? I, uh, think he meant prognosticators. ***********COLORADO - Lyons 19, Estes Park 14 - Coach,We got back on the winning side again this week, beating another 2A (we are 1A) team, Estes Park, 19-14. We now have 3 wins over 2A schools and unfortunately for us, our 2 losses have been against conference opponents, Holyoke and Akron. Without some help, we will miss the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Three teams from our conference advance to the playoffs and one good team, probably us, will stay home with 6-3 or 7-2 record. Thanks for the help on the blocking scheme against the 7-1 front. For the first time in school history, we outgained Akron on the ground (they are a very good single wing team) but two turnovers cost us the game, 26-20. We were down 26-6 at the half. A combination of super powers, with nomo, and then the G's with motion were really effective. We still are leading the state in team rushing yardage. On a side note, I have some connection to the Madison High area. My first coaching job in 1978 was for the Madison area SJ Pounder Real Estate Pop Warner team. We were the Madison Pounders. We wore baby blue jerserys with red pants and red helmets. One of my best memories there was the night before the city championship game in 1979, we practiced in about a 15 square foot area under a lighted bill board on 82nd Avenue in Portland next to a car dealership. We beat the Adams High area team 13-12 the next night. They had uniforms that looked just like the Dallas Cowboys, a lot of talented kids and their 13 year old quarterback was a father. We had two kids on that team that went on to D-1 schools and one went to the NFL. I didn't know squat about squat back then, but that's when coaching got in my blood. Thanks again for all your help. I wish I would have had the double wing way back then. Gary Creek, Lyons, Colorado *********** GEORGIA - Nathanael Greene Academy 42, Westminster 6 - Hugh, We totally dominated our homecoming opponents Friday with 408 yards of total offense with 100 yards called back. We could have scored a bunch more but let the young'uns play. We have the challenge of the season with the best team in our league Friday, Thomas Jefferson. They are extremely fast and aggressive and well coached. We move to 6-1 on the season out scoring our opponents 256 to 52. This one Friday would be huge if we could get it. It will take all we have. Thank you ! Coach Larry Harrison, Head Football Coach, Nathanael Greene Academy, Siloam, Georgia *********** IOWA - Alta 49, West Sioux 6. Coach Wyatt, Alta ran for 362 yards on 47 attempts. A - backs 11 carries for 79 yards and a TD. B-backs 13 carries for 72 yards and 3 TD's. C- backs 19 carries for 178 yards and 2 TD's. QB 4 carries for 33 yards and 1 TD. We were 0-4 passing, missing a wide open receiver on a Blue/Blue. Scored three TD's on the wedge, scored once on a 99 super power, scored twice on criss-crosses, and scored once on load set right. We went back to the basics this week and the kids took what they did in practice out on the field Friday night. Started running our feet better and attacking the power as they took the reach away. We are currently 5-1 and 4-0 in our district. Rory Payne, Alta, Iowa *********** IOWA- Galva-Holstein 52, Kingsley Pierson 0 - 5 and 0 vs 5 and 0 showdown turned out to be not worth the hype (unless you are a Pirate fan) One word for what happened DOMINANCE GH - 616 total yards of offense 17 first downs 0 punts 2 penalties for 20 yards. KP - 61 yards of total offense 3 first downs 9 punts 8 penalties for 41 yards A Back (Tyler) 16 carries 105 yards 2 TD's 2 receptions for 34 yards; B Back (Evan) 12 carries 108 yards 1 TD; C Back (Keith) 11 carries 115 yards 1 TD 6 receptions for 164 yards 2 TD's Kelly 9 of 12 for 197 yards 2 TD's and 1 INT (he knew what he had done wrong the minute he let go of the ball) 419 yards of rushing 197 passing= 616 total yards Held the "fastest kid in the state" to 18 carries for 66 yards they finished with 54 total rushing yards (shows you what else they had) Best TEAM effort we have had since I came here. And it started bad for us: Ran Lead Criss Cross, Tyler handed the ball to Keith and hit Evan (B-Back) on the hip, their DE caught it in the air and rasn it to the 22 yard line (where we threw up the fence and held them 4 plays) and drove all the way down the field to score. Had one drive we dubbed "windshield wiper" drive: ran 88 sp and 99 sp back and forth all the way down to the 5, gave it to Evan on the trap for the TD. Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa (Coach Knight uses first names in writing me because after two Double-Wing camps at Holstein the last two summers, I know the G-H kids. HW) *********** MINNESOTA - Benilde-St, Margaret 41, Edison 14 - Hugh, Despite our starting QB and star RB not playing (both missed two practices during the week due to illness) the BSM Red Knights won an important section game beating Edison 41-14. Our JV QB and Sophomore QB filled in admirably as each of them one TD pass apiece, and handled the offense very well. We moved our starting C back to A back and he responded with 126 yards and a touchdown, and our sophomore C back stepped in and contributed 63 yards on only 5 carries. But probably the biggest surprise was the play of our B back. He carried the ball 7 times for 92 yards and three TD's. One of the touchdowns was a beautifully executed Red-Red B Draw that went for 60 yards. Overall we ended the night with 386 yards rushing and 89 yards passing for a total of 475 yards. I told the young QB's on Thursday that all they had to do was drive the train, and if the opportunity to throw presented itself it would simply be a case of them playing catch with the receivers. They did a remarkable job under the circumstances, and showed incredible poise. Nice to know we have competent backups as we make our stretch drive for the playoffs! It also goes to show you that running the same offensive system at the freshman, sophomore, JV, and varsity levels indeed pays dividends. We need two wins in our last two regular season games to win our second conference championship, and have to hope for the two teams ahead of us in the section rankings get beat at least once in order for us to get the first round playoff bye. Joe Gutilla *********** MISSISSIPPI - Ocean Springs 49, Biloxi 30 - We won our 6th in a row to remain undefeated. we beat Biloxi 49-30 at their new stadium. They have an 8,000 seat Stadium with field turf playing surface. We trailed 21-6 at half. We stormed back with 21 points in the third quarter. We scored 3 TD's running 88 power (our 48 power) 26 yards, 5 yards and 9 yards. Three TD's running 99 power(our 27 power) 7 yards, 51 yards and 57 yards. One TD running wedge from 2 yards out. Scoring summary: Ocean Springs 7 0 21 21 = 49 Biloxi 7 14 9 0 = 30 We play Gulfport in 3 weeks. (7-0) ranked # 5. If we take care of business the next two weeks it will be the biggest game around here in 20 years. Steve Jones, Ocean Springs, Mississippi *********** NEW YORK - Eastridge (Rochester) 33, Brighton 14 - Pile up points and bury your opponent. It has worked more often than not so far for Eastridge, which has scored an average of 37 points a game during its first 5-1 start in 25 years. This, for the most part, with an offense that was in vogue before the invention of color television. For the most part, the ball only flies through the air during pitches to running backs. No matter. A defense can become confused trying to find ball carriers because of the tight formation, double hand-offs and ball fakes featured in the offense. Eastridge had 346 yards of total offense against Brighton, all but 43 produced by running plays. "They are very good, well-coached and tough kids," Brighton coach Chris D'Ercole said. "They have a lot of athletes and they're going to smack you because they come to play. I really think they can (keep winning). They are a legitimate team." Eastridge's win Friday night was another step toward a winning season, long overdue at this school, according to people who have followed the team for years. The Lancers have two winning records in the last 27 years. The 1997 team finished 5-4. The 1979 club under coach Jack Christensen was a Section V tournament runner-up by one point. There were three seasons in that span in which Eastridge did not win a game. On other occasions, the Lancers built up momentum early in the fall, only to run out of steam like a toy that needs new batteries. Eastridge was 4-0 two seasons ago. "Then the wheels fell off," Eastridge coach and math teacher John Gammon said about that 4-5 team. "We've always had the athletes. "The attitude is different now. The kids are ready to turn the corner." (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle story) *********** NEW YORK - Lansingburgh 49, Taconic Hills 21 - A back Kenny Youngs had 10-115 yds for 2 rushing tds plus caught a 57 YC td pass (blue blue post) for a td also ran back a 95 yd kick off return - B back A.J. Faraci had 12-87yds 1td; C-Back back Brandon canty 8-78yds 2 tds - 415 yds total rushing offense - all in all a good night. We are now 5-1 and regrouping well from a week 4 loss - Pete Porcelli, Lansingburgh, New York *********** NEW YORK - Queensbury 48 Scotia 8 - Next week we host Amsterdam, also 6-0, for the top class A seed for playoffs. John Irion, Queensbury, New York *********** VIRGINIA - Cave Spring High School 17, William Byrd 7 *********** WASHINGTON - Lakeside 27, Seattle Prep 6 - Sean Whitsitt carried 26 times for 195 yards and 2 TDs as the Lions (4-2, 1-1) rushed for 349 yards. *********** WASHINGTON - La Center 41, Woodland 13 - Wildcats, ranked number 2 in state Class 2A, now 6-0 *********** WASHINGTON - Port Townsend 69, Vashon Island 13 - PT moves to 6-0, #6 ranking in state Class 2A *********** Not intending to jinx anyone but - there are five remaining unbeaten teams in Washington Class 2A. Two of them - LaCenter and Port Townsend - are Double-Wing teams. *********** UTEP beat Fresno State. Wow. I am very happy for Mike Price. He was done dirt down there in Alabama, victim of his own naivete. (That's my take.) Interesting that his first big win at UTEP comes just hours after one of history's biggest examples of Cougin' it. (Once again, the Washington State Cougars' tradition of losing games they should win, and losing them at the worst possible time and in the worse possible manner, has given birth to the term "Cougin' it." As in, "they really Coug'd it against Oregon Saturday.") *********** BGYFL 115 LB Gold Division Bloomingdale Bears 48 Carol Stream Panthers 0 In a cross-town rivalry game the Bloomingdale Bears continued their dominance in the NFC division with a solid 48-0 over cross-town neighbor Carol Stream Panthers. The Bears racked up over 400 yards again of total offense on the day. Once again Bloomingdales big 4 continue to show why they are the top backfield in the Bill George League. C back Clay Cooper scored 4 touchdowns and ran for over 150 yards on 8 carries on the day. A back Nick Campanella scored a 2 td's and ran for over 100 yards again. QB Erick King again threw for over 100 yards and completed 6-8 passes and 3 td's and B back Chris Jasinski scored 2 td's one on a 45 yard 3 trap at 2 that broke the game open. Right now we are running on full cylinders and after going back to basics the last 2 weeks because our linemen were getting lazy on their pulls and started just watching our backs work and not pulling and getting down field we went back to teaching fundamentals and demanding our linemen to pull up field with purpose. Well, it worked and our Super Powers worked like a machine yesterday. Even though our linemen can get lazy our backs can make something out of nothing and are a threat to break it every time they touch the ball. The one thing we are really proud of with our line is the pass protection they give the QB on our passing plays. In 8 games this year QB Erick King hasn't been sacked all season and with this great pass protection King is able to check off one receiver and find his 2nd and 3rd reads which is really hard at this age. This offense only gets better and we are always trying to add things to spice it up every week to make it that much harder to prepare to each week to play against us. Next week West Chicago Wildcats. I'll see you next week Coach. Oh how bout them Sooners and super Frosh Adrian Peterson!! National Championship is coming back to Sooner Country this year!!!! Stacey King Bloomingdale Bears (If you hadn't noticed, Stacey King, a native of Lawton, Oklahoma, is Sooner born and Sooner bred. HW) *********** "Bumper" music is the stuff they play as they "go to commercial" on radio and TV broadcasts. Did anybody else happen to notice that the bumper music on the Sunday Night ESPN NFL game was f--king rap? Grrrr. *********** If you're a Double-Winger, you had to appreciate watching the Ravens stuff it up the Redskins' butt late in the fourth quarter. *********** The NFL, which doesn't mind if players wear pants that stop above the knees, is nevertheless so worried about the enforcement of its uniform policy that it has threatened to fine any player to continues to wear a little helmet decal honoring Pat Tillman. The fine will be $5000. Per game. *********** Matt Bastardi, from Montgomery, New Jersey, sent me a clip from a headline in the Newark Star-Ledger: No longer the little kid at the Yankees games, Rudy Giuliani's son, Anfrew, is one of New Jersey's top placekickers and will lead No. 2 St. Joseph's against No. 1 Don Bosco prep tonight. Page 59. Wrote Matt, who knows of my adoration of kicking specialists, "will lead No. 2 St. Joseph's" What?! I doubt it! *********** And you wonder why I despise the idea of kicking specialists? Did you see the pathetic attempt at a tackle made by Redskins' punter Tom Tupa, last Redskin between the Ravens' B.J. Sams and a touchdown? *********** Before the game on Friday, I discussed with the officials (as usual) the fact that our fullback and pulling linemen are being cut by defensive ends every week.  The white hat told me it is legal as long as both players are in the neutral zone at the beginning of the play and the ball is still in the neutral zone.  He said that is a change from last year when any cut had to be on the initial surge.  Is this true?  If so, it opens up a lot of cutting not just on the line of scrimmage but also at linebacker level (if teams play backers close to the line as we do).  In fact, we had a linebacker get cut by their lead back on an iso, our d-tackle was cut numerous times by their fullback who was never in the neutral zone at the snap, and they lost an outside backer to a neck injury when he cut our pulling tackle on XX47-C. Rule 2 section 17 article 2 - Blocking below the waist is permitted in the free blocking zone when the following conditions are met: a. All players involved in the blocking are on the line of scrimmage and in the zone at the snap; b. The contact is in the zone. (The "on the line of scrimmage" requirement was added within the last year or two.) Your fullback, while possibly in the free-blocking zone, was not on the line of scrimmage at the snap, and therefore he cannot legally be blocked below the waist. If this is being done on a regular basis, it is almost certainly being taught, or at least condoned, which means that the coach is either incompetent or a cheat. *********** Hugh, You will probably hear about this from more than just me. Bill O'Reilly interviewed Linda Bloodworth Thomason, the creator of "Designing Women", and asked her why she SO loved Bill Clinton. She responded, "He is a wonderful man of great character". Tell me, Is the world going totally nuts or is it just the Hollywood crowd? I have never heard a more bizarre answer or was that just said to raise hackles. Her record indicates she was dead serious. If Bill Clinton is a man of great character, there are multitudes of us folks out here worthy of sainthood and daily footbaths. Give me a break! What a puke, this woman. OH ! but George Bush is a liar! r I g h t ! Could things be more clear? Larry Harrison, Snellville, Georgia (Linda and her hubby Harry Thomason are the ones who produced "The Man From Hope" and other such fictional pieces about Clinton. (Anything that portrays him as a man of other than low character qualifies as a work of fiction.)      A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2004 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  October 8, 2004  "I taught my children and my players that today is the only day that matters. It is the only day you can do anything about. Yesterday is gone; it will never return. Nothing is going to change. Tomorrow is yet to be. You can be affected only by what you do daily." John Wooden   2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  *********** OREGON - MADISON (PORTLAND) 28, ROOSEVELT 6 The NEWS was late getting out today because (1) we had to play a Thursday afternoon game (Thursday, because Friday is a state teacher in-service day, afternoon because our opponent doesn't have lights); (2) we went from our game to go scout a future opponent; and (3) we went out afterwards to celebrate win number four. With a 28-6 win over Roosevelt, the Madison Senators are now 4-1. Best of all, we are 3-0 in league (district) play, tied for first in the 10-team PIL (Portland Interscholastic League) with co-favorites Grant and Lincoln. It was the first time anyone can remember Madison going into a game as favorites, and between that and the fact that Roosevelt and its Double-Wing had been improving weekly, not to mention the short week of preparation, we coaches had been on edge all week. Initially, our fears were well-founded. We stopped the Roughriders on their first possession, then drove inside the Roosevelt 10 before throwing an interception in the end zone. The touchback, with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty added on, put the ball on the Roosevelt 35, and on first down they stung us with a 65-yard bomb. Ouch. The point-after (a run) failed, but we were down, 6-0. To our kids' credit, they responded with a classic drive, going 70-yards in 14 plays. Andy Jackson went over from three yards out and Tony Stutevoss threw to Grant Meyer for the two-point conversion to give us the lead, 8-6. On Roosevelt's next play, Justin Mehner intercepted and returned the ball 32 yards to the Roughrider 24. We were in business. We thought. But we stalled on fourth down at the Roosevelt 15. After a punt return by Jackson started us out on the Roosevelt 39 yard line, we drove to the Roughrider 10, before failing to score for the third time in the half. All told, we had penetrated Roosevelt's 15 yard-line four times, and controlled the ball for 18:38 to Roosevelt's 5:22, and all we had to show for it at halftime was a 2-point lead. After a three-and-out on our first series of the second half, we recovered a Roosevelt fumble on their 30 yard line, and on the next play, Stutevoss threw 30 yards to big tight end Alex Nalevaiko for a score. The two-point conversion that followed gave us a 10-point lead which, combined with the way our defense was playing, gave us breathing room. We scored twice in the fourth quarter on long, methodical drives, the first a 12-play, 92-yarder after we stopped Roosevelt three times at our eight yard line, the second a six-play 50-yarder that immediately followed after we successfully onside-kicked. In all, the two drives meant that with the exception of the kickoff following the first score, the Roosevelt defense was on the field for 18 bruising running plays. In all, we ran 64 plays for 340 total yards, rushing 60 times for 291. As evidence of what a physical game it was, for the first time all year we had no long running plays. Nevertheless, Andy Jackson, who entered the game as the state's second-leading rusher with 773 yards in four games, carried 24 times for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Fullback Damaien Young added 88 yards on 20 carries. Our fourth win equals the total number of wins in the previous four years, and puts us one win away from the first winning season in God-knows-when. Next Friday night it's Homecoming, dreaded by coaches everywhere for all its distractions, and the opponent is Franklin High. Franklin thumped us last year, but these are two different teams this year, and we owe them one. *********** Not all school administrators are weenies, thank God, but Mt. St. Helens burped last Friday, and in Yamhill, Oregon, about 75 miles to the southwest of the volcano (as the dust plume blows), they postponed the Friday night high school football game. *********** The Richie Incognito era is over at Oregon. It took him less than a week to convince Ducks' coach Mike Bellotti it wasn't going to work. (Well, duh.) There is no truth to the rumor that Incognito left voluntarily because he didn't like the Ducks' uniforms. *********** MTV is all about "Rock the Vote" - get all the doofuses to register so they can vote Democratic and then go back to their mindless TV-watching. Meanwhile, the second presidential debate is scheduled for 9 PM Eastern - 6 PM Pacific - on a Friday night in the heart of football season. Do you get the idea that somebody wants slackers to vote and red-blooded Americans to stay home? *********** From my son, Ed - Loved this line from Shaq during his pre-season press conference in Miami Q: What do you think of Dwyane Wade? A: He has the all-around game that all guards should have…. I was downstairs, playing with D-Wade, and he went to the hole and he threw a pass and it hit me in the face. He said, "You got to catch that." I said, "Well, I'm not used to getting those passes, buddy." *********** I was browsing through my high school's alumni bulletin when I read that Ed Piszek had died. Mr. Piszek (he pronounced it PIZZ-ik) never went to our school but he sent his kids there, and he became one of the school's greatest benefactors. His life was a true American success story. He was born in Chicago, the son of Polish immigrants, but he was raised in Philadelphia. In 1946, after World War II service, he was working as a cook in a "tap room" (a quaint English name for tavern that I haven't seen used anyplace but Philly) in the blue-collar Kensington section, when he made a mistake - he prepared too many crab cakes for that evening's customers. He put the leftovers in the freezer, and a week later, tried passing them off as fresh. To his amazement, the customers loved them. No dummy, Mr. Piszek realized he was on to something. He and a friend named John Paul each put up $350 to get themselves started in a frozen-seafood business which they called Mrs. Paul's Kitchens. A few years later, he bought out Paul, but retained the name and built the business into a giant food concern which in 1982 he sold to Campbell Soup. (If you enoy irony, 40 years earlier Campbell Soup had fired him as a salesman.) Even before the sale of his business made him very rich, he devoted his engergy and resources to patriotic causes, to advancement of the arts and education, and the advancement of pride in Polish heritage. In 1972 he founded the Copernicus Society, in honor of the Polish astronomer. In 1977, Mr. Piszek and the Copernicus Society were instrumental in the purchase of Mount Defiance, near Fort Ticonderoga, where Polish general Tadeusz Kosciuszko played a major role in halting the British advance up Lake Champlain during the Revolutionary War. During the 1970's, he donated millions of dollars worth of supplies and manpower to help fight a tuberculosis epidemic in Poland. It was Ed Piszek who convinced famed author James Michener to make Poland the subject of a book. (He said it took him 10 years of persuasion.) In 1967, during his travels to Poland, he met the Bishop of Krakow, and was so impressed with him he predicted he'd "go places." Sure enough, he did. The Bishop, Karol Woytila, would go on to become Pope John Paul II. When the Pope paid a visit to the US, his friend, Ed Piszek, told him he was going to introduce him to a Polish Cardinal that he'd never met - then arranged for him to meet St. Louis Cardinal Hall of Famer Stan Musial. *********** Coach Wyatt, We came out ahead by the score of 35-20 last night over the defending county champs. The game was never in doubt. We gave up a few late scores with our subs getting most of the reps in the 4th quarter. 47XX has been the game breaker for us as we have scored from this play the last 4 times we have run it Going back to last year we have won 7 out of the last 8 games. Our 3rd string which plays an extra qtr with a running clock has only lost once in the past 3 years. For the season we are averaging 7.5 yards a carry and have rushed for over 1,100 yards in 5 games. We continue to average 33 points per game playing 8 minute quarters. Eat your heart out Don Markham. I am amazed at how easy we seem to score points. I know that our kids are very well coached and after the games the other coaches always compliment us on how well our line blocks. This offense works with average ability players and is unbelieveable with good skill players running and throwing the ball. My coaches are really giving me good advice on what they are seeing on the field and this has translated into successful play calling. Best of luck to you this week end.. Dan King, Evans Georgia *********** Coach, The Guilderland Pop Warner Colts improved to 3-1 this week with a great win over rival Saratoga. We scored on our first 4 possessions. They thought we could only run the ball so they put 8 men in the box. We scored on two quick outs to our A back ( both out of slot and for over 60 yards ) and a 66 yard option out of stack 88 super power. We also scored on a 60 yard 56c out of tight formation to end the half. We were up 34-8 at half time. What made this so sweet for our kids is that last year this same team beat us 24-0 and faked a kneel down at the end of the game! Who ever said revenge is sweet was so right! This week we play Albany (2-1). I played high school ball with their coaches and also played there during my Pop Warner years. Hope this weekend was good for you and your team. Thanks for everything! Mike Cahill, Guilderland Colts, Guilderland, New York *********** Hello my name is ---- ----- I am the head coach of the ----- ----- -----. We play in -------, ----- Our program and our High school have started a joint effort to improve and have our players ready for high school football. ---- ----- the head varsity coach at ----- ----- runs the double wing. We have had great success in running the double wing at the Pop Warner level as well. My question is. Our running backs are hard runners but lack speed defenses by the 3rd and 4th qtr start packing the front line. I have tried running the 29 and 38 G.O reach but lack the speed to get to the corners. The running back either gets tackled in the backfield or never makes it upfield. Would you suggest a spread formation to stop the defense from packing the line, and can we still run 88 or 99 super powers from the spread formation at the youth level. Glad you are having success. Coach ----------- has been doing an outstanding job. I can't say I am familiar with the case of defenses getting stronger as the game goes on. Typically, a pounding ground game wears down the defense. Most double-wing teams dominate the fourth quarter. As for the lack of speed, I would venture to say that most Double-Wing teams fall in that category. Some never even bother trying to get outside. They will beat you with skillful execution of a power toss, a counter and a trap. And maybe a play-action pass. Most of us do manage to get outside - or at least to threaten the outside - provided we wait until the defense gives it to us. I don't think I necessarily see going to a spread formation as a solution to your problem. There are three major reasons why I would advocate going to spread - (1) take advantage of exceptional wide receivers; (2) cover for the fact that we don't have competent tight ends; (3) get minimum-play kids in the game (put them at wide-out). I don't necessarily see the problem as being solved by a quick-fix - by a play or a formation. It is possible that what you are seeing is defensive players, who are initially unprepared for your offense, beginning to adjust to game tempo as the game goes on. But it could also be a case of your kids, who find the early going somewhat easy, not maintaining their initial effort for four quarters. Early success frequently leads to a relaxation. Or it could be a combination of the two. The Double-Wing is not a silver bullet. No offense is. It may just be that you are facing a team that is clearly superior, and it has taken them a while to establish their superiority. We consistently see defenses packed in - normally 10 people within five yards of the line, and sometimes 11 - and we are averaging 358 yards rushing per game. We are 3-1. This time last season we were 1-3, and we were averaging less than 200 yards per game. We were seeing the same defenses, and they were "shutting us down." But they weren't, really. We were being handled by superior manpower (our one win was over perhaps the worst 4A football team I've ever seen). The difference is that this year, we are better - our kids are a year older and bigger and smarter, and they have had a year of running the offense. And they are in GREAT condition. We work hard at that. And on top of that, we continue to work very, very hard at eliminating the little things that can beat us. And we have worked hard to make our kids mentally tough. We tell them to expect people to come at them very hard, right from the opening whistle. We work at convincing our kids that they may not have immediate success - that they should expect that, because football is a tough game. We are into wearing people down. It came to me one day a couple of years ago while I was splitting rounds of firewood - we just have to keep hammering away on that wedge. The first blow won't do it, and the second won't, and the third probably won't either - but eventually, with enough hard whacks, even the toughest piece of wood will split. (I'm sure I'm not the first football coach to use that analogy.) If they do have early success - this can be a real problem, by the way - we have to convince them that it is a 15-round fight, and they've only won the first round. In other words, I am suggesting that the solution lies with your kids. They are going to have to play as hard in the fourth quarter as in the first. No excuses. I go along with Bill McCartney, national championship winner at Colorado, who said that you simply must convince your kids that the reason a play failed was that they didn't execute it properly. Sounds as if you are already pretty successful. Of course, I can't blame you for wanting more. If you weren't a perfectionist, you wouldn't be a very good coach. *********** Radio stations don't generally pay all that well, which is why we hear a lot of brainless twits attempting to read the news to us. So it was that I heard of the student at the University of Oklahoma who drank himself to death at a fraternity party. The death occured, Einstein told us, at the "Sigma Chee" house. Now, unless that was some Chinese fraternity that I don't know about, I am guessing that it was the well-known college fraternity, Sigma Chi - pronounced "Kai." *********** Hey Coach -- 2 reasons why I Coach -- Tuesday night, the dad of one of my boys brought be a book -- American Soldier, by General Tommy Franks. Here's the kicker -- It's autographed in Gen. Franks' handwriting "For Scott -- Semper Fi...Honored by YOUR (underlined twice) service. With Respect. Tommy Franks". Are you kidding me??? Tommy Franks "honored by my service"? That guy is awesome -- I don't care if he IS an army dude! I sure wish there was a way that Bush could get him on the campaign trail....He's a man's man, in my opinion. Wed. was fair day for Rockwall. They close down the schools so everyone can attend the State Fair of Texas. It's a blast. Anyway..I had eight of my boys find me at the Fair while I was walking around with the family. It's such a cool thing for a kid to walk up with a smile and say "Hi Coach!" -- people around you see that, and it's such a point of pride for me. I also had several of my boys that are high school freshmen now do the same thing..they still call me "Coach"...I just love it -- man, THAT'S why I do it! Anyway..thought you'd get a kick out of the book thing -- See ya -- Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** There is an old saying that a liberal will smell a rose and a cabbage and come to the conclusion that because the rose smells better, it will make better soup. Which explains what the polls seem to show us about the "winner" of the vice-presidential debate. If you listened, you chose Cheney, the cabbage; if you looked at the haircuts, you chose Edwards, the rose. You have to remember that in America there are lots of superficial people who would look at Rick Neuheisel and Ralph Friedgen side by side and decide that Slick Rick would make a better coach. *********** Hi Coach, I just wanted to pass along my thanks again and share our story. I bought your Dynamics tape and playbook, Installing the System and A Fine Line tape last year just before the season. I coached a 10 year old team that only scored 1 offensive touchdown the previous year (and that on a trick play) and likely only had 150 yards of total offense on the season. This was with some pretty good backs when they were a 9 year olds team. As a 10 year old team, we had no speed at all (all 3 backs from the previous team quit)and very little size. While we went winless again, my first year in the DW yielded some positive results. We scored in nearly every game and battled to a double overtime loss on penetration when we had gained 21 yards from the 25, only to have 7 missed tackles on 4th down and have the opposing team's QB scramble to the 2 yard line. It was more of my uncertainty and inexperience that let us down. Fast forward to this year. I decided to switch parks (too many administrators telling me the DW won't work and I'd have to change offenses) and switch to 5-6 year olds. My son will be 5 next year and I hope to coach his team. Almost everyone runs some sort of base blocked mishmash offense. I actually had an administrator tell me that only backs are impact players on offense. Needless to say, I had a few folks tell me that I was crazy to install the DW for such a young group. While it's true that we started slower than most teams, we have really hit our stride now. Not one single team has been able to stop our wedge plays. Our A back is a habitual tip-toer and we are changing him out this week. Our B back got the job because he could, at 50 pounds, execute a perfect kickout on kids twice his size and he is extremely quick. This past week, we had 5 posessions. The first ended with a 39 yard touchdown courtesy of QB wedge. The second ended with a 20 yard wedge touchdown from our fullback. Our third ended the half. The fourth was another QB Wedge TD, this time for 41 yards. The last was 4 wedges for a first down (all 11 players trying to stop it so they were able to stop it for 3 yards a try) and then 2 kneel downs to end the game. Lead 47c converted a 4th and 11 when our A back dropped a toss sweep (after that, I got out of the offense's way and let them wedge for almost the rest of the plays). He would have gone untouched to the endzone but our C back inexplicably cut back to the middle of the field about 5 yards downfield. Our only concessions to simplify the blocking is we down block every power and C block and we only pull our guards. Our offense has an average of 6.1 yards per play, this includes extra points (we score 75% and are getting better) and fumbled snaps (none in the last game. We have scored on our first play twice and went to the 2 yard line on our first play of the season. We are only team to score upon the current league leader and are getting better and better every day. Best of all, our offensive lineman love football. The look of sadistic glee in the eye of my 6 year old left guard when I call 3 trap @ 2 or 5-X is priceless. My 5 year old right guard accounts for at least 1 pancake block per week when we finally spring lead 47-C. In summary, thank you for the tools that I am trying to put to good use. I hope other coaches of young players will have the opportunity to show the doubters that, not only can you teach this offensive system to young players but, given time and patience, it can become devistatingly effective. I'd like to take credit for these kids but it's mostly me not making a mess out of what God and the parents have been good enough to trust me with. Tim Taylor, 5/6 Midway Black Packers, "Men in Black" - Midway Park, Cumming, GA. *********** The Boston Globe's MIke Barnicle said on NBC afterwards that the vice-presidential debate reminded him of a father going to pick up his son at college after his freshman year; the kid excitedly tells him everything he's learned in his one year, until finally the father says, "You don't know diddly-squat." *********** Coach Wyatt, Another good day for us on Saturday. Cyclones 54 our opponent 0. We ran a total of 19 offensive plays of which 6 were touch downs. We scored three times on defense via the pass interception. We were up by 42 points by the half. The second half was a good time for us to play the younger kids which gave them experience. You'll like this. The team we played passed the ball from the start. They had a few completions but nothing that hurt us. At this level QB's just aren't consistent which tends to be a minus if your philosophy is passing. At the start of the forth quarter my partner, Scott, suggested he go over to their sideline and tell them to run the ball between the ends. I had emptied my bench and thought if their kids could have a little success it would be a plus for them. I had no intention of putting my starters back in and wanted to see the younger kids react. Scott comes back and tells me the head coach's response: "We're a passing team, that's what we do, success will come. But, thanks anyways". They never moved the ball pass the 50 yard line while my kids scored another TD running TR6G, TR3Trap2, and T2Wedge. Our record stands at 4-0 heading into the second half of the regular season. Take care, Coach Glade Hall, Seattle, Washington *********** Bill George Youth Football League 115 LB Gold Division - Bloomingdale Bears 32 Bartlett Raiders 0 - Very good day by the Bears today coach. We had over 300 yards of total offense today with no penalties on offense today which was a nice thing. C back Clay Cooper had 2 long touchdown runs on 99 SP and rushed for 100 yards and A back Nick Campanella had close to 100 yds rushing and had beautiful 50 yard run that would have made Barry Sanders smile. We had to only throw 2 passes all day long because we were able to run at will against the Raiders but QB Erick King found the endzone through a tough Chicago wind for a 35 yard pass to WR Kendall Lane who did his best impersonation of Randy Moss by out jumping a Raider defender for a touchdown and on a nice 2 point conversion off Red Red. Great job by all the boys even though we kept it pretty basic with our play calling this week due to the fact the Raiders were down a little bit this year. It was an easy week for us but next week we have our annual rivalry game with our neighbors the Carol Stream Panthers which is always tough. You can throw out the records in this game next weekend and we will be ready for the big show down. Hope all is well coach talk to you next week. Stacey King, Bloomingdale Bears, Bloomingdale, Illinois *********** ARIZONA - Coach Mike Waters, who has been head coach at LaJoya High School in Phoenix, Arizona since it opened three years ago with just a freshman class, wrote to tell me that his team, now competing at th varsity level, is 5-0. I asked him how much of the Double-Wing he's still running, and he wrote... Coach Wyatt, We absolutely are still running the Double Wing!! In fact, I challenge any high school team in the country to run the DW in as "pure" of a sense as we are. We haven't even gotten out of the DW formation yet. We have "only" run super power, power and power keep, counter, G, wedge, trap and an occasional GO reach. The only pass we have thrown is red/red and blue/blue. ( we have black and brown and G pass in yet, but haven't called them in a game.) We're 8 of 13 with 5 touchdowns passing on the season. I am a FIRM believer in not stopping ourselves, and since the other team can't stop us, why would I not call plays that continue to work. So far in our five games, we have scored, 43, 42, 43, 49 and 31 points. At times after games our kids have laughed at how few different plays we have actually run… They are absolutely buying into our philosophy that; "we would rather be an inch wide and a mile deep than a mile wide and an inch deep." Thanks for asking *********** IOWA - Galva-Holstein 80, Westwood 6 - Coach- Now before you go accusing me of running up the score on anyone....let me explain a little. (now I sound like John Kerry) "If we lose the war in Iraq it was a bad decision, but if we win the war in Iraq it was a good decision." They kept throwing the ball...we kept creating turnovers. It was 56-0 at half. My JV played the entire 2nd half and beat them 24-6. 46 rushes for 466 yards; 3 of 4 passing for 56 yards (and Keith dropped a ball in the endzone on a beautiful red red...he will never drop one again I bet); 522 total yards of offense (would have been more but Keith ran opening kickoff back 87 yards for a TD. Stats- (you will not believe this) Starting Backs- A Back-8 carries 84 yards (Tyler) 0 TD's, B Back- 1 carry 23 yards (that was still Ben although Evan played) 1 TD, C Back- 4 carries 95 yards (Keith) 2 TD's, QB- 4 carries 49 yards 1 TD Backups: A and C Back#2- 7 carries 40 yards 1 TD (Grant); A and C Back #3- 7 carris 84 yards 1 TD; A Back # 4 1 carry for 9 yards and a TD B Back#2- 3 carries 34 yards 2 TD's (Evan...and he looked GOOD!!!); B Back#3- 7 carries for 25 yards; B Back #4- 1 carry 18 yards (Tanner...Tyler's little brother with Tyler blocking for him on the trap play) 12 backs carried the ball; 11 guys scored either TD's or 2 point PAT's. NO BACKS OVER 100 YARDS!!!! Told you I was being nice! It was homecoming too by the way! Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa *********** IOWA - Alta 14, Sioux Central 6. Coach Wyatt, Not a good offensive showing as 9 accepted penalties and 3 others not accepted continually put us in a hole. Scored on a 56 C Lead Criss-Cross (55 yards) and on a 88 Super Power (4 yards). Stats for the game: A-Back 7 carries - 69 yards, 2 TD's. B-Back 11 carries - 52 yards. C-Back 17 carries - 69 yards. QB 2-4 for 22 yards. The win puts us at 4-1 and 3-0 in our district. Rory Payne, Alta, Iowa *********** MASSACHUSETTS - Coach Wyatt, Here are the results for the weekend of October 1st for Bishop Fenwick's Varsity and Junior Varsity double wing teams. Saturday night the Bishop Fenwick Crusaders (3-1) took on the St. Bernard's Saints (1-3) in Fitchburg Mass. The rain was coming down in buckets and by halfway through the first quarter the field was a mud bowl between the 40 yard lines. Fenwick scored on a 78-yard counter play in the first quarter and then tacked on the 2 point conversion to go ahead 8-0. No one thought that would be the end of the scoring, it was. Final score Fenwick 8, St. Bernard's 0. Fenwick ground out 251 yards on the ground and tacked on another 118 through the air (369 yards total) but only came away with 8 points. As Coach David Woods stated to the press "You couldn't really do anything in the middle of the field. It was so muddy you couldn't even walk, never mind run. We tried to keep the play outside the hash mark, but we were limited." On Monday the Junior Crusaders took on the Junior Saints in Fitchburg. The field had dried up but was still a mess in the middle of the field. Fenwick scored first on a 51 yard scamper by their right wingback (C) on the 4th play of the game. The 2 point conversion was made by the fullback on a trap play. Saint Bernard's scored in the second quarter after blocking a punt and getting the ball on the Fenwick 12 yard line. The extra point was no good and Fenwick lead 8-6. In the 3rd quarter Fenwick moved the length of the field using counters, pitches, and traps. The fullback trap off the left side (2 trap 3: they call it 30 to 1 trap) gained big yardage during the drive. The drive stalled on the 17 yard line with 4th and 5. The trap was called again and the fullback went 17 yards for the second Fenwick touchdown. The trap play netted 33 yards out of the 62 yard touchdown drive. That was the end of the quarter and the offensive play for Fenwick. St. Bernard's controlled the ball the entire 4th quarter but, a pass was intercepted on the last play of the game and ran back 85 yards for the final Fenwick score. Final Score Fenwick 22, St. Bernard's 6. The offense gained 151 yards on the ground in 3 quarters. The double wing is working well at all levels at Bishop Fenwick. It will be interesting to see how they do on October 30 when they take on another double wing team, Austin Prep. Steve Weick, Peabody, Massachusetts *********** NEW YORK - Corning West 38, Elmira Free Academy 35 - Corning West forced a fumble in the top half of the first overtime period, then kicked a 22-yard field goal to go 3-1 on the season. *********** Coach Wyatt - Thank you!!!! What a wonderful game we had last night!!! I coach Junior High Football here in Cairo, Nebraska. I switched to the DW last year after researching different offenses. I chose the DW because of the action of all eleven players. My linemen love the offense. Went 2-2 last year with it, and so far this year are 2-1. I wish we could play our first game over because it was our first game and Loup City's second. (Firm believer in you make the most improvement from first to second game). I purchased your Dynamics video and the Playbook last year, and was pretty vanilla with my play calling. I added "3 Trap at 2" this year along with "6-G". Wow!!!! "6-G" was amazing last night!!! What a play. I only run it to the right side because of personnel that I have, but my B back averaged 4.7/carry. We rushed for a single game record 234 yards last night on 34 carries. It may seem like not a lot of yards, but we play 8:00 quarters. I am sold on your offense. I love it!!! Again, thanks for the GREAT offense!!! It is truly amazing!!! Wedging it, Craig A. Badura, Centura Public School, Cairo, Nebraska P.S. Greg Hansen who coaches at Stanton High School here in Nebraska.....a fellow DW'er is 6-0 and should be rolling into the State Championships....been communicating with him and sharing ideas on the DW.....GO DW!!!!!!! *********** Coach, Millersville 42 - Cape St. Claire 0 - Well I can dispell the rumor that we are strictly a running team. We new we would beat this team without any trouble at all, so I opted to work on a portion of the game we rarely used. My starting qb was 4-4-93 and 3 td's! We scored on Blue-Blue, Thunder and Lightning. We then put in another player to play quarterback, moved my starting qb to X and he even caught a pass for a touchdown pass. You have seen my team on film before and I assure you he still is the shortest quarterback in our county for at least 3 weight classes! However when the routes are run "CORRECTLY" and the quarterback releases the ball in 3 seconds, the routes are almost impossible to defend. We have a big game coming up this weekend against a familiar foe. Will get back to you with results! Take Care, Jason Clarke - Millersville Wolverines 115lb Team, Millersville, Maryland *********** Last night our sophomore team was flagged three times for going in motion to late.  Our wing went in one step motion before the snap for super power and we were flagged for going in motion to late.  My understanding has been that we can leave in one step motion anytime before the snap.  Can you clarify this for me?  Have a good day. Shane Strong, Pine Island, Minnesota Coach, you were screwed by another of those moron officials who decide to insert into their own personal rulebooks rules which clearly aren't in the real one. Rule 7 Section 2 Article 7 - "Only one player may be in motion at the snap and then only if such motion is not toward the opponent's goal line." Shame you couldn't challenge that a**hole to show you where, exactly, it stipulates the point after which a man can't go in motion. *********** Shortly after I first moved to Washington - 1975 - a kid moved out here from the hard-coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and played for one of the local high schools. He was good. He made All-State, and went on to play for the University of Washington. Two years ago, his own son was playing at the same local high school, where a buddy of mine, Willie Thomson was coaching Consider this to be a belated Letter of Nomination for National Football Father of the Year. Willie still calls him "the ideal football father." Here's one reason why: He was at practice one day, when he happened to notice a parent down at the other end of the field getting in the face of one of the sophomore-team coaches, a young guy. Our dad went down to the parent and said (I am quoting Willie, and I trust his memory), "Why do you have to be such a f--kin' ***hole? These guys work their asses off for these kids, so get off his f**kin' ass." The guy offered to apologize, but our dad said, "You don't need to apologize. Just stop being such a f**kin' ***hole." There will always be those who will say that when you talk to someone that way, you are only taking yourself down to his level. To them I say, there are times in life when, same as in football, low man wins. *********** Hi Coach, How did you do this week? Well. I hope! The Atascadero Raiders extended their winning streak to 16 games on this week in a rematch of last years "Super Bowl". It felt like a playoff game. The place was crowded with former players, parents and coaches who came out to see two undefeated teams go at it. This is the kind of team you really like to beat. They throw wildly all over the field and talk S*^t all the time. They told some other coaches that we are not half the team we were last year. And, although we aren't, you shouldn't go out talking like that. It was all my kids needed to hear, that their opponent doesn't even respect them or their teammates. They scouted us several times this year and we new they would have something special on "D" and they didn't disappoint me. They ran some gap defense with LBs stacked and the safeties stacked behind them. They would be uneven on one side and were desperate to stop the superpowers. They tried to key our motion and take a gamble on which direction we were going. We had put in the "stack several weeks ago and never ran it when we were being scouted, "Surprise". We went over/under stack and gave them a huge dose of 88/99 Super G-O Reach. I didn't' like getting out of tight but they had no answer for the outside and they didn't adjust to the unbalance, so what the hell. It looked like old U.S.C. sweep left and U.S.C. sweep right. How do you think the trap went after a half of running outside? Four carries for 80 yards and a TD. All in all a good day anytime you beat up on someone 28-0 with just "half a team". This week we play a team that is really struggling. I feel for their program. They haven't won a game in a couple years and although I don't want to embarrass them, I can't allow my player to think less of their opponent and ease up. I really hate the "mercy rule" games. We are going to work on some play action early on and try to get better at the "wildcat" package before it gets ugly. Hope all is well, and I'll talk to you soon. Mike Norlock, Atascadero, California *********** I went to the Deerfield HS vs. Glenbrook North HS football game last night. I coached a lot of those Deerfield kids and I've coached in the Glenbrook North feeder program the last couple of years. So I can sit on either sideline and have a lot of conversations with parents I've met along the way. My second year coaching, I had a 5th grader who was a good athlete and a good kid. However, he did not attend Deerfield HS because his parents thought he needed more specialized attention to deal with some learning issues. I had lost touch with the family over the years but saw them in the stands at last night's game. Turns out their kid was in the stands, too. He was on his way back to his first year in college after attending a football game the night before. That's right, he's a midshipman at the US Naval Academy and he was in Colorado Springs the night before for the Air Force vs. Navy game. Needless to say, he was pleased with the final score. And, I was pleased to see how well things have turned out for this young man and his family. Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois *********** Coach Wyatt, Oviedo Lions 30, Lake Howell Hawks 0 . Defense and special teams set up great field position all game and the offense really took advantage. Establishing the Super Powers early on set up some great traps and G plays. We improved to 2-0 on the season, but much tougher tests await us in the coming weeks as we try to get the schedule back on track. Lee Griesemer, Chuluota, Florida *********** Hello Coach, I have been running the DW at the youth level for 6 years in our community (I sent you a tape of our state championship season some time ago), and this year we started our first year as a Varsity program at the high school. We lobbied for 5 years to get a high school (the high school has about 1100 kids) team, and finally we are there! I have moved up to the high school as the OC, and we are running the DW there with great success. Most of our challenges come from shooting ourselves in the foot (dropped punts, missed tackles, etc.), but the offense is running very well. Two weeks ago we gained over 470 yards on offense…not bad for a first year varsity program. Our first game we were missing three starters, and were out of sorts and lost. We played a team that played us well and took advantage of our mistakes, but I know that we can beat them. The first game with them did not count in the league because we play them again during the season (we have a bye next week, and then play them again). We have come a long way since that first game and I am looking forward to the rematch. Stan Eames, Vermont *********** The head coach of the team (we play) is an excellent defensive coach, and used an interesting technique that I have not seen before. He plays a 5-man front, and the tackles do a shoulder roll on the snap of the ball into the toss lane. The immediately roll into it, and then sit there like a bug on all fours. I was wondering if you had run into this technique before, and how you handle it. I have seen the technique you describe. A guy has used it against me. It looked clever, but I have no idea what he was trying to accomplish, since a guy who does that is essentially a one-trick pony and we have more than one play (he may - or may not - clog up the off-tackle hole, but he can't play the trap) and frankly, I consider it to be potentially dangerous because there are points in that technique in which a kid may be unable to protect himself should he not time his move properly. (I think we would bury him.) *********** NBC, which has no problem pushing all sorts of gross promos of its sexy and violent prime-time shows on us, which assaults us with creepy, suggestive ads for Cialis and Viagra and assorted other "Erectile Dysfunction" ads ("It's the quality"), is having a hissy-fit over Dale Earnhardt, Junior's saying, "It doesn't mean sh--" on the air. Gasp! As a result, all NASCAR races will now be telecast with a five-second delay. *********** Portland Trail Blazer Qyntel (sounds like one of those new phone company giants, doesn't it?) Woods is in deep (six-second delay) doo-doo. A dog evidently belonging to him was found evidently (I hate the word "allegedly") abandoned in a rather rough section of Portland. The dog, an American Staffordshire Terrier - okay, okay, it was a pit bull - was rather badly injured, with puncture wounds that animal control officers say are consistent with dog fighting. Someone was quoted as saying Woods abandoned the dog because "it wouldn't fight." Uh, Qyntel - Dog fighting is a felony in Oregon. Blazers' coach Maurice Cheeks, who has earned a special place in heaven for his ability to understand people like Woods, seemed unable to relate to this latest outrage. He said he's owned "golden retrievers all my life." Woods is the same boy genius who last year, when stopped by a Portland cop and asked for ID, whipped out a trading card.    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2004 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  October 1, 2004  "I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him." Mark Twain   2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  FLASH - MADISON (PORTLAND) 29, WILSON 21 - MADISON ENDS DEFENDING CITY CHAMP WILSON'S 15-GAME LEAGUE (DISTRICT WIN STREAK, MOVES TO 3-1. DETAILS TUESDAY *********** HOLD ONTO THE WHEEL! DO NOT LOSE CONTROL OF YOUR CAR! IF YOU HAVE TO, PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD UNTIL YOU CALM DOWN! At least after reading this, you can't say you weren't warned. Be on the lookout in certain metro areas for billboards advertising a certain gay-oriented Web site (sorry, I won't give you the URL. I'm keeping it all to myself.). On the billboard, under the headline "PLAY FOR KEEPS," two fellows, wearing only football pants (sweat sox stuffed in the crotch, naturally, for effect,) and football shoes, stand, legs spread, on a football field. Shirtless, they are buff and studly, and their upper bodies are smooth and hairless. One of them is holding a football in one hand. Look carefully. His other hand is holding the hand of his buddy. *********** Cool... Just in case you bin wondering what the helmet of damn near any high school in Texas looks like, go here---http://www.texashsfootball.com/helmetproject.htm *********** Jack LaLanne, first of the TV fitness gurus, is now 90 years old, but he's still trim and fit. Asked about the secret to a long, healthy life, he responded, in a way that any of us with bigger waistlines than we ought to have will understand - "I work at it. Most people work at dying. I work at living. It's a pain in the ass. You have to eat right and exercize." *********** I enjoyed watching Navy-Air Force (I caught the second half). Great game. Real football played by both teams. And I wanted Navy to win (which they did). But, GOD - I can't stand to see any game decided by a f--king kicker! Short of the sort of limited-substitution rule we had back in the days of one-platoon football, something has to be done to take away the disproportionately large role of non-football playing specialists in deciding games. My rule suggestion - one that I have been proposing for years: no player may kick the ball in any way more than once per game. And then - Bye, bye soccer girlie men. *********** Frank Simonsen, of Cape May, New Jersey, noticed that his QB and pulling backside guard were occasionally tangling feet. The guard was stepping too deep with his first step, "either tripping over the QB, or tripping him." Based on years of coaching, Frank did some detective work, and found that the problem lay not with the QB or the guard, but with the center. It seems that the center was not driving out on his block, and as a result, the guard had improvised in order to avoid tripping over the center's feet. Presto. Problem fixed. Well, not quite that fast, actually. Wrote Frank, "I find that one of the biggest challenges with coaching is that the kids will compensate for someone else's mistake. Then the first thing you know you have a chain reaction with 2 or 3 people doing it wrong, and a play that just will not work. That takes forever to fix because you need to go back and break the bad habits and develop the right ones again." *********** I read someplace where someone was claiming that even with the switch to the West Coast offense, Nebraska is still running the ball even better than it did under Frank Solich. After three games, they noted, this year's Cornhuskers are averaging 253 yards per game. But not so fast - Nebraska rushed for 363 yards in the opener against Western Illinois - it's amazing what a game against a Division I-AA school will do for your stats Against D-1A opposition - Southern Miss and Pitt - the Cornhuskers are averaging about 199, and they were held to 123 by Pitt their last time out. Maybe the West Coast offense will work in Lincoln, and maybe not, but let's be careful about taking any more cheap shots at Frank Solich. *********** According to the most recent polls, Kerry is favored over Bush in France by 64% to 5%, in Germany by 74% to 10%. Enough said. *********** Wonder if they still think it was worth missing Senior Prom and Senior Skip Day for... Two University of Oregon redshirt freshmen have left the program recently, one because he was apparently dissatisifed with playing time, the other because it appears, if you can read through the gobbledegook the school PR guys feed you, he was asked to leave. Both of them graduated from high school early in order to take part in Oregon's 2003 spring practices. *********** Dear Coach Wyatt, After a slow start, the Riverside Eagles won thier 4th straight game 36-6. We started slow on offense going 4 and out on the first drive. We led at halftime clinging to a 15-6 lead. Our 2 scores came on a perfectly thrown pass on 2 red to the c back which covered 40 yards. With 40 seconds left in the half we scored on 47-c. The powers were not effective in the 1st half because they stacked their lb's behind the dline and stunted hard each play. We adjusted at halftime by running from slot and walling them down. Since their DE walked out on the slot this opened up a large gap and made it easier for the B back to kick out. ( I thought about having the line just block down, but the slot formation worked well. Our ends just made a call at the line and blocked down on the LB's.) In the second half we played better defense and I was able to get some other kids the ball and we scored on the super power three more times. We play the defending county champs next week. There are several areas that we need to improve on. Our defense lacks intensity and misses too many tackles and the kickoff team has been a sore spot all year. Best of luck to you this weekend.. Dan King, Evans, Georgia *********** My fullback has the best arm on the team, but he is also one of my best blockers. (he is also a lefty) The question is how can I incorporate him in throwing the ball more, but keep him at fullback. I also feel it is too late to change positions, if I am only going to throw about 5-8 times a game. Any suggestions would be appreciated. You could probably toss the ball to your B-Back and let him throw, but you would have to make sure that you held your playside tight end in to block, and had your QB block the first rusher outside the tight end - and throw to your wingback. It has been done. *********** Hi Coach, Your comment on Video games was interesting. My son ,Nick, plays corner and returns kicks. If he's been good I let him run the ball. Two weeks ago, while returning the opening second half kick for a TD he got to the wall and turned it up and blew by the defenders. The kid has wheels, which he got from his mother. Anyhow, while cruising for the endzone he sticks out his arm like he's a jet plane which prompted a flag. But he's not finished, upon reaching the endzone he spiked the ball prompting another flag. We were penalized 30 yards, no TD. I asked him where he learned that stuff and he said "they do that on NFL BLITZ"! I spend so much time working other areas of the game I forget every year to explain these little details. He learned his lesson I hope and he apoligized to everyone. Oh...but I'm not finished. In the 11/12 year old game my older son, Tom, gets slammed to the turf from behind and returns the favor to the "offending" party. Flag, and I go looking for a bag to put over my head........ Mike Studer, Kittitas Grid Kids, Kittitas, Washington (Just more evidence of the way the NFL poisons our game. The definition of hypocrisy is the NFL patting itself on the back for all the wondrous things it is doing for youth football, blah, blah, blah, when in reality it is generating a bunch of feel-good pboto-op publicity for itself by spending only a minute portion of the millions it rakes in from licensing video-game makers to go show (and teach) kids a perverted version of football. In its own way, it is no different from the absurd incongruity of Miami drug lords buying uniforms and equipment for inner-city youth teams (see "We Own This Game", by Robert Andrew Powell). HW) *********** Until last night in the JV game we saw a wide 10-1. Needless to say, 44-0. My 2nd string freshmen team scored twice against it. Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa *********** Jack Burke, Jr. was quite a golfer in his day. In 1956, he won both the Masters and the PGA. He's now 81 year old, but he's still active as a teaching pro at the Champions Golf Club outside Houston. In an article he wrote in Sports Illustrated just prior to the recent Ryder Cup, he referred to all-time golf great Ben Hogan in making a great point - one that football coaches, obsessed as we tend to get about winning, need to take to heart. "Now they're talking about how they got to win back the (Ryder) Cup," he wrote. "That's just so suffocating. I never heard Hogan say he was trying to win. Never heard him say the word 'win.' It's all about executing." *********** Coach, Let me reintroduce myself. I purchased your offense during the spring of '03. Last year I didn't have the opportunity to use the offense. Two weeks before the season there was a fallout between several of the varsity coaches...well to make a long story short I was moved from the 7th grade to the 9th grade team as a receiver coach. Fast forward to '04...I'm back to coaching 7th grade and using the double wing system. We are 2-1 and averaging 186 yrds total offense/game with my A back averaging 8.34 B back 8.46 and my fullback averaging 7.25 yards/carry. Doug Pauley, Chestnutride High School, Fishertown, Pennsylvania *********** Coach Wyatt, Wanted to give you an update on our season at the half-way point. This past week we beat district rival Olympia HS, a 2003 sectional finalist that we haven't beaten in 4 years, 49-17. The offense had 433 yards rushing on 50 carries in the first 3 quarters alone. Our leading rusher was a sophomore QB, 9 carries for 161 yards and 3 TD's. Our C back had 125 yards on 14 carries and 3 TD's. Currently we are 3-1. Our loss came at the hands of a larger school that has a very good chance to win the large school state championship. In 4 games we have gained 1612 yards rushing on 218 attempts. That is an average of 403 yards per game and 7.4 yards per carry. We are averaging 35 points a game even though our starters have played sparingly in the 4th quarter. Our leading rusher is our QB, 47 carries for 498 yards (125 yards per game, 10.6 yds per carry). He is a tremendous athlete and gets most of those yards on Super Keep. We have two very good RB's (one of which will sign on to a IAA university at the end of the season) that have each gained over 300 yds in 4 games. John Gammon, Eastridge HS, Rochester New York 14622 *********** A friend of mine who has taken over a new, chronically losing program, notes what we all know to be true - you can sometimes be non-athletic, you can sometimes be weak on offense, but not on defense --- Our biggest glaring problem is our legs are weak. This really shows up when we go to tackle on defense. We use correct form early but then get run over at times and then the kids try to compensate for getting run over by diving, etc... to try and tackle. Getting them to play a full game was quite an accomplishment. Again, we are improving but not ever as fast as I would like us too. The situation is very similar to how (my previous school) was my first couple of years there. ************ KANSAS - Colby 28, Ness City-Dighton 26 - The Colby Eagles are now 3-1 (and undefeated on the road) after they held on for a 28-26 victory at previously undefeated Ness City-Dighton. After taking a 28-6 lead three minutes into the second half, we took the rest of the half off (not by design!). We have to learn to finish an opponent off when we have them down, but we were able to hang on and get the win which gives our seniors and juniors more football wins in a season than they have ever experienced before. We ran 54 times for 390 yards (7.2 yards per carry) and completed 3 out of 7 passes for 31 yards, one TD, and one 2pt conversion. Senior quarterback Matt Augustine had 18 carries for 218 yards and scored on runs of 58 and 97 yards while also throwing for his first TD of the season and grabbing his fourth interception from his cornerback spot on defense. Next up is Homecoming (I hate the distractions of Homecoming Week!) versus traditional northwest Kansas power St. Francis. We have a tough week ahead of us preparing to stop the wishbone, but hopefully the kids are building confidence and will continue to show improvements. Greg Koenig, Colby, Kansas *********** MARYLAND - Millersville 53 - Pasadena Chargers 0 - Coach, We won our fourth game very convincingly. The score at the end of the first quarter was 6-0, we erupted for a 34 point second quarter. It was highlighed by two defensive touchdowns, 2 99 Super Powers for score and 1 56-C. This was the first team that would sell there mother to stop my A-Back. Instead of running counter, I opted to run 99 and used a different player at C-Back - he scored twice on 2 carries for 84 yards. My oposing coaches now realize that you must balance your defense to play us. At the halftime, the score was 40-0. For the second straight week, the clock was running at half time. Our defense held the chargers to two first downs, - 94 total offense on 30 plays. Until next week! Jason Clarke, Millersville Wolverines - 115lb Team *********** Hey Coach, Congratulations on Madison's "streak". Keep it up and go get number 3 tomorrow. Those kids and that community must be very excited. I would have sent you this sooner if I had the electricity to do so. We just got power back after Hurricane Jeanne (Part 4 in a ? part series). Everyone here is safe and sound and we just had a little bit of water in the house. Belleview improved to 3-0 last Friday night, beating Palatka 35-19. The final score is much closer than the game really was. We jumped out to a 28-7 halftime lead at Palatka's homecoming game but the refs decided that the team from 3 counties away wasn't going to blow-out the home team. After a penalty free 1st half, we had 3 TDs called back (2 for blocks in the back and one for holding). The blocks in the back were on our backside TE on Super Power and the holding was on 47C. We tried to explain to the refs that the TE is in the free blocking zone but they didn't want to hear it. All of the penalties were called on plays to Palatka's side of the field. In total, we had 173 yards of offense negated due to penalties. We still ended up with 360 yards and 4 TDs on the ground and 95 yards and 1 TD through the air for a total of 455 yards of total offense (7.7 yard per play). We nominated our entire offensive line for player of the week. Our biggest game of the year is tomorrow night against Ocala-Forest High School. This is our first district game and most around these parts figure that the winner of this game will be the district champs. Since we are not expecting any hurricanes this weekend, I should be able to get you an update by Monday. Take Care and Good Luck! Donnie Hayes, Belleview, Florida *********** Navy's Paul Johnson was asked about his quarterback situation. "Is there still a battle at quarterback?" he was asked. "Yeah," he said. "They're battling with me." *********** Coach, I was reading your news about officials. Ours Friday night was the worst ever. We had a touchdown called back because the A back was touching the tackles back on counter. The official said it was aiding the runner! In all we had 3 TD's called back. One other came when our center fell on top of a submarining Nose. The call was Holding. The other came when a pulling tackle was cut by a linebacker and he fell into a defender. The call was block in the back......The next one was an unsportsmanlike conduct on the coach....There's only so much you can take til the shit meter gets full. We won 41-20. Should have been 63-13. Jeff Murdock, Ware Shoals, South Carolina *********** Coach Wyatt: I don't know if Coach Harkins has dropped you a note or anything this season, but I wanted to let you know of our continued success running the Double Wing. I showed Chad the video on the Double Wing just before he was selected as our head coach, and he loved it. I believe he called and emailed you several times as he started putting it in (this would have been in the spring of 2002). We have been district champs the past 3 years (the last two running the Double Wing). We are a small 1A school in east central Louisiana that has not had much football success for a number of years (since the late 1980s, I think). In 2002 we went to the 2nd round of the playoffs (first time since the 1980s, I believe), and last season we went to the third round. Our final 5 regular season games had a combined score of 301-8. I don't have the total figures for last season, but one of our backs, Demetrius Duncan, scored 26 touchdowns and gained over 1600 yards. This year Johnnie Lee, a junior who ran the DW for me in junior high, has already scored at least 12 touchdowns through our 4th game. His running mate, senior Michael Griffin, has at least 6, and I believe our fullback, A.J Sharp, has a couple. We are currently 3-1, an unheard-of start for our school. Quite frankly, no one in our district can compete with us, for a variety of reasons, one of the primary ones being the Double Wing. We have one more non-district game before we begin district play, and we have a non-district game in the middle of our district games. Unless something really blows up on us we should make the playoffs again this year. I am not coaching right now because Uncle Sam has called me up for a while. I am currently mobilized with the Army Reserve in Baton Rouge, LA (I'm a Lieutenant Colonel assigned to a Materiel Management Center that is an enduring unit in Kuwait and has soldiers mobilized in Kuwait and in Baton Rouge), so I have not been able to attend many games, but I have heard some great things. I was mobilized in Jan 2003, and just found out I will be on active duty until at least Dec 2006, so I am not getting to participate in my favorite vocation - teaching. I have not coached since the 2001 season, but I have kept my hand in a few things with the team. Coach Harkins keeps me updated (besides loving high school football, we both ride motorcycles:) I just wanted to give you a brief update on a southern school that is having good success with your offense. I'll try to keep you posted as we go through the rest of the season. Take care. Jeff McClure, Jonesville, Louisiana *********** Nebraska, which held onto Lawrence Phillips until the last bit of eligibility was squeezed out of him, seems to have drawn the line on behavior a little closer to the behavior of civilization, and Richie Incognito crossed it. Several times. Finally, he was dropped from the program recently following a long history of gross, violent behavior, the least of which consisted of spitting on opposing players. Imagine opening up your program to a guy like that. But that's exactly what Oregon's Mike Bellotti has done, announcing that Incognito had enrolled at Oregon as a full-time student. On an athletic scholarship. (Now, wouldn't you think it would do a guy like this good to get a job, and find out what life is like for ordinary students who don't break laws or beat people up or spit on people?) The damage to Oregon, whether or not he plays, whether or not he shapes up, will be incalculable. Not even Nike chairman (and Oregon booster) Phil Knight's money will be enough to wash away the stain. By bringing a guy like this on board, The Portland Oregonian's John Canzano observed Tuesday, "Oregon is one of those programs now." Not that Incognito will be free to roam the Oregon campus in search of students to beat up. Oh, no. Coach Bellotti said that there are several conditions that must be met before Incognito ever puts on an electric-green Oregon uniform, including successful completion of an anger-management course. "That," wrote Canzano, "should be a breeze. He's graduated twice before."  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2004 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD