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SEPTEMBER 2004

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  September 28, 2004  "I give the same halftime speech over and over. It works best when my players are better than the other coach's players." Chuck Mills, former coach at Utah State and Wake Forest   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 34, Cleveland 17 - It has been at least six years since Madison High (1) won two games in a row, (2) had a winning record at any point in the season, and (3) sat on top of the Portland Interscholastic League standings at any point in the season. Coming into this season, the Senators had won only four games in the previous four seasons - two of them coming last year. It was as if there were three separate games. There was the first half, a rather sluggish affair in which Madison's best shot at a drive was stunted by an official's "misunderstanding" of a rule that resulted in a 15-yard blocking-below-the-waist penalty. The two teams left at the half with Madison in front, 6-3. Then there was a fiery 19-minute period in which Madison put 28 points on the board, holding Cleveland scoreless while building a 34-3 lead with just under vie minutes to play. And then there were the final five minutes in which Madison coach Tracy Jackson cleared the bench and Cleveland was able to capitalize on substitutes' miscues. After gaining just 89 yards in the first half, Madison finished with 299 yards in total offense - 269 yards rushing in 47 carries. Andy Jackson carried the ball 21 times for 157 yards and four touchdowns. B-Back Damaien Young, a converted guard, had 67 yards on 12 carries, and scored a TD. *********** We had a coverup worthy of CBS and Dan Rather in our game Friday night. In our first offensive drive, we ran a wide play to our right which went for about 10 yards. But, no-o-o-o - flag on the play. The signal was for an illegal block below the waist. On the phones up in the box, I heard our coach, Tracy Jackson, inquire about who it was on, and I heard the sideline official tell him, "Number 42." That would be our playside tight end. On the play in question, his job was to reach a man in a "9" technique. If he is able to, he may scramble-block the guy, bear-crawling through his outside leg. Perfectly legal, since both men started out in the free-blocking zone, both started out on the line of scrimmage, and the contact occured in the free-blocking zone. I heard Tracy tell that to the official next to him on the sideline, and the guy responded, "the free-blocking-zone is from tackle to tackle." Rule 2, Section 17, Article 1 - "The free-blocking zone is a rectangular area extending laterally 4 yards either side of the spot of the snap and 3 yards behind each line of scrimmage. A player is in the free-blocking zone when any part of his bpdy is in the zone at the snap." See anything in there about "tackle to tackle?" Neither did I. Not only was our tight end completely inside the free-blocking zone, but with our minimal splits, he is still inside it even when we go unbalanced. Oh, sh--, I thought. After all the horror stories I get from youth coaches who run into situations like this, we've got a guy who doesn't know one of the most basic rules of the game. So Tracy used a time out for a conference, and he explained to the white hat that we know our offense, and we know the rules that apply, and what our tight end did was perfectly legal. The ref nodded his head and said, "We'll keep an eye on it from now on." (I'm still listening to all this.) No, no, Tracy said - I'm talking about this last play. That penalty was applied only because the sideline official - the guy who made the call - didn't understand the rule, as his statement made abundantly clear. The ref could have picked up the flag and waved it over his head and let the play stand. And go explain it to the other coach. We all make mistakes. But, no-o-o-o. Here we were at a Friday night high school football game, and we're witness to a coverup worthy of the most corrupt of public officials. Or TV networks. That ref knew damn well that our kids had been dealt with unfairly by a member of his crew, but he was more concerned with covering up for his incompetent buddy than he was about the integrity of the game. Sorry, he said. Play on. First and 25. We didn't have a decent drive the rest of the half. As the officials walked off the field at halftime, I found myself behind them and just couldn't resist. "You guys do know what the free blocking zone is, right?" I asked helpfully. "Yeah," one of them muttered. *********** Go ahead and watch the Presidential debates Thursday night if you want to. Me- I'm hustlin' home after practice to watch some real, honest-to-God football - Navy-Air Force. *********** CONNECTICUT - Rockville 44, Manchester 38 - Hey coach- Just thought I would pass along another success story. Last night we faced a school from our neighboring town with twice the population and a team more than 110 kids in their program (we have about 50). They feature one of the top running backs in the state and were ranked 13th going into the game (we weren't ranked). Final totals - 478 rushing yards on 64 attempts = 7.47 ave Our go-to guy had 278 yds on 26 carries = 10.69 ave (mostly out of stack); FB had 165 yds 3/4 passing for 116 yds and 2 td's Started the third period with a 9 minute scoring drive, had the ball for 11 minutes of the third period. Final Score: Rockville 44, Manchester 38 It's our fourth year running the double wing and we've gotten better each year. We've got a great group of kids who believe in the system and take pride in pounding the ball. We are hopeful that last night is a sign of things to come. Thanks for your advice and guidance and I look forward to reporting more success stories in the very near future. Patrick Cox, Rockville High School, Vernon, Connecticut *********** GEORGIA - Nathanael Greene Academy 48 Gatewood 6 Coach Wyatt, We got past our cross town rivals (so to speak) and I'm relieved for all I have been hearing since taking this job is that this is the one we got to win. There must be some history here. Rumor has it that Gatewood would pound the Patriots in the past and pile it on. Well, I'm a new coach here and Coach Barton (a well thought of coach of 28 years in GA high school ) is in his first year there. I was careful at the end and let the ninth graders play and they scored the last TD. Gatewood was determined to take the inside game away with low charging linemen but left there perimeter a bit vulnerable. The G-O's hurt them to say the least along with power. No big trap this night. We also hit on a 50 yard TD pass on the back side of a bootleg. We are 5-1 so far and have scored 214 points to our opponents 44. We have 4 more to go with the two toughest teams left to play. It has been a great start for a group of guys to gain experience at winning and hopefully we can carry it into the final stretch. Thanks for all ! Coach Larry Harrison, Head Football Coach, Nathanael Greene Academy, Siloam, Georgia *********** ILLINOIS - Elmwood-Brimfield 39, Bushnell-Prairie City 8 - Coach, The E/B Trojans are 5-0 and qualified for the Illinois High School playoffs for the second consecutive year. This group, having clinched a winning record, is only the fourth to post back-to-back winning seasons in the 50+ year history of the program. Our 8-2 record from last year and our 5-0 start this year ties us for the most victories in any two-year period, with four regular season games to go! The Trojans played very well Friday night, defeating Bushnell-Prairie City in another game touted by some as a "key matchup" in the Prairieland Conference. At the end of the first quarter the score was 19-0 (80 yard kickoff return, 11 yard fullback trap, 66 yard X-corner). At the half it was 26-0. BPC scored in the third and we answered with two more of our own. Final score - E/B 39, BPC 8. We travel to Petersburg this week to play a very good 4-1 team (they hold the second place spot in the conference). Petersburg is a jet sweep team, and has given us some fits in the past. It should be a fun game. Good luck to you. Todd Hollis, Head Football Coach, Elmwood-Brimfield Coop, Elmwood, Illinois *********** IOWA - Alta 31, South O'Brien 0 - Coach Wyatt, The Alta Cyclones defeated South O'Brien Friday night 31-0.  Alta (1A)  played it's fourth straight game against a school that was 2A last year.  We scored 4 TD's and a FG.  The TD's were on a Red/Red, Wedge @ 2, and two TD's on 99 Super Power. The first TD was the wedge from 9 yards out.  The B-Back wasn't touched as he ran out the back of the endzone.  The Red/Red was from 9 yards out when we audibled after seeing them in an 8-3 alignment.  Stats for the game:  A-Back  15 rushes 88 yards;  B-Backs  13 rushes  124 yards, 2 receptions for 19 yards;  C-Back  18 carries  57 yards, 1 reception  9 yards.  QB  5 rushes 10 yards and 3 of 6 for 28 yards and a TD.  The win raises our record to 3-1 but, more importantly, 2-0 in district. Coach Rory Payne, Alta, Iowa *********** IOWA - Galva-Holstein 48, Sac City 0 - 463 total yards 13 first downs, 48 rushes 405 yards, 2 of 3 passing for 58 yards A Back  22 carries 157 yards 3 TD's, B Back (still Ben)  7 carries 140 yards 2 TD's, C back 7 carries 55 yards  1 catch for 55 yards (TD) *********** NEW YORK- Queensbury 15, Burnt Hills 14 - We are 4-0. Another squeaker but my kids seem to know how to win. 4th Quarter the kids said, "Coach, just keep doing superpower and the "C"'s." We did 58-C and superpower 10 of the next 11 plays and scored with 2 minutes left and did criss-cross for the 2 pts. So far those kids we talked about are stepping it up and REALLY want to win. Not much talent but BIG stones. They don't care how we win, they just want to. We don't really give them a pre-game speech, we just say "Let's Go". I wouldn't have guessed it. John Irion, Queensbury, New York *********** NEW YORK - Corning West 22, Owego Free Academy 12 - We're 2-1 and our only loss is to the No. 10 team in the state. We're playing decent football, but we can do so much better. Corning West coach Mike Johnston. *********** MARYLAND - Brunswick 81, Clear Spring 0 - Brunswick's Eric Zwilsky rushed for 210 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries. The Railroaders rushed for 311 of their 386 total yards in the first half, building a 69-0 halftime lead. *********** MINNESOTA - Benilde-St. Margaret's 16 &endash; Orono 13. The Red Knights put together a beautiful 9 play drive with 5 minutes left in a 13-13 game and capped it off with a 31 yard FG to go up 16-13, and then held on to win their third straight conference game. The BSM double-wing offense cranked out 315 yards of offense, with 86 of it coming through the air. Tight end Cody Anderson caught four passes (two off 2 Red, and the other two off 47 C TE's Cross), and C back Shane Fox also pulled down a 2 Red pass coming out of a Tight Double C set. Fox also racked up 156 yards in 25 carries from his usual A back alignment, and out of the I. B back Ryan McCarthy added 52 yards (most coming on 3 Trap 2 or 4), and three different C backs picked up the rest of BSM's rushing yardage. The Red Knights move to 3-1 overall and 3-0 in conference. Joe Gutilla - Minneapolis *********** ILLINOIS - Ridgeview 57 Tri-Point 0 - Coach Wyatt, The Ridgeview Mustangs are now 5-0 on the 2004 season. We rushed for 442 yards on 52 carries and threw for 64 yards tonight. Ten different ballcarriers carried the ball and every kid we had played in the game. With the win, we have assured ourselves of a fifth straight berth in the playoffs. Hope your team came out OK tonight. Thanks, Mike Benton, Head Coach, Ridgeview Mustangs - Colfax, Illinois *********** NEBRASKA - Stanton 34, Randolph 7 - Coach Wyatt, Hope all is well with you! How did your team do this week?? The Stanton Mustangs move to 4-0 beating Randolph, a playoff bound team 34-7. We rushed for 278 and were 2 of 3 passing for 60 yards and 2 TD's. We were held well below our 430 yard rushing avg. which is a testiment to how good the other team was. Our players were disgusted with themselves that we didn't rush for our goal of 350 yards. We held them to 160 total yards. We have now rushed for 1634 yards in four games. Since I became head coach and implemented the DW here at Stanton, we are 14-1 !! Not too bad. The expectation of winning is embedded here in Stanton. People don't wonder if we are going to win, they wonder by how much! Not bad for a town that had never had a team in the playoffs before 2002. I don't know if I told you, but our 7th grade team has won both their games 16-0 and 26-0 in 6 minute quarters and our 8th grade team has won both their games 38-0 and 40-12 in 8 minute quarters... That's 120-12 combined! It's really fun to watch the Jr Highers run the offense so efficiently! Looks like the future is pretty bright!! Thanks, and good luck!! GO DW!!! Greg Hansen, Stanton High School, Stanton, Nebraska *********** WASHINGTON - Lakeside 48, Nathan Hale 6. *********** WASHINGTON - LaCenter 46, Montesano 20 - #2-ranked Wildcats win battle of unbeatens, outgaining Montesano 476-81 on the ground. *********** Coach - I have been a little reluctant to update you on our team and franchises success so far this season for fear of "jinxing" something but I think we both know the only time something is truly jinxed is when your team is not ready or overwhelmed by a superior opponent: I think you know that we run the double wing from the "bottom up". That our 7 years olds run this up through the 14 year olds. Well we are having a tad bit of success thus far. For example: Varsity Team - My squad. We are 4-0 and played a solid game against the best team in the league last weekend and beat them 24-8. We were averaging over 50 points a game before this last one and over 350 yards on the ground. A new twist for this old coach is that we are passing about 8 times a game. 49 Brown-O kicked this teams butt all day! 29 G-O Reach is our staple. Ran a little East/West motion last weekend just to keep them honest. Jr. Varsity - Record is 4-0. In all reality the strongest team in our franchise. Remember now that this team is the recipients of having all of their players start with the double wing 3 years ago. Actually their QB has been running it for 4 years since he was my quarterback when I first arrived and introduced the DW. I really think the system is starting to pay off now. Coach Tisdell is doing a fantastic job with the DW. Novice - Mark Rangels squad is putting up some incredible numbers, averaging over 40 points a game. Though they are 2-2 Coach Rangel is working his defense more to keep them in the game with all the scoring they are doing. Jr. Novice - Record is 3-1. They were the perennial doormats last year and recently tied a very good and talented team from Stockton. Our team's quarterback I understand is from good stock and superior genes (LOL- my son!). Coach Maires (from your clinic) is proving that 7 and 8 year olds can run Super Power AND pull backside guard and tackle. Best play for them is the wedge! Coach I am getting emails and calls from many people around our league asking about the Double Wing and many are crediting our decision to run this at all the levels with our success. Just 3 years ago we were everyones homecoming game. Now we are known as that "Double Wing Franchise". John Torres, Lathrop, California *********** Bloomingdale Bears 27     Downers Grove Panthers 0 Solid job by the offense today as we pounded the Downers Grove Panthers up and down the field.  C Back Clay Cooper continues to run like a machine as he scored on a 40 yard 99 SP with a great cut back against the grain to score the first of his 2 td's.  QB Erick King again was able to keep the defense honest with precision passing with a 25 yard td to Cooper on a Red Red.  The offense is really clicking now despite losing some key offensive linemen due to injuries.  We continue to run at will against teams in our weight class and as long as we are balanced and keep the defense honest with the pass then it's tough to stop this team on offense.  We arguably have the best back field in the BGYFL with each one of these kids being playmakers.  As good as our offense has played this year our defense continues to shut teams down and limits what teams do against us.  This is a wonderful group of boys who have bought into the DW and as hard as it was to sell to some of the parents 3 years ago now everyone has witnessed first hand how explosive this offense can be every weekend.  For those who think this offense is a joke or gimmick I challenge you to try to stop it especially if it's taught right by coaches who totally believe in the principles and are teaching it the right way.  Next week the Bartlett Raiders until then coach take care and talk to you next week.  Stacey King, Bloomingdale Bears, BGYFL 115 LB Gold NFC Division Bloomingdale, Illinois *********** Coach Wyatt -  A retired Newburyport High English teacher and former Bartender at the Park Lunch has started a Fund,to help the Park Lunch staff(waitress and bartenders) until the Lunch re-opens, If you can ,can you please post the Fund address some time in next weeks news, if you can't don't worry about it ,the story is in Thursdays edition of the Newburyport News http://www.newburyportnews.com/ make checks payable to: Friends of The Park Lunch Mail to: Friends of the Park Lunch/ c/o The Newburyport Five Cents Bank/ 63 State St. Newburyport ,MA 01950 Coach and the BAD NEWS Keeps coming - The City of Lynn has taken the 1st step to Raze the Legendary Manning Bowl, The Stadium Commission Voted  this week in an Emergency meeting, In my opinion this thing does not pass the smell test. A) The City has taken a Horse Sh-- job of taking care of the place the last 20-25 ,but to call something a Horse Sh-- job you usually have to do a job first. The City has done Zilch !! B) the Guy that owns the minor league baseball team next door I think is driving this Train ( he has a lot to Gain if the Bowl comes down ) He will pick up a lot of parking and room for some half ass hockey Arena he wish to put up. C) City claims they want a smaller facility in there . All B.S. in my Book And Malden Catholic lost to Lincoln-Sudbury Coach if it wasn't for Bad Luck ,I would have No Luck at all !!! Great piece on that elitist A-Hole Kerry - that was a classic !! Hopefully I will see you next week with a little bit of better news - John Muckian   Lynn, Massachusetts *********** In the middle of the last season, Auburn's AD and president sneaked into Louisville and met with Lousville coach Bobby Petrino on the sly, trying to persuade him to come to Auburn. It was all so slimy - Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, busy getting a team ready for a game, didn't know a thing about it. Neither did the Louisville AD. Now, almost a year later, Coach Tuberville is still on the job, but the Auburn President and AD are both gone. Good riddance. And the Auburn program is riding high, ranked eighth this week in both polls.. Now, wouldn't it be great if the Tigers could make it into a bowl game? against Louisville? *********** Deion himself provided a better argument than I ever could against those fool skullcaps - he said that his slipped down over his eyes on a punt return. *********** Danny White, former Cowboys' QB who made a second career as coach of the Arena Football League's Arizona Rattlers, did "color" on the Oregon State-Arizona State broadcast Saturday night. He led off his post-game statement by saying, "the football will be where it should be - in the air." Well, f--k you, Danny. This ain't Arena football. There are some of us who happen to think that where the ball should be is in the arms of a running back. *********** I don't know what the pros think of him (not that I care), but when everything is on the line, I wouldn't mind having Arkansas' Matt Jones playing quarterback for me. *********** Referring to Oregon State QB Derek Anderson and Beaver wide receiver Mike Hass, the announcer said, "they have a special relationship." Considering where Oregon stands on the gay marriage issue, my wife and I looked at each other and said, No. *********** Is EVERYTHING for sale? South Carolina's Lou Holtz put a 39-year-old service veteran into the game for three or four plays. Hollywood, the announcers told us, has already contacted him about making a movie. *********** Coach, I wanted to give you an update thus far on our season.  We are 3-1 and ranked 7th in the Baltimore Sun Poll.  We had a tough loss to Urbana HS last week. Although we lost the game the kids played pretty well.  We finished with 274 yards rushing on 45 attempts.  Urbana is a perennial power in the state and currently ranked #7.  It was a great opportunity for our kids to test themselves against the best in the State.   The other three games we outscored our opponents 115 - 9. Our A- Back, Glenn Williams who is headed to Duke has rushed for 500 yards and is averaging 13 yards per carry.  The JV is undefeated at 3-0 and playing very well. I also wanted to let you know I had a chance to see the University of Nebraska play a few weeks ago in Lincoln.  I am a big time Nebraska fan, and my wife surprised me for my 40th b-day with tickets to see Nebraska / So. Miss play and a weekend in Omaha.  The Nebraska fans are the best, very loyal, supportive and very positive towards the new staff.   I am still having a tough time with the new offense.  I was always a big  fan of the option game and the power running game Nebraska dominated teams with for so many years.  It was difficult to see them lose to a team they should have dominated had they just run the football.  The Nebraska QB threw 3 Int's, the last being the game winning TD for So. Miss.  If they had just run the ball they would have killed So. Miss.  They dominated them last year with the run game 38-14.  Also, the only option play all day was run by So. Miss.  Nebraska in their new West Coast Offense kept trying to finesse So. Miss with multiple formations, jumping TE's and motioning Wr's, they must have had a half dozen delay of game penalties. I kept yelling "JUST RUN THE FOOTBALL". It was frustrating to see them lose to a team they would have dominated in years past.  I was very impressed with the Nebraska fans after the game, when SO. Miss was exiting the field and heading towards their locker room, the entire crowd stood and applauded their efforts.. Great display of sportsmanship by the HUSKER fans. I did hear some fans calling for the return of Frank Solich, I guess you don't realize what you got until it's gone.  My hope is that they send the West coast offense packing and that they bring back the run game.  Its always nice to dream.     Hope all is well with you and your family. Sean Murphy / Archbishop Curley HS / Baltimore, Maryland (Now that's what I call a cool wife! HW) *********** Notice how the NFL is becoming more and more a league of highlights? First there was SportsCenter, then there came video games. Who wants running? Who wants blocking? Who wants defense? The NFL Channel promos brag that they can show us all the NFL games, while saving us all sorts of time - "we edit them down to their best plays." I mean, who wants to watch line play? Just gimme the fancy catches and the big hits. And, of course, the touchdown dances. Video games are becoming so real - and real games so phony-looking - that a shot from the sky-cam is indistingishable from a game on Madden. And they go overboard catering to the Fantasy Football addicts, spending as much time showing us individual stats as game scores. I find it ironic that the NFL doesn't seem to mind that many of these Fantasy guys don't know whether the football is inflated or stuffed - all they care about is who catches how many passes. But see, as far as the NFL is concerned, at least they're watching the games on TV. Buying sponsors' products. Yeah, maybe. But wait - so are the people who bet on NFL games. In fact, they are following the games very closely. But the NFL doesn't even want to talk about gambling - it's the elephant in the room. The NFL suits can't abide the thought of mentioning point spreads. They claim it's a matter of preserving the integrity of the game - as if once they admitted that people gambled in NFL games, the Mob would move in and bribe players to throw games. Yeah, integrity. And all the while, the NFL makes millions licensing video game manufacturers to produce freak show versions of their game, which in their own perverted way provoke NFL players to do more and more outrageous things. Funny that in Australia, a sports-mad (and sports-betting-mad) country where there is a gambling parlor on every corner, and professional athletes aren't paid anywhere near what our gladiators are paid, there is no more of a problem with game-fixing or point-shaving than there is here. I tend to be a cynic, so you may want to take this with a grain of salt, but I predict that the NFL will drop its opposition to betting on its games the very instant it figures out a way to get a piece of the action. *********** The NFL had its little Pat Tillman Day. So much for that. Now back to business. And those little black decals with the white #40's on them? We've done enough honoring. Get 'em off your helmets, men, or it'll cost you $5,000 a game. It is said that the suits at the NFL are skittish about doing too much to honor Pat Tillman, for fear of offending players who might be opposed to the war in Iraq (conveniently overlooking the fact that Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan). Anyhow, get those helmet decals off. Meantime, while they're enforcing some uniform policy, maybe someone will notice that they've got guys wearing pants that stop way above the knees, making them look like bicyclists on steroids. *********** Yee-Haw! Nothing against Virginia Tech. Or BYU. Actually, I like them both. But I sure do hate watching kickers steal the show, so I enjoyed watching both teams miss last-minute field goal attempts. *********** If you don't have stomach upset or diarrhea before watching the "new" cherry Pepto-Bismo commercial (the one in which all the dancing office workers cup their hands over their anal areas) you will when you're finished. *********** Coach Wyatt, My team won 47 to 0. This was the highest output that my team has generated since running the Double Wing in all of my 3 years. The team I played hasn't won a game all year. I am good friends with their HC and I did my best to not run the score up, but I understand Coach Jason NOW when he said that sometimes you just can't help it. 6 different backs scored today and out of the 7 TDs only 2 were by starters. My 3rd B-back scored 2, and he was the happiest kid in the world because this being his 5th year playing (always as a center), now as my 3rd B-back he finally scored a TD, then I kept him in and gave him another chance and he delivered. After the game he told me thanks, because he knows that he may never get another chance to repeat his 2 TDs again. I told him that after our 2nd TD and I knew we were the stronger team that was why I subbed my entire starting backfield. I have a tough opponent this weekend, we are both 4 and 0. I needed to get my reserves play time in a game situation and this was that game to do it. I even had a kid that has never played ANY back for me in 2 years line up at A-back, (he was my starting X last year, now just a defensive player at CB). He scored on 88 Super Power but it get called back due to a penalty. Next play we scored on 99 SP. I gave my (NO String) A Back the ball again (88 SP) for the extra point and after that run he came to the sideline with the biggest grin on his face. All of my players understood the subbing and were happy with the win. However, my ungrateful team's parents were happy with the win but wanted more points, and weren't too thrilled with the early subbing of the offense. I kept my starters on D for 3 quarters and then made mass substitutions in the 4th. I told my assistants to pay no attention to the parents because they are the same bunch of folk that DOG us when we win, and they will hate us even more if we lose. That's why we coach and they don't. :-) Thanks for everything, Brian Mackell, Severn Seminoles 130#, Glen Burnie, Maryland *********** Coach Wyatt: If you would, could you please explain what is actually meant by a "belly" play?    I have seen play diagrams of "belly" with a QB reverse pivot, and others where he open steps playside.  I have seen "belly" with a lead blocking back, and I have seen  it run more as a straight dive, with the other back assuming an option relationship. My son's Jr.High team runs what I would call an Iso or Blast play out of an I formation, but  they call it a belly.  Does the "belly" terminology refer to the running back's rounded course, or does it imply the QB mesh and ride, (putting the ball in the RB's belly) like on 4-5 Base or X Lead or an option play?  Looking forward to your response! As always, Respectfully yours, Mark Rice, Beaver, Pennsylvania Good question- Unless there is a ride to the fullback, regardless of whether the QB opens out or reverses out, it is not the Belly Series. Also called the Drive Series, its original popularity was credited to Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech. The "Belly" name comes from the act of the QB putting the ball in the fullback's belly and giving him a ride before either giving it to him or pulling it and keeping it and running outside. I am well-equipped to answer; my college coach, Jordan Olivar, was one of its earliest proponents, and wrote an excellent book on it - "Offensive Football - the Belly Series" (Ronald Sports Library, New York, 1958). As Allson Danzig, legendary sports writer of the New York Times, explains in his foreword to Coach Olivar's book, "The Belly Series came into prominence at the beginniing of the 1950s. Bobby Dodd's Georgia Tech teams of 1951 and 1952 had striking success with it, and since then, more coaches have incorporated it into their offense. It adds to the T-formation the faking and deception of the spinner and buck-lateral series from the single-wing, with the quarterback working the old shell game in putting the ball into the belly of the fullback, "riding" with him toward the line, and then leaving the ball there or withdrawing it to slip it to a halfback or keep it for a run or pass." Go to www.coachwyatt.com/May01.html Go to May 25 and my article on Coach Olivar. Look at the diagrams and you can see how this would eventually evolve into the wishbone, with the QB making his "give or keep" decision by reading a defender. *********** Nothing against LSU. I know the way dem people love dem Tigers. But I have to wonder how good they are after remembering the tussle Oregon State gave them. Oregon State, for God's sake! If you watched the OSU-LSU game carefully, you might have seen it coming. OSU's lack of discipline, I mean. You may remember the young man who scored a touchdown, then took the football with him back to the sideline. As a souvenir. The resultant penalty played a part in the extra point kick's sailing wide of the mark, leaving the door open for LSU ultimately to tie the game in regulation and win in overtime. No one - not one single coach - got into the kid's face at the time. Nor, OSU coach MIke Riley told the Portland Oregonian's John Canzano, did anyone do so later. In fact, Riley seemed to make light of the whole thing in talking with Canzano. You thought that showed a lack of discipline? You should have seen these guys Saturday night against Arizona State. Last year, in Corvallis, the Beavers kicked ASU's ass, so this year several OSU players, excited by their 17-7 win over New Mexico, engaged in some serious trash-talking the entire week before the game. Arizona State, fresh off a thumping of Iowa, was ready. Oregon State was not. Dumb? On a 2nd-and-10, a Beaver receiver caught a nine-yard hook - but then, instead of falling for the first down, he gave ground, trying for something bigger. His heroics resulted in a third-and-five. They didn't make it. Weak? The Beavers, which had a decent running game last year thanks to Steven Jackson (who had been recruited by Riley's predecessor, Dennis Erickson), "rushed" for 26 yards in 16 carries. They are now averaging 61.75 yards per game rushing, placing them dead last even in the pass-happy Pac-10, and 115th among all NCAA Division-IA schools. Careless? The Beavers lost three fumbles and two interceptions. One of the fumbles symbolized the Beavers' disgraceful performance: with a clear path to the end zone, and Oregon State tight end chose to showboat by carrying the ball out in front of him in both hands, a la Deion, instead of tucking it away. As he was about to cross the goal line, a defender swatted at his arm from behind, knocking the ball loose into the end zone. Touchback (good call). Instead of the score being 14-7 Oregon State, it shortly became 14-7, then 17-7, Arizona State. But on top of all their ineptness, the Beavers had to throw in classlessness as well. In all, they had 105 yards in penalties. Four of them were for unsportsmanlike conduct, perhaps the result of being able to back up all that preg-game mouthing off. Three of the unsportsmanlikes came against Beaver defensive backs. The worst came when after breaking up an ASU pass on third-and-long, the Beaver defender stood over the Sun Devil receiver and taunted. Nice. Fifteen yards and an ASU first down. With the game out of reach but a full eight minutes left to play, a Pac-10 game threatened to degenerate into semi-pro ball at its worst, when OSU defenders were charged with cheap-shot personal fouls on two consecutive plays. Oregon State may be the dumbest, most undisciplined team in America. As ASU QB Andrew Walter said after the game, "If they played as well as they talked, they'd be 4-0." *********** Sir, I read the story on your page today from the coach that can't give the Black Lion Award. He may not give the award, but he certainly lives it. No doubt about it, he coaches a Black Lion team and I appreciate what he is doing for his young men. Black Lions Sir! Doc (Tom "Doc" Hinger, of Winter Haven, Florida, is a Vietnam combat veteran, and one of my inspirations for starting the Black Lion Award. HW) *********** In 8th Grade football action the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets defeated the Knights of Castle Heights, 12-0. The Jackets pounded the ball with Kelvin Foster and Tony Hall. The Jackets bend-but-don't-break defense withstood the clock-consuming drives of the Knights and kept them scoreless the first half. The Knights' hope of a resurgent second half started to fade when Marteka Davis took the second half kick-off and bobbed, weaved, and juked his way to a 40 yard return. That set up the next touchdown where Lance Jacobs connected with Dee Dee Truesdale on a 40 yard touchdown pass. The Jackets defense rose to the challenge and able to stay solid enough to register its first shut-out of the season with a 12 &endash; 0 victory over a scrappy Castle Heights team. Daryall White, Fort Mill, South Carolina *********** Coach Wyatt, The Edmonds Cyclones rolled again on Saturday defeating the our third opponent 59-0. Six different Cyclones scored using six different plays. As always, TR88SP was our bread and butter getting us into position to score. The XX worked going right or left. We worked TR3Trap2 all week in practice as we've used it little this year. On Saturday it scored from twelve yards out. The back totals: A back #1- 110 yards, two TD's (he also scored on a pass interception); A back #2- 43 yards, one TD; A back #3- 67 yards, one TD B back #1- 87 yards, one TD; B back #2- 28 yards C back #1- 148 yards, one TD; C back #2- 106 yards, two TD's 589 total yards We were leading 30-zip at the half. I tried to keep the score down by never throwing a pass, never having my starting team in after the second possession. I even had the refs have a running clock in the second half. The problem I'm having now is keeping the kids grounded as we'll play tougher teams in the coming weeks. Glade Hall, Seattle  *********** Somebody should have taught this quarterback how to read. Not defenses. Newspapers. Playing out the entire second half of the Washington Huskies' ass-kicking at Notre Dame Saturday was third-string QB Carl Bonnell, of Kent, Washington. Bonnell originally signed a letter of intent with Washington State, then backed out and transferred to Washington. Why? Simple, he told the Seattle Times, "I wanted to go to Washington to win. The Huskies have won forever." Uh, as Ken Goe noted in the Portland Oregonian, maybe he should have thought that one through. The once-proud Huskies are now in free fall, 0-3 for the first time since 1969. In all fairness to the 1969 Huskies, though, this team is much worse - in 1969, their first three games were against Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State. (Who the hell made up that schedule?) Washington State, meanwhile, has put together three straight 10-win seasons. And when they went to Notre Dame last year, they didn't disgrace themselves the way the Huskies did - they took the Irish into overtime (could have won) before falling, 29-26.  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)  September 24, 2004  "A large section of the intelligentsia seems wholly devoid of intelligence."G. K. Chesterton ~   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     *********** "I was just reading the news and read the story on the request on how to stop "our offense". It reminded me of the guy in Iowa who was trying to stop Galva-Holstein last year. Well he's what I received just today: Coach, We will be facing a double tight double wing team,what type of defence would you employ to at least slow it down. thanks for any type of help..Coach G my response: Coach Though I would love to help you...me telling you how to stop the DW would be 'Bad for Business" and a betrayal to the "Brotherhood of Double Wing Coaches" quite frankly unless your men on on defense are far superior in athletic ability and strength, it won't matter what you run. You will have a very hard time beating a well coached DW team. It's almost comical. Joe Daniels, Sacramento (Good work by a certified member of the Brotherhood. The almost-manic search for the cure by people who have to play a Double-Wing team is one reason why I caution Double-Wing coaches about being very careful who they give game tapes to. Tapes are like secrets - you have no idea where they're going to wind up once you pass them along to someone else. HW) *********** From my daughter, Cathy, in Texas... Dad, I was browsing through MSN and saw an article about Kerry and his wife's upcoming appearance on the Dr. Phil show. This is (honest to God) how the article ended... But Kerry does love watching and playing sports, and often makes a point of recognizing the home team along the campaign trail. On Thursday night, he tied his campaign to the University of New Mexico's recent football win over Texas Tech. "I am basking in the glow of the victory of the Lobos," Kerry said. "That's the first win over Texas in a while and the next one's coming in November." I thought I might actually be dreaming, but it is there in black-and-white! He is trying so hard to be an everyman...funny. Cathy Tiffany, Houston, Texas (Not to say that New Mexico will never beat UT, but if they ever do, Mack Brown had best start packing. HW) *********** From my son, Ed, in Australia Dad...thought you might like these quotes from a legendary English soccer manager (coach) named Brian Clough (rhymes with rough) who just died...a real hardass but a funny guy. Love, Ed On not getting the England manager's job: "I'm sure the England selectors thought if they took me on and gave me the job, I'd want to run the show. They were shrewd, because that's exactly what I would have done." On the streaker who appeared during a Derby game against Manchester United: "The Derby players have seen more of his balls than the one they're meant to be playing with." On how he rated himself: "I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one." On Eric Cantona's infamous kung fu kick at a fan: "I'd have cut his balls off." On women's soccer: "I like my women to be feminine, not sliding into tackles and covered in mud." On dealing with a player who disagrees: "We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right." On how he would like to be remembered: "I want no epitaphs of profound history and all that type of thing. I contributed - I would hope they would say that, and I would hope somebody liked me." *********** A Double-Wing coach writes, Hugh, Our JV team played ----- last week and I noticed something right away. ----- is no longer running the double wing. Instead, they are running that I formation with an extra fullback (H-back?) lined up in-between and directly behind the guard and tackle. I asked their coaches if Coach ----- is letting them run that formation instead of the double-wing and they told me that Coach ----- has dropped the double-wing entirely. As the game was being played I overheard some of the ----- parents comment, "Hey, they (us) run that same stupid offense we used to run!" "Yeah, thank God ----- switched. Maybe now our games will be more exciting." One final note. ----- 's varsity team has not won a game yet this year. I just hope ----- didn't cave into the pressure. My response - Considering the success that ----- had been having at --------- (consistent playoff appearances) - unless he has some world-beater passer and receivers to go with him - what other explanation can there be? *********** You may or may not have seen the story about the Aussie "backcountry racer" who was killed Tuesday when struck by a falling boulder near Rockport, in Northwest Washington. He was taking part in a 10-day, 400-mile, hiking-biking-khayaking race. His name was Nigel Aylott, from the state of Victoria. He was 38, and he evidently worked as a business analyst for Telstra. The race will resume, at the request of his teammates and family. Very sad, of course, but there was this light note: a race spokesman said, "This is so Australian. We asked the team what would be the best way to commemorate his death, and they replied, in unison, 'a barbecue!'" *********** Coach, We are 3-0 after this weekend with the most dominating win since adopting the Double-Wing. We won 63-0, now that may seem extreme for a youth football game with 10 minute quarters. By the time our offense took the field, we were up 12-0, the defense scored twice once on an interception and the other on a fumble recovery that our cornerback took in for 55 yards. We held our opponent to 1 first down, and -115 yards total offense. Scoring defensively changes the entire game. By halftime the score was 43-0. I had made substitution on offense allowing my second and thrid team back carry the football - it didn't matter what we did, we scored at will. I used two quarterbacks - they both threw touchdown passes. My starting backfield had the following stats: A-Back 4-83-3td's, C-Back 1-16-1td (also had one receiving touchdown), Passing the Q-Back 1-2-16 1 td, Second QB 1-1-18 1td. My backup runningbacks experienced the same success 1carry, 1 score. The sad part about the win, is that when you are a running team, and you score like we do, the only alternative is to pass and you know you are subject to being accused of running up the score. Coach I assure you, that I do not set out to rack up as many points as I can. We were able to score as many points as we did with a running clock the entire second half. In our county the clock is only supposed to run once a team is up by 35pts in the 4th quarter. I agreed to the running clock at the start of the 2nd half to assist my opponent. You will see once I get some game footage to you, but they put everyone they had on the LOS and Super Power still got the job done! Honestly, Coach I did enjoy this one. It wasn't too long ago with the same set of kids when were 2-7 I stumbled onto your webpage. We used to be everyone's Turkey Bowl game. Now we are arguably the the most feared 115lb team in our county. Our offense is so predictable, and everyone that hasn't played us can stop it! All the kids enjoy it along with the parents, because the remember the "GOOD OLE DAYS!" Everyone believes in the system and supports it, you can hear the parents guessing when the counter is coming..etc! I'm just glad that I got onboard with the Double-Wing when I did. Until next week - take care. Jason Clarke - Millersville Wolverines 115lb Team. Millersville, Maryland *********** Just in case you think you're not making a difference, this was forwarded to me by Mark Bergen, in Keller, Texas. It was sent to one of the coaches in his organization, who was good enough to share it... Mr. Rambo, I rarely write letters, but if I don't write you about this I just feel like I might bust. My son is playing football for the first time on the Keller Panthers. His name is Shea, he is just about 7 years old (in 5 more days!). I wanted to say what a difference this football program has had on him. I believe a lot of it has to do with the quality of the coaches, and I think some of it was the timing for him. About a year ago, we got a letter saying that Shea would be considered to enter first grade if we would put him in a developmental class. Meaning, he needed more help. He was smart enough - but he was so extremly shy and introverted that it affected the way he communicated with others. He was so shy, that to get him to speak at all - even to us at times, was unbearable for him. We took the letter in stride, worked with him all summer on the importance of communication, and sent him on to a "normal" first grade class, hoping it would all work out. I say all this to get to this point. My son has totally changed since football started. His teacher, and school counselor came up to me before I really noticed it and said that Shea is really talking at school - interacting with others and having fun. His confidence was up. The only thing we really changed was putting him in football. Coach Johnson and Coach Rider saw in him the ability to play football. They made him quarterback. This made me extremely nervous because I knew he would have to talk to his coaches and his team mates to accomplish anything. He looks at people in the eye, talks, asks questions - he is a totally different kid. I have to tell you here that as I type this I am bawling my eyes out. Football was not one of the choices listed on the school counselor's sheet - she had medication options, counseling, therapy, etc. Scary stuff. He is the nicest kid, but he was a bit shy and lacking confidence - that was all. These coaches that you have are unbelievable self esteem builders - and they care. Shea trusts them, he thinks they are "football geniuses". I am so happy with this program. It is something we did at the last minute. It is something we weren't looking for, but we sure did pray that whatever it was Shea needed that it would fall in our laps - and it did. In Shea's first game he scored 5 touchdowns, and must have ran 500 yards. Today, he scored 3 touchdowns(or 4 I lost count) and we won. He even got the game ball today! This little thing that you call football is really a lifesaver. I just wanted you to know. Sometimes you may not hear about the good stuff - and from my perspective this is really, really good. I realize that you may not understand how big a deal this is...but trust me - it seemed like we had a long road ahead of us....now it all looks fun. Thank you for reading this, I know it is long - but I just HAD to say it. A very happy mom, Elizabeth xxxxxxxxx Shea, #7 Keller Panthers *********** Bloomingdale Illinois: Bloomingdale Bears 14 Glen Ellyn 0 - Battle of 2 unbeaten teams that was the preview of the 2004 Bill George Youth Football League State Championship game in November at Northern Illinois University. Top 2 teams in the Gold 115 LB division squared off with each team's unbeaten record on the line. Glen Ellyn was ready to play and had scouted us well the last 2 weeks and were determined to stop our running game by stacking 10 in the box. Unlike most teams in our league we are very versatile and are just as dangerous throwing the ball as we are running the football. With the Golden Eagles stacking the line we open with a tight Thunder pass XY cross which went for over 60 yards. QB Erick King hit receiver Kendall Lane crossing the field on a perfect strike for a huge gain putting pressure on Glen Ellyn from the start. Glen Ellyn was really stubborn with their defensive game plan and was set on stopping our power plays so we continued to pass the ball all over the field and got them on their heels while we wore them down with screen passes and slants all day long until they softened up their defense. A back Nick Campanella ran for over 100 yds on 6 carries and had a nice 65 yard run on a SP play. C Back Clay Cooper combined to go over 200 yds total offense and score a td on a nice screen in the flat from King to score right before the half and he continues to show why he is one of the top backs in the league. QB Erick King continues to show why he is the best all around QB in the league as he again passed close to 200 yds on 15-22 passing and a touchdown in this big showdown. B Back Chris Jasinski continues to pound the middle and keeping those LB's honest up the middle allowing our backs to run wild on counters and power plays and his great kick out blocks allow us to get our power game going. This is the best backfield in the BGYFL and it's going to be tough to beat these kids because they believe in the system and they execute flawlessly. Our offensive line of Mike Cooper, Miles Santi, Scotty Storberal, Tyler Rostenkowski, Jordan Bremer didn't allow a sack all day and gave QB King enough time to throw 22 times and not even get touched by Glen Ellyn's fierce pass rush all day. We are adding a little bit of formation shifts like slot and spread, uptight with our backs and over and unders now to our basic packages which we unveiled this week and it caught Glen Ellyn off guard. So now practices for the other teams will be that much more difficult to prepare to play against the Bloomingdale Bears. Next up the Downers Grove Panthers Coach Stacey King, Bloomingdale, Illinois *********** Did anybody else notice that on the same Sunday the NFL honored Pat Tillman, a truly brave American, Kellen ("I am a soldier") Winslow went down with an injury? Break out the Purple Hearts. *********** VIRGINIA - Cave Spring (Roanoke) 42, Lord Botetourt 7 - Hi Coach. May God bless you and yours. Basic plays all the way. Great blocking from line. Only addition 3 Charlie which killed them due to linebackers intent on stopping off tackle. We were up 35-0 at half time. There is a lot of excitement in the Cave Spring community. I'm truly blessed to see so much hope in the eyes of the boys. Armando Castro *********** If you've ever mentored someone and then had him turn his back on you (as ex-Notre Dame coach Bob Davie did to Joe Moore), you'll appreciate this. In another life, Coach Armando Castro, who assists at Cave Spring High in Roanoke, Virginia, was a police officer in Miami. He said that on the force, they referred to rookies as "pigeons" - "Because you train them - and then they come back and sh-- on you." *********** Coach, Believe me, with every fiber of my soul, I wish we could be a Black Lion Team. But alas, I am still "trapped" in an organization that for reasons which defy all logic will not allow me to give it out. Lord knows, I have tried, Coach, and I will continue to do so. I read with great pride and envy all that you have put together for the Black Lion Award as well as the experiences other coaches share on how much giving out the Award meant to them and their players and parents. What I have done, though, for the last few years is tell the story of the Black Lion Award and what it means and who it honors. I tell the fine young men I have the privilege to coach that I need Black Lion players. I usually start out with something like "some fine football teams in America give out the Black Lion Award.....". So with your permission I will continue to share the Black Lion material with my teams. And some day it is my sincere hope that I can inform you to truly "sign us up as a Black Lion Team". NAME WITHHELD (Now, that I can understand. But you might be surprised at the coaches whom I invite to sign their teams up, and yet they never even mention the invite when they e-mail me for assistance. If you hadn't noticed, this cause is very special to me because of the men it honors. Come on, fellas - Time is running out to sign up. HW) *********** Dear Coach Wyatt, I also went to the DeLasalle/Palma football game in Salinas. Great high school game. I have seen DeLasalle play 3 times now and this DeLaSalle team is no where as talented as the previous teams I have seen. Their line play is just not as crisp and explosive as the previous DeLasalle teams I saw. The previous lines completely dominated their opponents and always beat the opposing defensive lines. The DeLasalle offensive line always played on the defensive side of the ball. Not true last Saturday night. The Palma QB is the real deal. He was the best player on the field and I believe we will be seeing him again leading some D1 program somewhere in the future. Congrats on your team's victory. Enjoy the win as they are always so hard to attain and build on the victory for the future. One of my favorite sayings is 'There is nothing sweeter than victory!' Its a great feeling to share with the team. Best regards, The old line coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California *********** John Torres, a native of Stockton (in the Central Valley) who now lives in Manteca (in the Central Valley) and coaches in Lathrop (in the Central Valley), wanted me to point out to our readers that Christopher Anderson's nice writeup of the DeLaSalle-Palma game mistakenly placed Salinas in the Central Valley. Salinas is a nice enough place, but evidently Valley people do not care to claim it. I have mentioned before the many ways in which the Valley resembles Texas (including love of football), and evidently pride in one's home is another one. *********** Hugh, I saw Ron Timson's post about the start of the season this year in Florida. I can certainly tell you that I have never had such a rough start in all my years in Indiana. Three hurricanes in a matter of weeks does things to your season, ha,ha. We have finally gotten in two games. We lost the first one 49-20 and won our second 43-6. Our reserves won their first game 26-8 (they blocked a late punt on us) and our two little league teams are 2-0 (one of them averaging over 40 points a game). I think we are starting to make an impression with our double wing here. We play a district team this week that played for a state title last year and is rolling along at 3-0. They are very solid so it should be a real test for us. I keep telling our defensive staff they can't score if they don't have the ball. We need a couple of those pattened 8-9 minutes with our double wing and then score, eating up the clock. We've having a good time, Hugh, with the double wing and the Florida weather. I even went gator hunting this weekend and killed my first one. I'll send you the pictures. We'll keep you posted on our progress and we are planning on having a double wing team camp next summer. We'd like to have you down and work it with us. We'll give you a call after the season. Coach Mitchell says hey and, Hugh, you will appreciate this; I have hired two of my sons who are down here coaching with me. Gabe was coaching last year in Mt. Vernon, Indiana where I used to be. His reserve team, running your double wing, went undefeated and were conference champs. He's down here with us now along with my oldest son, Aaron. We're having a ball. See ya. Greg Meyers, Lake Region HS, Eagle Lake, Florida *********** Next week we play a team that has been blasting people 35-40- to 0.  The run a 5 man down lineman front....Man over the center, 2 tackles in the b gaps and 2 ends in the c gaps.  They have DE's outside the TE's.  Line backers are stacked behind the inside tackles and blitz every play to either b or C gaps.  We worked on it last night and the kids seen to know how to pick it up. I was wondering.  What plays will work best with this defesne.  I plan to wedge and still hit them with 88 and 99 power and superpower.  Should I run super O or stay true to SP?  There is something about this that makes me suspicious about the defense as described - I am still trying to figure out how they can blitz a gap that a lineman's already lined up in... Nevertheless, going by this description, I would advocate what we call "DOG" (for "DOWN") blocking clear across the front on all powers and counters. That includes the center, too. He doesn't block the nose man - the guard does. And since your tackle has no idea who he might be blocking, because it depends on whether they blitz, he just comes down hard to block anyone coming inside him. Ditto the TE. Make sure that your splits are tight. Tell your players on the playside that it's almost like wedge blocking. Fullback kicks out first guy past the TE's butt. Make sure he takes a good inside-out angle. Playside wingback walls off first LBer to the inside (there might not even be one if they blitz). You might need to run Super O, but I think that between the TE shoeshining and the center blocking backside, you should be able to cut off the chasers. Traps will work, too. Just make sure that your trapper doesn't look for any particular man, but instead just runs his sharp, inside-out path ("run through the feet of the center" is how we teach it.) *********** Olivet College, in Michigan, is leading NCAA Division III colleges in scoring, averaging 70+ points per game. After an opening-game 63-62 squeaker over Franklin, Olivet defeated Ohio Wesleyan last Saturday, 78-21, setting a new NCAA D-III record with 670 yards rushing. No sign of a letup, either - this week, Olivet faces Manchester College, which gave up 73 points last Saturday. Did I mention that Olivet runs the Wing-T? *********** Coach, Congrats on your recent win. I'm coaching a 5th/6th grade pee wee team and the DW is working very nicely. The boys are getting it and are having a great time running it. We had 220 yards on 23 carries in our last game. The trap at the youth level is such a beautiful thing. I took my time intalling the offense this year, putting in very few plays, lots of walk-throughs, bird dog drills, etc., but made sure that we could run them perfectly and block anything the defense threw at us. I'm putting in 6G this week and it looks very promising! I can't help but make a comment on Cat Stevens getting diverted to the airport in Bangor, Maine. My suggestion is that they should have just left him there (without bus fare), it's nearly deer season and the locals could have sorted things out. My dad was heading into hunting camp on the same day, and he had to drive right by the airport, so he could have taken him for a walk in the woods.......Maybe Jack Tourtillotte could have used him to practice wedges on in Boothbay Harbor. So many possibilities.... Rick Davis (ex-Mainer), Duxbury, Massachusetts (Maybe that's a solution to the Guantanamo problem. Turn them (and maybe their would-be defense attorneys, too?) loose in selected sections of Red States. Help reduce the national debt by auctioning off hunting tags. Actually, even in such famously-liberal states as Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington there are plenty of taverns that would proudly display mounted terrorists' heads over the back bar. HW) *********** What's the safest, easiest pass we can run against a team that lines up in a 7-man front, then blitzes? I think your best bet for a pass is rip Red-Red (and, of course, Liz Blue-Blue) blocking down along the front and hinging on the backside. Playside and backside TE's block also. B-Back attacks the DE same as on Super-Power (which I assume he does); motioning A-Back pins the DE from the outside - this means he is pinned between the B-Back from the front and the C-Back from the back. We call it "getting him in a vise." QB rolls deep. The only receiver is the playside wing, to the corner. Make sure that you put a man there who can catch. (This may sound obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people will take their chances and run a pass play to a kid who has only so-so hands.) POLITICALLY-INCORRECT FOOTBALL... Let the Desert Dummy Shield (Left) turn your kids into hitters! (Holder not included) *********** Actress Alfre Woodard (at least, I'm told she's an actress) unfavorably compared life for American black people under George Bush to the way things were in 1965. Yeah, right. She's supposed to be 50 years old. Don't know where she grew up, or why she chose 1965, but I just happen to remember living in Baltimore and having to call around to restaurants to make sure that I go could there with a black co-worker and we'd be served. That was 1966 *********** Our Eagles once again won! Our record now stands at 3-0. We won Tuesday 22-6. It was a challenging game because the other team played a wide tackle 6 defense and crashed their ends hard on the toss. We still managed to gain 210 yards of rushing with our c back getting 156 on 6 carries. They dove at the feet of the lineman which clogged up the wedge and traps but left the outside open. We will continue to make our base plays better and hopefully have another great game next week. Dan King Evans Georgia *********** Hello Coach, The Hanover Park Hurricanes 100# Gold team defeated the South Elgin Patriots....final 27-0. After taking the opening kickoff 70 yards in 6 minutes....the drive was capped off by Arron Tabateau's 18 yard Lead-XX-56C. The Patriots never could pick up who had the ball. Over the next three quarters we ground out the yards with combinations of 6G-88SP-Wedge and 29G-O reach. Arron repeated Lead XX-56C twice more from runs of 12 and 37 yards. Javon McDonald capped the final drive in the 3rd quarter with a perfect 47C play. 4th quarter was alot of wedges and 88SP. For some reason this team thought they could throw the ball on us. Unfortunately for them they couldn't, and it really killed their clock management. We had the ball on offense for over 3 quarters of the game. In the 4th quarter during a running game clock they had the ball for a total of 1:23.... We showed "spread" formation and "over" for the first time this season just to keep things fresh for the kids. It was very gratifying to beat this team as they've been talking trash all week about the upcoming meeting. Next week homecoming and a tough Glen Ellyn team. I'm thinking of showing a little Wildcat just to mess with their minds. Hope things are going well with your team. I have to say, this is the first year in quite some time I've had a good defense...thanks in part to one of the best defensive coaches I could ever ask for. It's been some time since we coached together. I so wish I had known the Double Wing when I started coaching with him 10 years ago. I would have several Bill George Championships under my belt had I known back then what I know now. With no kids of my own playing football anymore I certainly wouldn't be coaching if it wasn't for your system. I'm not just "calling plays" anymore. Coach John Urbaniak, Hanover Park Hurricanes, Hanover Park, Illinois *********** Good morning Coach Wyatt, Just reporting my score for week 3. My team pulled off their 3rd victory to go to 3 and 0 on the season. We won 20 to 6, last night (weather prevented us from playing Saturday). The score was 6-6 at half. I will have to reinvest some time watching a Fine Line, because I am not 100% happy with my blocking. We were good enough to get the win but I still have two strong teams left and our efforts will have to improve or else I could be looking at a 7 & 2 season, which is still a good season. :-) I have to say that Lightning & Blue Blue are quickly becoming my best two passes from Tight. Last year it was 2 Black O. My Ends are still dropping too many for me to stomach though. They are great in practice, but in games (for the past 2 weeks) they are trying to making the pretty Randy Moss - ESPN Top 5 catch and drop wide open passes. The ability to even show that we can throw has made teams play honest, and I have been told by other coach (that I'll play) that I'm not just a SWEEP team anymore. Thanks for everything, Brian Mackell, Severn Seminoles 130lbs, Glen Burnie, Maryland *********** Coach, We are 5-0 now with 2 games left to play. Racked up 293 yards total offense tonight, 209 rushing and 84 passing. Scored a 52 yarder on tight Rip 7 -C, a 70 yarder on T rip 47C XX lead. Went 60 yards down to the 4 on T 3 Brown O and scored with T rip 7-c. Also scored on T 2 Blue. Defense held them to 126 yards net (they scored on an interception and then on on a 12 play drive against my second D. No offense but I sure hope no other middle schools in my area go to the Double Wing. I would hate to have to try and stop it. Thanks, Stuart Whitener, Sparkman Middle School, Huntsville, Alabama *********** If there is a man on the TE, the double team is on, a man outside the TE, only the wingback blocks him, correct? A man on the WB is left for the fullback, a man in the TE's inside gap is TE only? The only time the wingback will block a lineman on a power block is as part of a double-Team ("ON" call). If the call is "ON," the Double-team is ON and the wingback will block and man ON the LOS; if the call is "OFF", the Double-team is OFF, and the wingback will block a man OFF the LOS - first linebacker to his inside, blocked to the inside. (Wall-off) *********** As many of you know, I am a Yalie (Class of 1960). That and 50 cents will get me a refillable cup of coffee at a lot of places, but it is of some significance right now because both of the candidates for President are Yalies as well (although both were a few years after me). Many years have passed since I put in my time in New Haven, but there are certain prejudgments I made back at the time that still hold up over all these years. Let me explain. There were a lot of preppies at Yale - guys who attended elite private, mostly New England, boarding schools. George W. Bush was a preppy, and so was John F. Kerry. Bush attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, better known as Andover. Kerry attended St. Paul's School, in Concord, New Hampshire. In my freshman class of about 1,000, there were 50 guys from Andover. Over the course of my four years there, I'd say I got to know 30 or more of them. Eight of them played football. (Some of them were "post-grads," who had gone there for an extra senior year in order to get better prepared for Ivy-League work.) For the most part, they impressed me as achievers - smart, self-assured, capable of dealing with all sorts of people and situations. There were 19 St. Paul's graduates in that same freshman class. In my four years at Yale, I never really got to know a single one of them. Never had much chance to. Maybe it's because we had nothing in common. First of all, not one of them played football. I'm not even sure that St. Paul's had a football team. Second of all, none of them worked at a school job, something required of everyone on scholarship. Some of the Andover guys were on scholarship at Yale, just as they'd been at Andover. Third, they socialized in their own circle - they didn't go to the same parties as the rest of us, or hang in the places where we hung out. And fourth, I suspect that my buddies and I were the very sort of people they'd been brought up to have nothing to do with. (Years of counseling have brought me to the point where I now realize that I'm okay, and I shouldn't worry nearly so much about what rich, powerful, socially superior people think of me.) To put it bluntly, whether they intended it that way or not, they came across to the rest of us as a snooty bunch of better-than-the-rest-of-you types. Those of you who've never known true snobs won't understand. They lived in a different universe. Or at least in their own bubble. It wasn't a matter of having money - Andover guys had money, too, but they ventured out into the world with everybody else. St. Paul's guys - as well as those from a few other elite prep schools - had no more interaction with the great unwashed than was absolutely necessary. Most of them went into careers that didn't require them to get dirt under their fingernails or deal with common folk, and they married girls with the same type of pedigrees they had. They lived in places, vacationed in places, and sent their kids to school in places designed to keep interaction with the hoi polloi to an absolute minimum. I find it impossible to picture any St. Paul's guy ever lowering himself to associate with the riff-raff, even with the Presidency of the United States as his goal, so whenever I see John Kerry shaking hands with coal miners and factory workers, my only thought is that this guy wants nothing more than to get it over with and go wash his hands. My assessment of him and guys like him at Yale was that while they were smug children of privilege, they missed out on a lot of the useful life experiences that the rest of us were enjoying. I guarantee you that as a young man, John Kerry never (1) changed a tire; (2) cut the grass; (3) worked in a factory or on a construction site; (4) hitch-hiked; (5) took part in a fist-fight; (6) sat in a bar next to a working man and carried on a conversation, man-to-man; (7) played a pickup game of baseball, basketball or football; (8) took out the garbage; (9) ate pizza with his hands; (10) took a girl to a drive-in movie. That, I guar-on-tee you, was John Forbes Kerry back then. Take a lot at him now - has he changed all that much?  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 2003 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)  September 20, 2004  "Practice is all I miss. I don't miss the games, the folderol, everything else. But I do miss practice. I love to teach. It was the thing I loved to do. I always considered myself a teacher." 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) 25, The Dalles-Wahtonka 0 - Andy Jackson ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns and Tony Stutevoss passed to Alex Nalevaiko for a fourth score, while the Madison defense shut out the visitors' spread attack. On the second play of the second period, Jackson swept right then made an amazing cutback through the entire defensive secondary to go 57 yards to open the scoring. Four plays later, following a turnover, Stutevoss rolled left and found Nalevaiko open in the end zone for a 13-yard TD. Stutevoss recovered his own onside kick to start the second half, and the Senators drove 50 yards to make it 19-0 when Jackson raced 25 yards up the middle to the two, then punched it in on the next play. The final Madison score came in the fourth quarter when Jackson swept right and again cut back, breaking several tackles on a 40-yard run. In all, Madison had 345 yards of total offense - 320 yards rushing on 58 attempts, plus 25 yards passing (2-of-4 for a TD). Andy Jackson's 257 yards came on 28 carries. In posting the first Madison shutout in recent memory, the Senators allowed just 117 yards total - 23 yards rushing and 94 yards passing (on 9 of 28), while recovering a fumble and intercepting two passes. Of significance, the visitors were able to convert on just two of 11 third downs. On a soggy, rain-soaked field, the Senators fumbled just once, but didn't lose the ball. Perhaps the most impressive statistic of all was penalties: Madison was not penalized. (The radio guy from The Dalles shared the booth with us, and managed to say "The Dalles-Wahtonka Eagles-Indians" just once before breaking for a commercial and looking over at us and saying, "that was a mouthful!" That was the last we heard him say it in its entirety.) *********** Coach, Edmonds Cyclones 54 vs Lynnwood South 0. Our powers could not be stopped. Saturday was a day when our kids were better football players. Bigger, faster, and stronger. We scored three touch downs on defense when they took to the pass. One via interception and two from QB sack fumble pick up and runs. Our games will now get much tougher as we'll have to forget the first two. Glade Hall, Seattle, Washington *********** Doug Giles, in townhall.com, says to look out - Dan Rather and CBS are working on some revelations about George W. Bush that are sure to swing the momentum back to the Big Geek: 1. He once drank red wine with fried chicken. 2. He wore white after Labor Day. 3. In 1968, he insisted on swimming after lunch, refusing to wait the full thirty minutes. 4. He has been known to drink milk after the expiration date. 5. He started the Civil War. 6. When he was nine, he missed a dentist appointment. 7. Some say he was present during Christ's crucifixion. (I just pray that no one ever asks me about the time I saw him tear the DO NOT REMOVE tag off a mattress.) *********** Coach, Just thought I'd let you know that after getting shut out again last Thursday running that powerfull I formation=), we are now averaging a whopping 2 offensive points per game.  Needless to say I got the word Saturday morning that we are now once again a double wing team.  It was the only thing that worked last week, we averaged 3 yards/carry running 88 super power.  The funny part is that our C back never blocked the lbers, our guard and tackle never beat the A back to the hole, and our FB often ended up doubling the end with the C back.  Our only lead blocker was the QB, and we still gained yards.  The initial response was "coach we ran it 5 times and never gained over 5 yards...it doesn't work".  When we watched the film and I showed them how badly we executed, they realized...this is our most successfull running play, and we aren't even running it right.  So we are now committing to rep every DW play(super powers, wedge, counter, red red, blue blue) at least 10 times each practice.  I will keep you updated on our progress. The system has been proven to work. If it isn't working at your place, the logical place to look is at the coaching. You are absolutely right in your analysis and your approach. Nothing works when we don't work at it. *********** A coach who is new to his school wrote, "Twelve players quit this week because they didn't like the accountability that we have established on the team, and I had visits from three upset parents. Coming through with a victory after such a difficult week shows a great deal of character on the part of our players, and I am very proud of them." I wrote back, "With Oregon at Oklahoma this past weekend, there were a lot of stories in our local papers about Bob Stoops. "One of them dealt with his first off-season practice, and how hard it was, and the rather large number of guys who quit the program once they saw how different (that is, how much more demanding) things were going to be under the new sheriff. "Coach Stoops' results speak for themselves. "It is adding by subtracting." HW *********** Coach Wyatt: My name is Terrell Holliday and I spoke to you a couple of years ago. I went and watched Catoctin High School (Thurmont, Maryland) play a few times and fell in love with the DW. I coach 8-10 year olds and I attempted to run the DW last year, but my team didn't get the grasp of it until the end of the year. At the beginning of this season I decided to abandon the DW and run the straight T formation. Let me tell you that it was the worse decision I made since I began coaching. Our team was blown out 30-0 for its first game. The 2nd game was a different story. With only a week to prepare, I reverted back to the DW and taught my kids three plays (Wedge, Sweep, and PowerToss). We wedged our opponent to death. They couldn't stop my fullback. I probably ran the wedge 20 straight times before the opposite team began bunching everyone in. When they did that I, I called a Sweep and my A back broke one. We ended up winning 12-7. The team that we beat had been undefeated for the past two years. This was a great win for my kids considering we only won three games in the past two years. I love the 88 PowerToss, but I don't know if my backs can handle the pounding because they are so small. Of course, I will continue to try to run that play since it is the bread and butter of the offense. Can you tell me what other plays I should install? Thank you for making me a believer!!!! Terrell Holliday, Baltimore, Maryland I'm glad that you've had some success with the Double Wing. I have a list of plays I suggest for youth coaches among my TIPS. I believe it is either Tip #130 or 131. *********** I loved Ozzie's comments on the school name. He must still have a good sense of humor after all. I cracked up. I think all schools should have 10 or 12 self esteem counselors on the dole, for these sensitive times. Maybe self esteem classes to get your self image lifted daily. OR just pass out the pills. hahaha Yours truly, SOME GUY IN THE SOUTHEAST (actually, Larry Harrison, Siloam, Georgia) (Yes, Ossie Osmundson has a good sense of humor. Still. I coached with him for three years and we had us some good times! HW) *********** UNDER THE HEADLINE "DEVASTATING NEWS" - Coach Wyatt - I usually like to report in with good or positive news, but today is a sad,sad day on the North Shore. The Legendary Park Lunch bar suffered a major fire last night - the only positive I can report is that it seems the basement and kitchen took the heavy damage of the blaze - The Bar and dining room was spared some, but the most positive aspect is they salvaged most of the memorabilia, and they hope to re-open in 3 months, I wish Mike Doyle and his family the Best, here is the link to the story http://www.newburyportnews.com/ see you next week coach hopefully with better news - John Muckian Lynn,Mass *********** The Auburn-LSU game was a heck of a battle, and I am happy for the Auburn fans, but the game should have been decided in OT. After Auburn scored with under a minute to play to make it 9-9, an Auburn win seemed certain - until the weenie missed the PAT, making overtime all but certain. But wait - not so fast - there's a flag on the play (I told you those SEC refs will figure a way to screw somebody; I just don't know how they decide which team to shaft) and it's against LSU. Personal foul. Huh? We looked at the replays, and damned if anybody could detect an LSU player so much as touching the kicker or the holder. And then it was revealed that an LSU player had violated a rule, brand-new this year, that makes it illegal for anyone starting outside the free blocking zone to dive in the air and come down on an offensive player. Sure enough, an LSU defender had leaped into the air, and landed, half on a teammate and half on an Auburn blocker. What a bogus rule. Is it a safety issue? Are you trying to tell me a defensive back (I am assuming that the ability to jump high precludes putting a 300-pounder back there) can fly through the air and land on a well-armored 300-pound offensive lineman and do any damage? When we were kids, we used to play a game called "buck-buck" which essentially involved the same thing. *********** The SEC officials were at it again down toward the end of the Florida-Tennessee game. Far from the play, a Tennessee DB and a Florida WR were shown tussling. When they broke up, the Tennessee guy shoved the Florida guy in the face mask, whereupon the Gator bitch-slapped him back. And Florida was penalized 15 yards, which, since it was fourth down and the Gators had to punt, may or may not have helped Tennessee on its game-winning drive. I know, I know - the officials always catch the guy who hits back. I still believe that and I teach it. But this all happened right in front of an official, and on TV he appeared to be looking right at the combatants. *********** Tennessee's weenie kicker, who looks like your typical high school JV player, misses the game-tieing kick in the dying moments. But then the Vols put on a great defensive stand and mount a great drive to get back into field goal range, and this time the weenie makes it, and Tennessee beats Florida, and suddenly, HE'S THE F--KING HERO, and the winning field goal is THE PLAY OF THE GAME. Kickers. I hate 'em. *********** Thought that had to be running through Jon Gruden's mind after watching Chris Simms' gutless performance against the Seahawks (example: 3rd and 1 and with no one in front of him, all he has to do is take a giant step forward and he has a first down, but instead he stands there looking for an open receiver and he fumbles): anybody know how I can get hold of Major Applewhite? *********** After watching far more NFL-type "football" than I normally would, I am left with two burning questions (1) Was this Dance After You Make a Routine Tackle Week, or does this go on every week? (2) Those people who paid good money to sit and watch semi-pro games like the Bucs-Seahawks, Broncos-Jaguars , Bills-Raiders or Dolphins-Bengals - they're going to get their money back, right? *********** NFL football yesterday - what I saw of it - was BAD. Denver-Jax, Oakland-Buffalo, Seattle-Tampa Bay, Cincinnati-Miami - and then Philadlephia-Minnesota Whew! As Casey Stengel once said after watching his Amazin' Mets - "doesn't anybody here know how to play this game?" *********** Coach Wyatt, Here's an update on our latest game. We knew going in that we were playing a team who hadn't won a game in 4 tries. This always scares me because every "dog has his day". We came out really slow (even scarier) on special teams. At the coin flip, they won the toss and elected to receive…we kicked, they scored…ugh! Talk about amazing…our kids were being down right lazy going down for the tackles. They scored another TD on a KO return after our first TD. Our team is very resilient, however, and when we got the ball on "O", we marched 80 yards for a TD. We ran Over Left and Over Right very successfully versus a 4-4. They were blitzing like crazy, but never realized our unbalanced line. We also used Double Wide often and it worked. On a 4th and 7 from their 25 yard line, we went Double Wide and ran 3 wedge…for a touchdown! It was funny, because their coach was screaming, "they're going to pass" because of our successful passing. They came with a full blitz and our B Back ran right by them all! Our QB, Justin Trujillo, was on his A game today. He ran 88 option, 99 option, 88 QB follow and 99 QB follow to perfection. He scored 4 rushing TD's for approximately 125 yards rushing on 9 carries. Our C back had 75 yards rushing, mostly on the Over Left 99 Powers. Our A Back had great success on Over Right 88 Power and XX 56 Counter. We also ran Stack 88 and Stack 99 for 25 yards. We have a ton of plays and 5 legit weapons in our offensive backfield. I would hate to be a defensive coordinator versus the Double Wing. I love this offense and what it brings to the table, so to speak. Final score: Monarchs 50 and Rams 18. Respectfully, Marvin Garcia, Manzano Monarchs, Albuquerque, New Mexico *********** REPORT ON DE LA SALLE's GAME: Close to 10,000 people packed the Salinas Sports Complex and Rodeo Grounds grandstand for the all-Christian Brothers match between the 10-time Central Coast Section champion Palma Chieftains and Concord's football legends De La Salle, staring at an unfathomable-of 0-3 start. The crowd, featuring clad partisans as well as disinterested football fans of all stripes, was treated to a battle as fierce and even as its 7-7 final score suggests. The radio men remarked that Palma people saw this as a possible changing-of-the-guard game, "maybe in five years they'll talk about Palma the way they talk about DLS now." Palma had ketchup and mustard uniforms (call Teresa Heinz for an endorsement deal) and De La Salle had their silver and green Skyline-of-Issaquah look. Palma was going for the three-peat as their freshman and JV teams had vanquished the visitors earlier in the afternoon. Interesting visitors were Alaska's Bartlett High of Anchorage, who had defeated Bellarmine 9-7 the night before. De La Salle did not want to see them &endash; a blue-and-gold winged-helmet Wing-T team. De La Salle took the opening kickoff on their own 5, then took it into the end zone on a powerful, balanced drive, throwing a 15-yard crossing pattern to the 1 and punching in from there. Palma made it clear on their first possession that the game would go through the hands of quarterback Chad Bozzo, a greased snake of an athlete who seemed to burst out of the bull tunnels on the sideline. Whether option, draw or pass, no one breathed with the ball in his hands. There has been talk of a talent dropoff in Concord, and I for one believe it. The receivers dropped a bushel of good passes, had lousy efforts on others and just plain didn't adjust on the rest. Maybe they've gone away from it, but I didn't see much veer either. They seemed afraid to exert dominance on the line. Nor was I impressed with Palma's vaunted fly series. They ran the sweep several times, to little avail, but preferred to sneak and option their quarterback and power their tailback. Misdirection was nonexistent. The defenses, however, were stout as advertised. They both flew to the ball, and neither team had any major assignment breakdowns. These were units that were not going to give up fluke plays. DLS' tailback carried the ball away from his body, and Palma took advantage by forcing 3 fumbles and taking away 2. No one showed much competence in the passing game &endash; both teams were called for illegal men downfield on slipscreens that went too far. The momentum cracked late in the third quarter. Palma had fourth and 8 on the 20, rolled out and threw to their 6'5" receiver who was covered by three Spartans. Someone must have done something, because three flags converged as the pass was knocked down. First and goal on the 7. The Chieftains got two plays down to the one as the quarter expired. They opened the fourth with a sneak into the end zone, and the place exploded. I thought the aluminum stands were going to crumble with the hopping and pounding. Following the score, Palma booted the kickoff out of bounds. But a DLS penalty gave them the opportunity to re-kick. Not only was the ball returned to the 32 Palma's 6'5" receiver was injured, returning later to make a critical interception on De La Salle's second-to-last drive. (Maybe they should have declined the penalty.) DLS drove down to the 20, but as quarterback and Oregon State verbal Kevin Lopina lunged forward, he coughed up the ball to Palma. Lopina turned his ankle on the play and did not return, replaced by receiver Anthony Gutierrez, Michigan Matt's brother. Palma took a long drive to the 40, but had to punt despite converting a 3rd and 8 with a pop-pass to a tight end who made a great catch right in his gut. De La Salle threw an interception on the next series, all but extinguishing any scoring threat as the clock forced the anemic passing game. In California they don't play overtime, so it was sad to not see the game decided. However, on another level, the only way one team would have won at that point was by a freakish play or a boneheaded mistake; so it was better to not see the game end decisively but without satisfaction. And although there was some home cooking (and I'm not talking about the chili), the refs stayed away from deciding the game with laundry. All in all, a great experience and worth the 90 minute drive into the northern head of the Central Valley. Boy do they play some football down here! Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California *********** Hi Coach, When I bought my tickets (in June) to see the DeLaSalle's streak I didn't' think it would be the "winless streak". DLS played a very good Palma team in a game filled with mistakes. Palma 7, DLS 7. No tie breaker in non-league games. Kind of like kissing your sister, if you ask me... Palma feels pretty good, DLS has got to be in turmoil ! Also Palma freshman and JV teams beat DLS. Hmmmmm! The Atascadero Raiders continue to win ugly. Great individual efforts with enough "D" to go 3-0. We really haven't played anybody yet. We will see when we play two undefeated teams in the next two weeks. We are just not pounding the ball like we need to. We bust big plays, so it looks like we in control, but we really aren't getting the sustained blocks and the seal on the inside of the powers. It is time to go back to basics in practice. Hope you did well this weekend! Talk to you soon, Mike Norlock, Atascadero, California (How mu