Morning Sentinel
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Wide-open formation gaining popularity in Maine
By TRAVIS LAZARCZYK Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 09/18/2008


It was 14 years ago that Gary Parlin introduced the Run and Shoot offense to Mt. Blue High School. The wide-open passing attack was meant to mask the Cougars’ deficiencies on the line.
“The reason we did it was we had real small linemen,” Parlin said. “We had a good young quarterback in Dustin Ireland, we thought he was a real good player, but we had no linemen of size. We couldn’t line up and knock you around.”
Fourteen years ago, Mt. Blue was an enigma, a passing team in a state of smashmouth football. Now, the spread offense is gaining popularity throughout the country, including Maine. Bonny Eagle of Standish has won three of the last four Class A state titles running the spread.
The spread offense generally features a quarterback in shotgun formation with one running back. Depending on whether there’s a tight end, the offense can have three or four receivers. Put the running back in motion, and that makes five possible receivers the defense has to account for.
“The toughest thing in high school football to do is defend the pass,” Cony coach Robby Vachon said.
At Cony, Vachon installed the spread offense because it compliments the abilities of his players.
“For us, it seemed to work for the athletes we have,” Vachon said. “I’m a quarterback, our offensive coordinator (B.L. Lippert) is a quarterback. We like the idea of an open offense.”
Short pass patterns and screen passes can act like a running game in the spread, and Mt. Blue has perfected the shovel pass — a quick flip to a back going up the middle — through the years. The idea is to stretch the defense and create mismatches. Whoever has the ball is asked to win the one-on-one battle in the open field.
“It spreads the defense out a little bit, so they can’t put eight guys in the box against you,” Vachon said.
Added Parlin: “In practice our kids catch ball after ball after ball. ... It’s not as complicated as it looks.”
The spread offense is not necessarily always a passing offense. While teams that run the system tend to throw more than others, if a good athlete can get into the open field, he can run for a while. Bonny Eagle quarterback Nate Doehler ran for 125 yards against Lawrence in the Class A state championship game last November and had touchdown runs of 38 and 29 yards.
Mt. Ararat of Topsham utilizes the quarterback as an added running back. Quarterback Drew Marshall ran for 148 yards in a Week 1 win against Cony and added 46 yards rushing in Week 2 at Skowhegan.
At a coaching clinic, Parlin heard Darrel “Mouse” Davis, who popularized the Run and Shoot, explain why the offense works.
Parlin also was told, “If you’re going to do it, you have to do it.” After installing the offense in 1994, Parlin and the Cougars didn’t see solid results until 1996. That year, Ireland won the Fitzpatrick Trophy as the top player in the state.
“(Davis) said you can always find kids who can run, catch and throw,” Parlin said. “I think it’s a fun offense.”
It’s fun unless you’re trying to defend it.
“Kids love it. Fans love it. Defensive coordinators take a lot of aspirin,” said Jim Poulin, Winslow’s defensive coordinator. “From a kid’s point of view, it’s like playing in the backyard. How many times do you run in the backyard?”
This week, Poulin is preparing the Black Raiders defense to play Leavitt’s spread offense on Saturday night.
“It’s very difficult. One major reason is we don’t see it week after week,” Poulin said.
Because one of the tenants of the spread is the hurry up, with little or no huddle, often a defense won’t have time to make personnel changes between plays, and will have athletes playing out of position.
“You may end up having a defensive tackle who may be asked to play linebacker,” Poulin said. “You’ve got to be able to adjust on the fly. It stretches you as a defense because your kids aren’t doing their normal job.”
The spread’s popularity in college is one reason it’s become a more common offense in high school.
“Everything drifts down from the college level,” Parlin said. “We’re all fighting to get kids out for football. The athletes really seem to love to catch and throw.”
No matter how hard the spread can be to defend, it all comes down to basic football fundamentals, Poulin said.
“At some point in time, you have to snap on the chinstrap and just play football,” Poulin said.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

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