Fast-paced offenses all the rage
As Chip Kelly does with the Eagles, Great Valley's Dan Ellis wants to go full throttle on offense and run plays in rapid fashion. "We want to dictate things," he said. "We don't want to give the opposing defense a chance to breathe."
As Chip Kelly does with the Eagles, Great Valley's Dan Ellis wants to go full throttle on offense and run plays in rapid fashion. "We want to dictate things," he said. "We don't want to give the opposing defense a chance to breathe."
Great Valley ran an average of about 70 plays per game with its hurry-up, no-huddle spread offense while going 12-2 and claiming top District 1 Class AAA honors last season.
Ellis, a star quarterback at Downingtown (Class of 1997) and Virginia, first began using an up-tempo scheme in 2009, his second year in charge at Springfield (Delaware County).
"It forces the defense to simplify things," Ellis said. "They can only communicate so much before we run another play. It really puts the defense in a pickle."
Ellis is not alone in his preference for a robust pace. Central Bucks East, Council Rock North, and St. Joseph's Prep, the two-time defending PIAA Class AAAA state champ, are also among the growing number of area squads employing a hurry-up attack.
"The more plays we run successfully, the more opportunities we have to score," C.B. East coach John Donnelly said.
Donnelly was a tight end at the University of New Hampshire, where Kelly was a running backs coach in the early 1990s. Later, as offensive coordinator, Kelly and Wildcats head coach Sean McDonnell installed a lightning-fast offense.
In 2007, his second year at Quakertown, Donnelly put what he had learned about the no-huddle spread from Kelly, McDonnell, and other college coaches to work.
"We had a really young team, but we could see the positives of it," Donnelly said. "It's dynamic, it's fun for the players, and you can force defenses into bad situations."
Last season, en route to repeating as state titlist, St. Joe's Prep averaged 37.3 points per game by keeping the gas pedal on the floor.
"What we do is an extension of our offseason conditioning," Hawks sixth-year coach Gabe Infante said. "And you're able to limit the playbook of a defensive coordinator. You're establishing the rules and pace of the game."
Some may confuse the no-huddle offense for one that repeatedly airs the ball out. But Infante wants the Hawks "to be as balanced as we can be."
"You can't be too one-dimensional," said Infante, who has compiled a 44-18 record at 17th and Girard. "We try not to be too predictable. We want to take advantage of certain matchups."
Come mid-November or early December, the Prep could be involved in a playoff contest at a wind-swept or snow-covered field.
"When you're playing in this part of the country, you have to be able to run the ball," said Infante, who previously coached at Paramus Catholic in North Jersey.
By not using a huddle, teams can be more efficient with practice time. "We get so much more done than ever before," Ellis said. "I can't imagine going back to a huddle."
It also incorporates more conditioning throughout practice and gets more skill-position players involved in games. "We tend to get a lot of good athletes," Infante said. "With this system, it's easier to get multiple guys the ball."
In replaying play calls to their players, coaches use no-huddle tools such as wristbands, big boards, code words, or funky pictures. Sometimes, to protect an opponent from stealing calls, one coach will use a "live" signal and another a "dummy" signal.
C.B. East uses a "sugar huddle," where the QB and linemen gather about two yards behind the line of scrimmage. The call is then relayed in some form to the running backs and receivers. Sam Wyche introduced the concept with the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1980s.
One potential danger in using a no-huddle offense is that a team's defense may be on the field for long periods of time and give up a lot of points.
"Defense is still tremendously important to us," Donnelly said. "We're not just trying to outscore the opponent. That's not a good idea."
Adam Collachi, now in his sixth year at C.R. North, started using the no-huddle spread in his second season.
"For us, it was about trying to level the playing field," he said. "We didn't have the size that other teams had. As a smaller team, you can try to wear a physically bigger team down by speeding up the game."
With his smarts and athleticism, C.R. North senior QB Brandon McIlwain is the ideal engineer for an up-tempo offense.
"His quickness is outstanding," Collachi said of the South Carolina recruit. "He can take off with the ball on any play. He can also burn you with his arm. You have to pick your poison."
Last season, McIlwain threw for 2,018 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also ran for 1,027 yards and 18 scores.
"Having a mobile quarterback who can also throw the ball allows you to open up more of your playbook," Infante said. "It really puts stress on the defense. And that's the whole idea behind this."
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