A Knights tale - A RL HS Football diary Freshmen style

[BYU 14]

The bad news first, our starting QB did not get cleared in time and I called a pass on our first play from scrimmage and it got picked.....That was also the last pass I called the entire game

Pretty much all uphill after that. The extra day of prep for them paid off in spades and the kids executed our schemes almost flawlessly. The starters were done at halftime as we raced out to a 42-0 lead. They got a couple of late scores against our 3rd and 4th string kids, but our backups played their starters fairly evenly and put one on them as well and we cruised home with a comfortable win. Our kicker also knocked down a 39 yard FG in the second half

Final score
Westview 51 Lajoya 13

I will post stats and highlights after I break down the film tomorrow or Friday.

[Barkeep49]

I find it amazing that a run game can be so dominant that a team need not pass at all and can still destroy another team. Congrats on the win.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

I find it amazing that a run game can be so dominant that a team need not pass at all and can still destroy another team. Congrats on the win.

We are fortunate to have a very solid line and three stellar backs that prevents a team from cheating and keying too much on one guy.

I am behind on stats but I have been extra busy getting ready for our game against Centennial tonight as they are the top program in 5A II right now and defending state champs. Varsity wise we are ranked #2 and they are #1 and both 7-0 going into this Fridays showdown.

As for tonight..............A huge win for us 48-30 (It was 42-6 going into the 4th and they kept their starters in and threw the ball on our backups) so it was really not that close. This is the second year in a row we have beaten their freshmen and it bodes real well for the future. Our Offense is really rolling now and we have still only punted 4 times in 8 games. Starting D is now really playing well as a unit and only gave up 6 of their 30 points.

I will update the stats from the Lajoya game last week ASAP and get the stats from this game up this weekend. I am really pumped right now and extremely proud of our kids. (We scored 2 TDs on kickoff returns tonight as well.....A big turnaround for special teams!!!)

[BYU 14]

Here are the stats from last weeks game against LaJoya.

Drive Summary
1: 1 play 0 yards - Int

2: 3 Plays 37 yards - TD - Dylan U 6 yd run

3: 9 plays 79 yards - TD - Shayne M 14 yd run

4: 3 plays 48 yards - TD - Jamal D 5 yd run

5: 1 play 74 yards - TD - Jamal D 74 yd run

6: 1 play 41 yards - TD - Shayne M 41 yd run

7: 2 plays 12 yards - TD - Tywon S 8 yd run

8: 1 play -2 yards - Halftime

9: 6 plays 20 yards - Fumble

10: 4 plays 25 yards - Fumble

11: 4 plays 7 yards - FG - Jacob S 37 yd FG

12: 1 play 3 yards - Fumble

13: 11 plays 48 yards - TD - Joey F 4 yd run

Game Stats

Rushing
Shayne M: 6 - 131 yds, 2 TD
Jamal D: 7 - 99 yds, 2 TD
Andrew J: 10 - 60 yds
Tywon S: 4 - 43 yds 1 TD
Joey F: 7 - 22 yds 1 TD
Dylan U: 2 - 18 yds 1 TD
Fabian G: 1 - 10 yds
Frankie S: 3 - 8 yds
Jamal K: 2 - 4 yds
Zach R: 1 - 2 yds
Oscar C: 2 - -5 yds

Passing
Zach R: 0 - 1, 1 Int

Receiving
N/A

We got a lot of backups PT in this one as the starters were out at Halftime. In fact our starting backs only accounted for 17 of our 45 rushing attempts in the game, which makes me and their backups very happy. We took care of business quick, got everyone in the game and stayed healthy.

The four turnovers are a sore spot. Three were by our reserves, but still, they get just as many reps in ball security drills as the starters, so we just need to focus on taking care of the ball. In fairness to them though, 2 of the 3 fumbles came fighting for extra yards, which we stress. You just need to know when it is finally time to go down. All in all we got a convincing win, but taking care of the ball was something we stressed all week going into yesterdays game against Centennial.


Season Stats through 7 games
Season record: 5-1-1 overall, 3-0 in region

VS Maryvale: Win 47-0
Rushing 24 - 263 yds, 6 TD
Passing 0 - 1

@ Pinnacle: Win 29-8
Rushing 19 - 261 yds, 3 TD
Passing 4 - 6 for 28 yds, 1 TD

@ Deer Valley: Loss 20-44
Rushing 30 - 254 yds, 2 TD
Passing 6 - 10 for 112 yds, 1 TD 2 Int

@ Horizon: Tie 44-44
Rushing 36 - 403 yds, 6 TD
Passing 5 - 7 for 91 yds, 1 TD

VS Tolleson: Win 26-14
Rushing 37 - 329 yds, 4 TD
Passing 2 - 3 for 44 yds

@ Sunrise Mountain: Win 31-0
Rushing 30 - 433 yds, 4 TD
Passing 2 - 6 for 6 yds, 1 Int

VS LaJoya: Win 52-13
Rushing 45 - 392 yds, 7 TD
Passing 0 - 1 for 0 yds, 1 Int

Per Game Averages
Rushing: 333.6
Passing: 40.1
Total Offense: 373.7

Leaders Season to Date:
Rushing:
Jamal D: 64 - 846 yds, 13.2 YPC, 13 TD
Shayne M: 59 - 788 yds, 13.4 YPC, 10 TD
Tywon S: 21 - 220 yds, 10.5 YPC, 3 TD
Andrew J: 11 - 134 yds, 12.2 YPC, 1 TD
Dylan U: 11 - 123 yds, 11.2 YPC, 3 TD
Team: 222 - 2335 yds, 10.5 YPC, 32 TD

Passing:
Louis G: 16 - 28 for 249 yds, 3 TD, 3 Int
Team: 19 - 34 for 281 yds, 3 TD, 4 Int

Receiving:
Shayne M: 9 - 144 yds, 16.0 YPC, 2 TD
Jesse M: 3 - 38 yds, 12.7 YPC, 1 TD
Dylan U: 2 - 40 yds, 20.0 YPC
Team: 19 - 281 yds, 14.8 YPC, 3 TD

My goal was to rush for 2500 yards and avg over 8.0 per carry, two goals we will shatter. I haven't done the Centennial stats yet but I am fairly certain we went for 300+ against them, even though 2 of our scores came on kickoff returns. If we are over 300 against Centennial there is a chance we could hit 3000 yards rushing as a team with two 1000 yard rushers. Easily the best running game I have ever coached at the Freshman level. The line has been solid and we are blessed with some explosive backs.

[BYU 14]

Here are the numbers for last Wednesdays 48-30 win over our arch nemesis Centennial and move to 6-1-1 on the season.

Drive Summary
1: 9 plays 66 yards - TD - Dylan U 6 yd run

2: 3 plays 6 yards - Punt (Only our 5th of the year)

3: 3 plays 36 yards - TD - Tywon S 27 yd run (The kids executed weakside counter to perfection)

4: 2 plays 52 yards - TD - Jamal D 52 yd run

5: Special Teams TD - Guillermo N 69 yd kickoff return

6: 2 plays 10 yards - Int (ugh)
They tired a hail mary after this as it was nearly halftime, they made the catch, but Anthony R made a great play stripping their receiver and we recovered at our 5, I then took a knee to end the half. We were up 28 - 6 at this point.

7: Special Teams TD - Guillermo N 82 yd kickoff return (A great way to open the second half and this really had to be a Dagger. G-man starts at corner and is our top kickoff and punt returner as well. He has an amazing burst when he sees a seam on returns. His 2nd and 3rd returns for touchdowns on the season in this game.

8: 13 plays 80 yards - TD - Shayne M 15 yd run (Big plays are nice, but I do have a soft spot for these kinds of drives. I will give Centennial credit, they were still bringing it and made us earn this one. This eats up over 8 minutes and allows us to take a 42-6 lead into the 4th)

Heading into the 4th we have all the starters out now on both sides of the ball.

9: 2 plays 15 yards - Fumble (Ugh again!)

10: 6 plays 13 yards - Turnover on downs (At this point I figured they would start playing backups, but they did not and came back out throwing, after they scored their third quick TD and 2 pt conversion on our backups (they kept trying onside kicks as well after every score and got one of them) I got a little nervous/annoyed and put the starting offense back in as it was now 42-30 with about a minute and a half left. I was not crazy about doing this, but stranger things have happened and it would be really foolish to lose a game on some string of miracles where we lead 42-6 going into the 4th quarter.

11: 3 plays 48 yards - TD - Shayne M 7 yd run

That put the game on ice and gave our frosh our second straight win over the perennial 5A II title contenders (The Coyotes have made 3 straight trips to the 5A II title game and won 2) Hopefully this bodes well for unseating them in the future.

Game Stats

Rushing
Jamal D: 10 - 112 yds, 1 TD
Tywon S: 6 - 79 yds, 1 TD
Shayne M: 10 - 74 yds, 2 TDs
(They played to take our strongside sweep away, which allowed us to have success on the weakside with Tywon.)

Passing
Louis G: 2 - 5 for 16 yds, 1 Int

Receiving
Shayne M: 1 - 8 yds
Dylan U: 1 - 8 yds

Other Knight news:

Our JV moved to 8-0 Thursday coming back from a 35-14 halftime deficit to beat Centennial 39-35. On Friday in a matchup of the two top ranked teams in 5A II it was a defensive battle and unfortunately our varsity fell to 7-1 losing 14-0 to #1 ranked Centennial. We got inside their 30 three times and couldn't put any points on the board, but we know now we can play with them and will hopefully get a rematch in the State title game. They are a solid team (ranked #7 in the West by USA today and just outside the top 25 nationally) We should still enter the playoffs as a #2 or #3 seed if we win our last two (We will be definitive favorites in both) and that would line us up for another shot at them in the title game if we both take care of business.

[BYU 14]

Season Stats through 8 games
Season record: 6-1-1 overall, 4-0 in region

VS Maryvale: Win 47-0
Rushing 24 - 263 yds, 6 TD
Passing 0 - 1

@ Pinnacle: Win 29-8
Rushing 19 - 261 yds, 3 TD
Passing 4 - 6 for 28 yds, 1 TD

@ Deer Valley: Loss 20-44
Rushing 30 - 254 yds, 2 TD
Passing 6 - 10 for 112 yds, 1 TD 2 Int

@ Horizon: Tie 44-44
Rushing 36 - 403 yds, 6 TD
Passing 5 - 7 for 91 yds, 1 TD

VS Tolleson: Win 26-14
Rushing 37 - 329 yds, 4 TD
Passing 2 - 3 for 44 yds

@ Sunrise Mountain: Win 31-0
Rushing 30 - 433 yds, 4 TD
Passing 2 - 6 for 6 yds, 1 Int

VS LaJoya: Win 52-13
Rushing 45 - 392 yds, 7 TD
Passing 0 - 1 for 0 yds, 1 Int

VS Centennial: Win 48-30
Rushing 39 - 313 yds, 5 TD
Passing 2 - 5 for 16 yds, 1 Int

Per Game Averages
Rushing: 331.0
Passing: 37.1
Total Offense: 368.1

Leaders Season to Date:
Rushing:
Jamal D: 74 - 958 yds, 12.9 YPC, 14 TD
Shayne M: 69 - 862 yds, 12.5 YPC, 12 TD
Tywon S: 27 - 299 yds, 11.1 YPC, 4 TD
Andrew J: 12 - 146 yds, 12.2 YPC, 1 TD
Dylan U: 16 - 143 yds, 8.9 YPC, 4 TD
Team: 261 - 2647 yds, 10.1 YPC, 37 TD

Passing:
Louis G: 18 - 33 for 265 yds, 3 TD, 4 Int
Team: 21 - 39 for 297 yds, 3 TD, 5 Int

Receiving:
Shayne M: 10 - 152 yds, 15.2 YPC, 2 TD
Jesse M: 3 - 38 yds, 12.7 YPC, 1 TD
Dylan U: 3 - 48 yds, 16.0 YPC
Team: 21 - 297 yds, 14.1 YPC, 3 TD

Going into our final game we need 353 yards to hit 3000 for the year. It is conceivable we can do it. Regardless, we will set a record for rushing yards at the Freshman level for the school, which is a testament to the big boys up front and our backs both. One down note here is that Damian C, our starting strong tackle suffered a concussion against Centennial and will miss the final game. Adam C, who is a solid technician, but not as physical will start in his place and will do just fine. Code R (Our starting DT) will also likely see some reps here. Andrew J sprained his ankle on his only carry against Centennial and is doubtful. He is a backup at both TB and CB, but generally gets reps at one or both positions every game. He is also a fierce special teams player and we will miss him there.

Individually Jamal D should easily break 1,000 yards in our finale and Shayne, needing 138 yards also has a solid chance.

[BYU 14]

Final pre-game walkthrough of the season tonight. We kept it fairly loose and had some fun, though not at the expense of making sure our rules were ingrained. We close against Ironwood tomorrow and they are predominately an I Pro team and run a lot of option (both dive and veer) They have a huge fullback and a fairly mobile QB and these two are the two we have to stop. We have more team speed and they don't appear to have any big play guys, but they can grind out long grueling drives with that Fullback. We will need to get them in long yardage situations and force the pass.

Defensively they run a reduced 5-2 and don't blitz much. I will stay with my usual plan and probe multiple points of attack in my script and attack the favorable matchups from there. Our strongside trap should be golden against this Defense, but it has not looked good in practice. This is probably due to the fact we have seen a lot of even fronts and the kids aren't quite hitting the angles. We also haven't run it much the last three games since we have played heavy blitz teams.

We have two starters out OT Damian C (concussion) and Rover James O (Academics- 3rd game out) Apart from that we are healthy and ready to roll. The season has once again flown by in the blink of an eye. Here's to hoping we close it out in style, which would leave us undefeated in region and give our freshmen the "unofficial" region title.

[BYU 14]

We closed out the year with a workman like 35-8 win over Ironwood. They played a good physical game against us, in the end our team speed made a difference on both sides of the ball. Jamal D did not have a great night amd it will actually be close in terms of whether he got 1000 yards on the season. Shayne M broke two long runs and should hit 1000 comfortably. Our biggest plays tonight came from misdirection, counter 6 and counter 7 (6 is strongside, 7 is quickside) as both Shayne and Tywon broke long TD runs. Our other scores came on 66 Gap (Strong side power) with Shayne scoring and two QB sneaks by Louis G. Starting D played real well and did not allow any points. Our 3 man rotation at inside LB'er (Jesus G, Frankie S and Joey K) did a great job containing their big FB) and we ran to the ball real well as a team maintaining outside leverage effectively with our OLB'er and Ends (Dylan U, Josh K, Sonny G at OLB stood out and Malik T looked invigorated at Stud End)

We were able to get everyone in the game again, which is especially cool since it was the last game of the Season. Really proud of how the Kids finished as we ran the table on region play to finish on top of the heap. I will update the stats after we watch films Friday, it will be close but we may hit 3000 yards rushing as a team for the year.

Oh yeah, I also mentioned in the preview that they did not really blitz on the film I watched, well as usual that changed against us as teams love to blitz A gaps and bring edge pressure against the Wing-T. This was one of the reasons Jamal was not overly effective and also why we had to punt......gulp....twice!!! I hate punting, LOL. I am pretty sure they got film on us too, probably from Centennial, as they did as good as you can do taking away multiple points of attack, but again you have to give up somethingm which accounts for the big night with the counters. We had receivers open as well and when we protected we were able to throw......Nothing crazy, I still kept it under 10. And the Trap was not good due to the way they schemed us, I called it only once cause it was on the script and that was it.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Congrats on a great season, sad to see it end already. It 'll be nice to see the stats.

Thanks for doing this dynasty, I really learned a lot by taking a sneak peak behind the scenes. Hope you do it again next year!

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

Congrats on a great season, sad to see it end already. It 'll be nice to see the stats.

Thanks for doing this dynasty, I really learned a lot by taking a sneak peak behind the scenes. Hope you do it again next year!

Thanks Froggie, glad you enjoyed it, I had fun doing it. I was really torn on the content. I wanted to go even more behind the scenes, but we are talking about 14-15 kids here and I just didn't feel right putting too much out there. Better to err on the side of caution IMO. I would never want to put anything out that cast negative light on any kid or gave too much personal information about them. Believe me, I even went back and forth a lot on whether to use first names or numbers.

I also held back on scouting reports as well. Call me paranoid, but you never know if a coach from a team we play might stumble upon my game plan for them in here, lol. I know the odds are long, but again, all coaches are paranoid to a degree.

I will probably do it again next year. I would also really like to post updates on this class as they progress to JV and Varsity if there is interest in that. I think anywhere from 4-7 of this group will make varsity next year and likely see playing time.

[johnnyshaka]

Great season and congrats!!!! I, too, enjoyed this dynasty and look forward to next season.

One request, give us an update on how any of your kids do on the varsity squad next season and beyond...if you have time, of course.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Thanks Froggie, glad you enjoyed it, I had fun doing it. I was really torn on the content. I wanted to go even more behind the scenes, but we are talking about 14-15 kids here and I just didn't feel right putting too much out there. Better to err on the side of caution IMO. I would never want to put anything out that cast negative light on any kid or gave too much personal information about them. Believe me, I even went back and forth a lot on whether to use first names or numbers.

I also held back on scouting reports as well. Call me paranoid, but you never know if a coach from a team we play might stumble upon my game plan for them in here, lol. I know the odds are long, but again, all coaches are paranoid to a degree.

I will probably do it again next year. I would also really like to post updates on this class as they progress to JV and Varsity if there is interest in that. I think anywhere from 4-7 of this group will make varsity next year and likely see playing time.

Mark me down as being a little more cautious next year. I'm definitely a little more paranoid.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Thanks Froggie, glad you enjoyed it, I had fun doing it. I was really torn on the content. I wanted to go even more behind the scenes, but we are talking about 14-15 kids here and I just didn't feel right putting too much out there. Better to err on the side of caution IMO. I would never want to put anything out that cast negative light on any kid or gave too much personal information about them. Believe me, I even went back and forth a lot on whether to use first names or numbers.

I've struggled with this same issue. I've used initials and first names and even thought about doing pseudonyms at one point. I've gone with first names and will go in depth about the kids because my location is ambiguous (I do use abbreviations for the cities/teams we play). I hope that's the right balance.

[BYU 14]

Finally got around to breaking down the film on our final game as mentioned going in we had a chance for two 1000 yd rushers and a 3000 yard rushing season as a team, both of which would be Freshman firsts. As I thought in my cursory game summary it was going to be close for Jamal D as they did a great job taking away our inside running game and close it was.....real close.

Not only were counters big but our strongside power was money as well. When they started to blitz our A and B gaps I called the linemen over and went to a gap scheme on this play, which enabled us to pick up the run through LB'ers and gain crease off tackle, which also contributed to a big day for Shayne M, who absolutely went off averaging 26.1 yds a carry for the game.

Drive Summary
1: 7 plays 18 yards - Punt
Not a great start as a sack on 3rd down results in a 10 yard loss and a first drive punt. (They started blitzing after we got one first down, which pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night)

2: 2 plays 70 yards - TD - Shayne M 66 yd run
I Let the lineman know I would be calling the gap scheme on powers and we went over the defensive alignment on the white board between series. The kids executed perfectly and the result was Shaynes first big play of the game.

3: 7 plays 69 yards - TD - Louis G 1 yd run
A more methodical drive, highlighted by a 46 yd run by Shayne on the strongside counter.

4: 5 plays 31 yards - Turnover on downs
2 penalties and a sack killed this drive, which started well.

5: 8 plays 45 yards - TD - Louis G 1 yd run
Time was winding down in the first half and I called passes on 5 of 8 plays....blasphemy The big hitters were Tywon S going for 22 yds on weakside counter, followed immediately by Louis hitting Shayne on a throwback off of boot action for 22 more to get it to the 1 yd line. We scored with under 10 seconds left in the half for a 21 - 0 lead.

6: 3 plays 2 yards - Punt
Ugh

7: 4 plays 60 yards - TD - Tywon S 30 yd run
Weakside counter for the score after 2 strongside powers and a FB toss to Jamal get us the first 30 yds of the drive.

8: 3 plays 79 yards - TD - Shayne M 67 yd run
Another homerun from Shayne, this one on strongside counter, as he went the distance virtually untouched, great up front blocking it, as well as our backs selling flow to the weak side. Up 35-0 now and I pull the starters.

9: 4 plays 19 yards - Fumble
Nerves as one of our backup TB's just drops the handoff

10: 1 play -5 yards - Fumble
It really bothers me when we get sloppy late in a game we have won, even if it is the backups in. They blitzed both A gaps here and got the QB before he could secure the handoff. Actually, it was also a bad play call by me. I called sweep and should have just stayed with power and this wouldn't have happened. (They finally score after this, then got an onside kick...ugh again, but we held them)

11: Take a knee to run out the clock for the 35-8 win!

Game Stats

Rushing
Shayne M: 8 - 209 yds, 2 TD
Tywon S: 5 - 83 yds, 1 TD
Jamal D: 10 - 45 yds
Dylan U: 2 - 19 yds

Passing
Louis G: 3 - 7 for 32 yds
Shayne M: 1 - 1 for 12 yds (TB pass )

Receiving
Shayne M: 2 - 23 yds
Tywon S: 1 - 12 yds
Joey K: 1 - 9 yds

In addition to Shayne's huge day, Tywon came through big for the second game in a row getting well over half his yards on the weakside counter. Like I said, it was real close for Jamal, but he eclipsed the 1000 yd mark by 3 yards. Hats off to Ironwood, they were the only team that really contained him, but of course our TB and WB ran wild. We also made 3000 as a team by 2 yards which is a testament to our line, who did an awesome job clearing the way for our talented stable of backs.

I will post the final Season stats tomorrow and later on some thoughts. Eventually I will get some highlight clips up when I have a bit more time. Our varsity finished the regular season tonight at 9-1 and we now enter the playoffs as the #2 seed in 5A II based on early projections, we will know for sure in the morning when all the power points are verified.

Freshmen finish 7-1-1 and the JV 9-0 (Great job guys!!! This group is 17-1 overall in their first two years as Knights. In addition our overall program record for the regular season this year was 25-2-1, the best ever at Westview, so the future looks bright)

[BYU 14]

End of Season Stats
Season record: 7-1-1 overall, 5-0 in region (1st place)

VS Maryvale: Win 47-0
Rushing 24 - 263 yds, 6 TD
Passing 0 - 1

@ Pinnacle: Win 29-8
Rushing 19 - 261 yds, 3 TD
Passing 4 - 6 for 28 yds, 1 TD

@ Deer Valley: Loss 20-44
Rushing 30 - 254 yds, 2 TD
Passing 6 - 10 for 112 yds, 1 TD 2 Int

@ Horizon: Tie 44-44
Rushing 36 - 403 yds, 6 TD
Passing 5 - 7 for 91 yds, 1 TD

VS Tolleson: Win 26-14
Rushing 37 - 329 yds, 4 TD
Passing 2 - 3 for 44 yds

@ Sunrise Mountain: Win 31-0
Rushing 30 - 433 yds, 4 TD
Passing 2 - 6 for 6 yds, 1 Int

VS LaJoya: Win 52-13
Rushing 45 - 392 yds, 7 TD
Passing 0 - 1 for 0 yds, 1 Int

VS Centennial: Win 48-30
Rushing 39 - 313 yds, 5 TD
Passing 2 - 5 for 16 yds, 1 Int

@ Ironwood: Win 35-8
Rushing 36 - 344 yds, 5 TD
Passing 4 - 8 for 44 yds

Per Game Averages
Rushing: 332.4
Passing: 37.9
Total Offense: 370.3

Points scored
332 (36.9 per game)

Points allowed
161 (17.9 per game)

Final Season Leaders:
Rushing:
Shayne M: 77 - 1072 yds, 13.9 YPC, 14 TD
Jamal D: 84 - 1003 yds, 11.9 YPC, 14 TD
Tywon S: 32 - 382 yds, 11.9 YPC, 5 TD
Dylan U: 20 - 162 yds, 8.1 YPC, 4 TD
Andrew J: 12 - 146 yds, 12.2 YPC, 1 TD
Team: 297 - 3002 yds, 10.1 YPC, 42 TD

Passing:
Louis G: 21 - 40 for 297 yds, 3 TD, 4 Int
Team: 25 - 47 for 341 yds, 3 TD, 5 Int

Receiving:
Shayne M: 12 - 175 yds, 14.6 YPC, 2 TD
Dylan U: 3 - 48 yds, 16.0 YPC
Jesse M: 3 - 38 yds, 12.7 YPC, 1 TD
Tywon S: 3 - 18 yds
Team: 25 - 341 yds, 13.6 YPC, 3 TD


Tidbits
A great season offensively and we had some moments on Defense, though the back to back 44 point blood lettings were a bit disappointing. One thing I will say is that we improved on both sides of the ball consistently as the year went on, especially on defense. Over the last 6 games if you take away the garbage time points when we had games won, our starters only allowed a total of 20 points, which is awesome. I wish we had made defense more of a focus early on and recognized some of the changes we made after the Tolleson game earlier. Hindsight is 20/20 though and there has yet to be a season I have coached where I haven't had at least a couple of things I wished I had done differently. That is the beauty of coaching this sport though, no matter how long you do it, there is never a lack of challenge and you can never learn enough......about your team and yourself.

Offensively this is probably the most explosive group I have coached and I would put our running game against any in the state at the freshmen level. Hopefully that doesn't come off as arrogant, because I don't mean to be at all. I just think the kids worked that well together as a unit.....and it is all them. Calling the plays for this group was easy once I saw what the Defenses were going to do, we talked on the sideline, made the necessary adjustments and the kids executed. I have had better individuals at about every position than I had this year, but never the depth and consistency.

I put the Defense in this same category, no world class individuals, but a solid unit that performed well together once we got them all in the right place and they got comfortable in our system. It was the first time that we have had no regular two way starters as well, which also speaks well for our depth and the future.....You truly succeed as a team and this group of kids were that for the most part. (Minus the usual freshman "Can I score one more TD Coach?" stuff....they will learn, lol)

A couple more things offensively. We always line up strong right unless I make a flip call and our even number plays always go to the strong side.
Example - Ace over 58 = Strongside sweep to the TB (going to the right)
Wing flip 58 = same play, but to the left now as the line and backs flip.

I called flip once the entire season because for some reason the kids just couldn't keep it straight. It has never been a problem before, but for some reason this year a couple of the kids just couldn't process it. It bothered me a lot over the first few games, but I finally just let it go and focused on executing in the scope of what we were able to do. In the end I just used other ways to get strength to the left side here and there. Trading the TE and going with double TE's as well. Fortunately it worked out fine in the end and we ran well both weak and strong so teams really couldn't load up either way.

The one area not being able to run flip did effect is that I like to run to our boundry a lot for two reasons. One is to keep the other teams coaches from getting a real clear look at what is going on and the other is to give us a better look at things. It also helps hide things like unbalanced and over sets for a bit longer from the other team, if their kids don't pick it up right away and adjust. Also a lot of teams will rotate their coverage or shift their LB'ers to the field side against us in fear of sweep. Sweep works very well to the short side against teams that do this, since the Wing-T sweep by design is a cutback sweep and not a strict outside sweep. In the end I still ran to the boundry more than the field, just did it more to the weakside this year.

I also had a slightly smaller playbook than last year utilizing probably 2-4 plays less than I normally do, which is not a big deal as it is more about quality of execution than quantity. I always give the kids what they can execute effectively each year and that's how it fell this year. No knock on the kids at all, as we didn't need anymore in the playbook than we had and they definitely executed it well which is the name of game and I was VERY proud if them in this area.

I am not a big trick play guy, but usually have 1-3 special play in the gameplan each week. This can be either a trick play or a variation on one of our base plays. We practiced a few (Hook and Ladder, Reverse 8, 158 special) that I never used and overall I probably called less of these than I ever had...which again, win with the base stuff not trickery. I only called a total of 9 specials all year and three came in the final game.

Summary of the "special" plays I used.
Reverse 9 - (4 times) 4 - 69 yards. This play starts off like strong side sweep to the TB, the guards reverse pull and come back weakside. The TB hands off to the WB, who follows the guards, with the QB leading as well. This play always went to Tywon who executed it well.

209 Sleeper - (3 times) 2 - 2 for 51 yards + 1 sack for minus 6 yards. Starts off looking like our normal weakside boot, fake the sweep to the TB and start to roll weak. Instead of blocking backside after the fake, the TB continues on a wheel route, the QB pulls up short and throws back to the TB. It was open all 3 times it was called, but Louis slipped in the Horizon game or we likely would have been 3 for 3.

158 TB pass - (1 time) 1 - 1 for 12 yards. Used in the final game. Shayne takes the ball on what looks like our normal strong sweep from an over set (The SE lines up to the TE side) He pulls up and and reads the corner, if the corner comes up to force the run he throws deep to the SE, if the corner bails it will usually mean a quick downhill safety and the WB will be open on a 10 yard out.

Flea Flicker - (1 time) 1 -1 for 26 yards. I have a couple variations of this play. In the particular version we ran here I put a backup QB at SE (Zach in this case) and line up in an over set, which gets the defense thinking strongside run. Play starts like our normal strongside sweep, the SE come back and takes a pitch from the TB, which now has teams screaming reverse, meanwhile the FB fakes the trap as normal on strongside sweep, then runs a corner route to the weak side. Zach threw a nice ball to Dylan on this in the Horizon game as the Defense did a decent job covering it. We also worked the traditional Flea Flicker off of our weakside belly, but it never looked smooth enough to run in a game.

Overall 8 of 9 specials were successful and if we hit on 75% of these I am happy, so we exceeded out goal here. Great job by the kids!!

Didn't mean to ramble as much, lol, I just get going. I have to leave and go help with film breakdown of our first round playoff opponent or I might have kept going. I may have a few more thoughts later and of course eventually some highlights.

Thanks to everyone who followed this, it was a lot of fun

[BYU 14]

Time again for another Knights tale diary as conditioning for incoming Freshman starts next Tuesday. From what I have seen over the summer at weights we will have a pretty solid group again. Not looking as deep or quite as athletic as last years, but still pretty solid, which is good as our first 3 games will be very tough.

Overall we have had over 50 incoming freshman show up for weights and agility training over the summer. Some only a few times, but a good core group that made most of the workouts, which is another good sign. We will probably end up with 80+ kids out for the team when all is said and done.

I will start a new thread for this years team, but wanted to update the status of some of last years kids.

The following Kids will be on varsity as sophomores and I have listed their projected positions and possible impact.

Shayne (TB/CB) - He will be the number 2 TB behind a Junior at this point and will get some carries, as well as play in certain packages along with the starter. Will also probably get some garbage time on D just to get some experience, as well as some possibel special teams time.

Dylan (TE/MLB) - He will move from FB to TE and will likely be 3rd string there. He will be a defensive player first and foremost and is listed as the #2 Mike LBer at this time, which means he will get some playing time as the season goes on as we rotate kids and he will be capable as he gets comfortable.

Jesus (RG/SLB) - Another of my backup FB's who will change position, moving to guard this year (We like guards in the 180 - 220 range in the Wing-T) as he has put some weight on (about 180 right now and room to grow) Like Dylan he will be a Defense first player and will compete for playing time behind ourn starting Sam (a senior) and also get special teams reps.

Ryan (LT/DL) - He will be an Offense first player and is actually competing for the starting left Tackle job right now. He has worked hard and is quite athletic for a big kid. He will down on the depth chart defensively as we try to two platoon in general, but especially with linemen.

Guillermo (CB/TB) - Might be our most improved player over the summer and he has really improved his speed. (running a high hand timed 4.5 now) He will start as a backup at CB, but as the season goes on will push for the starting job. He is now the fastest of the sophomore class and will likely get a shot at returning kickoffs as well, which he did quite well for us.

Some others that will compete to stay up on varsity are.
Jacob (K) competing for the starting job with last years JV kicker, will play JV if he doesn't take the job.
Damian (OL/DL) could hang on, but will likely practice with varsity and play JV
Cody (OL/DL) same as Damian, he has also worked hard and gotten very strong.

We also lost a couple of starters, who I won't name. One I think just got burned out on Football and the other had some issues and won't be eligible to play for us this year. I feel bad for both and we will miss them, but you always deal with this type of thing, just part of the game.

[BYU 14]

I haven't had the time I thought I would to really get this going like last year, but I will catch up at some point with a breakdown of the kids and game by game summaries.

We opened early this year and took a 31-12 victory over Willow Canyon (Where our youngest still goes and plays on the varsity) and two of our other Kids graduated from, which was kind of weird. I will recap this game later, but wanted to kind of touch on what I go through on game day.

Our opponent this week s Mountain Ridge, who have been a thorn in my side over the years. I have never been on the winning side as either a freshman or varsity coach in 4 tries against them so I am a little wound up for this game.

I was up at 4 this morning to start work and so I would be done early to get into game mode. We have not played them in 3 years and they have changed coaches and since this is their first game I have no idea what to expect. They used to run Wing-T, but now run spread on the Varsity. The current head coach was an assistant under the old regime, so they may still have some Wing-T aspects to their game.

Because of this, we prepared for both, working against a Wing-T scout offense and mostly just working to align correctly to spread sets (3X1, No backs and 2X2 wide personel) Running Wing-T all these years it is the hardest Offense to prepare for when it comes to freshmen and I would rather be ready for that and adjust to something different, than vice versa. Our outside Linebackers have good speed and do a pretty good job keeping leverage so I think we are in decent shape on the edge. Against the spread I worry about the passing game since we play a base cover 3 and we would normally work a different defensive scheme against a pure spread team. The problem is without a scouting report or film I had to make a choice and again, would rather be honed in on Wing-T and adjust to the spread if they stay in that.

Defensively I they will be in either a reduced 5-2 or a 4-4 (The current head varsity coach was the DC as an assistant and we always saw a 4-4 against their Freshmen then and the reduced against their varsity.) We worked against both and again once we see their base I will make adjustments with the line after our first drive to get dialed into exactly what they are doing. I scripted for a 4-4, but as I always do will vary the points of attack on the first 10 plays to look for mismatches and areas we can exploit in their scheme.

We ran the ball well against Willow, especially in the 2nd half when I made a change at FB and threw it fairly well too (not sure since I have not done stats I believe we went 5 for 8 and had a TD) and only had 1 turnover (fumble) The ugly of our opening game was stalling 3 times inside the Willow Canyon 25, due mostly to penalties. We had 15!!! including 4 blockes in the back which brought back a TD and 3 runs over 20 yards. We even work specifically on this type of penalty, telling the kids to never block more than 10 yards behind the Runner for any reason and only hit kids when you can see their eyes, which insures your head will be in front of him. Of our 15 penalties, 12 were mental. (the aformentioned block in the back, false start, offsides and an unsportsmanlike for talking) Mental penalties are a big pet peeve with me as they show lack of discipline and as the game wears on and you tire, a lock of mental toughness as well.

We are starting 22 different Kids, so fatigue should not be an issue, but we did extra conditioning just to be sure

My Game plan was finalized last night and we are pretty healthy after the opener. Despite not having any film or advance info on Ridge, the fact that we have a game under our belts and they don't is a huge advantage, plus we will be at home. We had a great practice Monday, but a very lethargic walk through yesterday, so getting that balance before kickoff today will be crucial.

About to leave for the school, will try and add a blog from there.

[BYU 14]

Not unexpectedly I didn't have time to post from school, equipment, questions and various other issues.

The good news is after falling behind 6-0 we scored 34 of the next 40 points to take a 34-12 lead into the locker room. After scoring on our first drive of the second half I started to empty the bench and that was pretty much it as we beat Mountain Ridge 40-12. I am pretty sure we were well over 300 yards rushing and also housed a kickoff on beautifully set up wall to our sideline. If I can figure out what I am doing I will post it this weekend. I will also go into detail about our team and post stats from the first 2 games.

For now, happy to be 2-0 heading into a tough region matchup with millennium, who has speed galore. I will have film on them though so I will feel much more at ease going into the game.

BTW, Ridge did line up in some spread, but ran an offset I most of the game, which was completely unexpected. The good news is we opened against an I team, so the adjustments were easy and the kids locked them up after the first drive. Their second TD came after we muffed a punt and gave them the ball inside our 30.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Defensively I they will be in either a reduced 5-2 or a 4-4

Okay, I'll bite, please define "reduced 5-2" a little bit for me. Off hand, I don't think I've ever heard that phrase before.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Okay, I'll bite, please define "reduced 5-2" a little bit for me. Off hand, I don't think I've ever heard that phrase before.

It references the shades on the weak side. In a traditional 5-2 or "Okie" the DT will be in a 4 or 5 technique (lined up head on or outside the Tackle) and the DE will be in a ghost 9 technique (outside shade of where a TE would be)

In the reduced look the DT moves to a 3 technique (outside shade of the guard) and the DE moves to the 5 technique outside of the tackle. The purpose of this to keep the guard from having a free release to the LBers or to force big on big blocking with teams that run a lot of weakside iso.

They actually came out in a 4-3 monster (Very close to a 4-4) and jumped around up front playing with shades and walking linebackers up, etc. Our kids did a great job adjusting and blocking their rules once we were able to talk to them after our first series.

I could tell they had scouted our first game by the way they aligned their kickoff return and the fact that they were keying our FB who scored 3 times against Willow Canyon. They took away trap for the most part, but that left them vulnerable to sweep and power, which they got a heavy dose of. They also chose to sell out against the run, which led to a very efficient passing game. 3 for 3 for 2 touchdowns and 1 2 pt conversion.

[BYU 14]

Here are a few clips of our 32-7 win over Millennium this past week as we move to 3-0.

It was not an extremely crisp game offensively, but we were able to sustain drives nonetheless and .Defense played a very good game

The clips include:
Our first score on weakside power.
A couple of nice plays by our Mike Linebacker on back to back plays.
A TD pass on 2nd and long after a penalty.
A tough TD run by one of our Fullbacks on strongside Belly. (They gave us this play all night by alignment)
And finally one of the not so crisp moments, salavaged by a great individual effort by our other Fullback after we miss a block on weakside Belly.

[FrogMan]

Grats on the win. seems like your video is still set to private. Can't watch it without accepting a friend request...

FM

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

Grats on the win. seems like your video is still set to private. Can't watch it without accepting a friend request...

FM

Thanks FM

Set Vid to public.

[FrogMan]

great clip, really loved at the end, the "go, go, go, don't drop the ball"

FM

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

great clip, really loved at the end, the "go, go, go, don't drop the ball"

FM

Yeah its awesome listening to the comments the kids make when they are filming

Our guys were right next to the Millennium students filming, so I got to listen to them both trade verbal jabs all game......Freshmen!!

[BYU 14]

As I mentioned last year I thought anywhere between 4-7 kids would play varsity as sophmores. Well currently 7 are up with varsity and it could have been 9.

Shayne M - Back up TB and included in certain packages, scored his first varsity TD in game 2 and has broken off a couple of nice runs. He has a lot of shake!!

Dylan U - Moved to TE, where he saw considerable time friday due to the starter being out with a concussion, also gets a series here and there at Mike LB.

Jesus G - Moved to Guard and DE, saw a lot of time at DE in Fridays win and will likely continue to be a rotation player there.

Cody R - A big surprise, he worked hard in the offseason and is now a rotation player on D-line. His oldest brother was a senior last year and is now playing at Fort Hays State. His other brother is the starting varsity TE. (who was out with the Concussion)

Damien C - Not a lot of PT, he is still learning the "speed" of the game. Practices with Varsity, but will play down on JV following weeks he does not get into the game, a lot of upside,

Malik T - Same as Damien, he just needs to keep developing, has played down on JV the last 2 games, but will continue to work with the varsity.

Guillermo C - Another surprise, he is a special teams player on varsity and had a shot to start at corner, but just hasn't picked up the scheme yet.

Ryan F - Started with varsity and was competing for a starting job, but got hurt, then asked to move down to JV, where he will play when he returnds from his injury.

Jacob S - Lost the starting Placekicker job, but handles kickoffs as he has the stronger leg and actually booted 2 into the end zone against Highland on Friday. He could take over all kicking duties as his accuracy improves.

Jamal D would have been a varsity player as well, but due to personal issues had to attend another school this semester. He is not playing Football and will be back with us in the winter semester and rejoin the Football program as a Junior,

[BYU 14]

Well, now that we are three games in I guess I should introduce this years Freshmen Knights before I get to game recaps. We currently have 72 on the Roster and I will pretty much stick to the two deep in this preview, though you will likely hear other names as the season progresses.

Offense (* = Starter)
QB
* Jordan M - Not extremely fast and sometimes gets a little too wired (Has been known to puke early in the game ) but once he gets settled in he is very accurate and throws really well on the run, with solid technique and a fairly quick release. Will also stand in and take a hit to deliver the ball. Efficient with 4 TD passes 0 picks through 3 games.

Justin T - Tall and athletic, he puts a lot of pressure on himself and needs to learn to relax, which will slow the game down for him. I will get him reps as I can to help here and get him comfortable, great upside and he starts at FS for us as well, which will help him.

TB
* Devonte C - A track kid and one of our two fasted players, he has good vision and above average agility, will also finish a run, which you would not expect from his build. A quiet, coachable kid who gives it 100% at all times. Also a receiving threat. (See 98 Flood in the video below)

Freddie E - More of a slasher, he makes one move and gets up in the seem. Sets up his blocks well and has above average speed, another hard worker, who can give Devonte a blow anytime. He also starts on defense.

FB
* Frankie L - The epitome of a Wing-T fullback, tough, fights for extra yards and will run you over. Does not have blazing speed, but fast enough to pop a big run (See the video below for 36, a 55 yd TD run) gets stronger as the games goes on and plays a lot at Mike LB as well. He loves the game and is a warrior, though I have to get on him for taking a play off here and there.

Seivion M - A very tough and talented athlete that would run through a brick wall for you. Has been hampered by a Hip flexor, which has cause me to shut him down in each of the first three games, but when healthy runs with speed and power, hits the hole quick. (He broke the long run on the busted play in the video below) Another who starts on Defense.

WB
* Rene C - A smaller kid who is deceptively quick and strong, like all our back will finish a run and has good vision as well. In fact with him at WB our weakside sweep is looking as good as it has ever looked IMO, due to his ability to read blocks and attack the seems.

Isaac I - A similar style runner the Rene, with a little less speed, but quicker feet. May have the quickest cuts of all our backs and is definitely not shy about lowering his should when hemmed in. Starts at Rover on Defense.

TE
* Jesse D - A nice frame and a kid who does everything we ask of our TE's, get the down block and get open and catch the ball on strong side boot. Quiet, but very smart, he wont flatback many players, but rarely misses an assignment and that is more important to me in the grand scheme of things.

Ardis P - An imposing presence, started at FB, but moved here after our first game. He is a load when at full speed but takes some time to get going. Still getting comfortable here, he also starts on Defense, which is his primary spot. Really soft hands for a big kid.

SE
* Clifford C - Tall Lanky kid who has good hands and works hard to improve his game, not blazing fast, but runs pretty good routes and can go get a ball. Also a good downfield blocker, which is very important in our scheme.

Robert C and Kassious L - Our two starting corners who get some rotation time here as well. Kassious is our deep threat and runs real nice routes, while Robert is a master at the crackback and levels Linebackers despite his small (5'2) frame. Jaquan T and Eric M also see time here and are both solid.

O-Line
LT
* Sergio H - A really nice frame, will occasionally miss his asignments, but when on he can be dominant and make our weakside belly look real nice when run his way. Currently 6'1 and about 175, he could be really good if he works hard in the offseason.

Roberto H - Not much drop off here, Roberto has a squatty body and gets good leverage on his blocks, just not as quick off the line as Sergio, but I am still very comfortable running behind him. Has only been hampered by missing a few practices.

LG
* Matt A - Our smallest lineman, but also our smartest, knows his rules inside and out and that is why he is here. His older brother was the same and started for us a couple of years back no varsity. He will not dominate anybody, but as a lot of our schemes allow him to pull and angle block he is able to get the job done, huge heart!

Junior H - A big better physically than Matt, but not quite as technically sound, but he still gets plenty of game time reps. He will often go in in short yardage as he is capable of getting a better straight push. Another position with a solid 2 deep, he also gets some reps at DT.

C
* Essie W - Started as a Fullback and moved to center (We have a couple every year) and went from 4th string to starter. Good first step and great on his snaps, gets them back quick and follows through. He is another kid who does whatever is asked of him and is a pretty solid anchor on the line.

Felix V - A big body, who is very physical off the ball, needs to get quicker on his snaps, but could still start for a lot of teams. I have no issues getting him a series here and there as he can more than hold his own.

RG
* Jose T - This is a kid who just need to play with consistent confidence as there as times he looks absolutely textbook, but has a tendancy to not finish blocks in space, because he does not want to whiff. When he attacks and runs through his blocks he is very good and seldom misses, so we just need to keep working him on being aggressive and having faith in his ability.

Ramon S - One of our bigger guards, he still moves quite well and is probably the most powerful of the top four at the guard spot. as his feet get quicker he will get more field time and still sees action now, especially in short yardage where we need his physicality.

RT
* Adrian U - Our silent assassin, a very cerebral kid who knows his rules, has good technique and just needs a bit of a mean streak to take it to the next level. Its hard to tell a nice kid to be a dirtball in the trenches, but once this switch clicks he will could destroy people. Also has real good feet for a bigger kid.

Samuel V - Our biggest lineman (biggest kid on the team) came out a little late and is just starting to get comfortable, hard to shake when he gets his body on you, we just need to keep working his first step and follow through. Can develop into a powerhouse.

Kicker
* Rafael V - A soccer kid who only kicks, he is a little inconsistent on extra points right now (some is due to our snaps) but is exceptional at placing the ball into empty space on kickoffs. He provides an opportunity for us to get the ball back on every kickoff with his pooch kicks if the other team is not awake.

Others who will see rotation time on Offense
Drey T TE (I use him for double tight sets) Isaac T WB (great frame, just needs to be more physical) Jakob R RT (Starts on D, but is another big body, raw but strong)

Overview: This group does not have the 1 or 2 standout players (like Shayne M) but is overall a deeper more consistent group than last year IMO, which is actually better as we have many kids who can step up. They are a hard working group on the field for the most part and have good chemistry, which is something else that pays huge dividends when you are in a tough scrap. I think our two deep at line is as good as or better than any freshman group we have had and there is little to no dropoff between our starting backs and their backups, a nice situation to be in if injuries or eligibility issues rear their ugly head. With a 3-0 start we could have another very good season, so long as we keep them humble and focused.

I will do the Defense later.

[BYU 14]

OK, 5 games in now (5-0) and I am really feeling this could be a special season if we keep them focused. I have stats to do on two more games today, then the summaries will be ready to post.

First, time for the Defense (* = Starter)

Stud End
* David D - Almost the prototype of what we look for in our weak side end, great genes (Dad is a former MMA fighter and Mom does fitness contests) good frame which a combination of speed and strength that allows him to be a force against both the running game and give us a good weakside pass rush. He does have a bad knee, so we have to limit a lot during practice.

Alejandro T - Kid has a motor and is difficult as hell to block, came out late and was giving me fits when playing scout defense, which got him into the rotation. Unfortunately out with a broken wrist now, but should be back in a week or so with a players cast. In his absence Drey T and Sergio H will give David a blow when needed.

NT
* Esteban G - Wanted to play at MLB, but is shorter and stocky and does not have great lateral movement so we moved him to our 1 technique, where he earned the starting job in short order. Quick off the ball for a bigger kid and will blow you up. I have never seen anyone push him back in tackling drills. Just a real tough kid who is a perfect fit at Nose.

Oscar C - Very capable of being the starter and still gets plenty of PT, similar in build to Esteban, but not as explosive off the ball. Still very tough to move and controls the A gap very well. Between the two of them teams have had difficulty running inside trap on us all year.

DT
* Junior H - Good kid who is a bit of a goofball off the field, but turns it on between the lines. Sometimes too aggresive and leads the time in offsides penalties, but when he does make some big plays and is a run stuffer to the strong side. We don't try and tone him down much as I will take his 2-3 tackles for loss per game and give up an offsides here and there.

Jakob R - A big kid with pretty good athleticism in his first year of playing. He still needs a lot of technique work and will only continue to get better. When he plays with leverage he borders on being dominant, just has to learn to do so consistently. He gets a lot of reps too as we like to keep out insides guys fresh.

DE
* Ardis P - From FB to DE, our best move of the season as he has become a terror and as he has gotten in shape has shown a great motor, running down a lot of plays from the backside. He projects to be probably 6'3" and 250 - 260 by the end of his time as a Knight. With his top end speed he can run down all but the quickest of QB's, a nice weapon.

Drey T - Can play both spots and is another kid with a motor, who can hold the edge well against finesse teams that want to get outside on his. Not as physical at the POA as Ardis or David, but makes up for that with technique. He gives us a nice three player rotation at the end spot.

Sam
* Seivion M - He is the epitome of what you want in a player. Quiet, unassumable, coachable, hard worker and a game changer on both sides of the ball. Playing the outside LB on the strong side, he makes it nearly impossible for teams to run outside his way. And all this battling a hip flexor all season, he will be scary at 100% if we ever get him there.

Daniel J - Always has a smile on his face and has a great love for the game that allows him to play above his head. Not extremely fast or strong, he just wants it bad and that gets him in the field for me. You can't coach desire and he has it, which allows me to give him a couple of series a half with complete confidence.

Mike -
* Josh S - After I had to move Frankie to starting FB I was worried about this spot, but Josh stepped up nicely. The kid is fearless and when he reacts correctly to his keys fills his assigned gaps nicely against the run. Will ocassionally overscrape and needs to work on pass coverage but is a very competent run stopper, which you need here.

Frankie L - An excellent inside backer and he gets plenty of time here, but his priority is starting FB and since I don't start anyone two ways that makes him #2 at Mike. A ferocious hitter that will literally fold kids in half. Solid against both the run and in coverage.

Will -
* Freddie E - How many times does your 2nd string Tailback start at an inside LB spot? Tells you all you need to know about him. Gives us great athleticism to the weak side and he can pop too. Another who just loves the game and will leave everything he has on the field, our best LB in pass coverage and goes sideline to sideline well.

Trenton Z - A bit undersized, but he is even more fearless than Josh which makes him fun to watch. If I told him to run through a wall I would put my money on him. His only drawback is sticking to his keys and reacting, when he does this he is more than capable, when he doesn't we spend a lot of time talking on the sideline, but again the heart of a Lion.

Rover
* Isaac I - Our WB combinaton teams up here as well and with similar results. Either Issac or Rene could start here (same as at WB) so I have quite the luxury. Constantly asks questions (a good thing) to make sure he has our gameplan down and plays at 100 MPH all night long. Does a great job playing with discipline and holding down our weakside flank. Not afraid to throw it in there and has a few savage hits this season.

Rene C - Carbon copy of the above, with perhaps a little better instinct as a player. He is very solid fundementally and will rarely miss a tackle in drills, practices and I can't recall him missing on yet in a game. The kind of trait you really like in a leverage player. Again either of these two can start here with no dropoff whatsoever.

CB
* Robert C - A small kid that teams probably see and think they are going to run to his side. It they do get past Seivion, they discover quickly why he is there as he packs probably the best pound for pound wallop on the Defense. Of course we want him to cover first and foremost and despite his size, uses smarts and positioning to do an excellent job covering his third of the field in our 3 deep zone.

Devonte C - Our starting TB will also get a couple of series here during the games, he just does what athletes do and you will not run by him. We like to use him in the red zone to lock down receivers man to man. Another kid that will hit you...hard! (I love tough running backs!)

FS
* Justin T - Our backup QB fits in nicely at safety, where I believe being a QB helps you a ton. Goes hash to hash very well in covering the middle third and has a great break on the ball (2 picks as of this writing) and is just very smooth in the position. Still needs to work on getting our coverage checks called quicker, but is getting better daily at this and has good field awareness after the snap.

DaQuan M - Every year we have a team comedian and he is this years, but he is also a very capable player. He started at Rover, but we needed to shore things up here and he was not going to crack the 2 deep at that spot. He is still learning the position but has already shown enough to get into the rotation and play. Another skinny kid that will put a hit on you too.

CB
* Kassious L - Besides being the only person not named George Takei I have heard say "Oh My" so much, he is another speedy, talented kid who hits much bigger than his size and though sometimes a little too quick to come up on the run, has enough quicks to make up for any mistakes. He is another that came out late, but grabbed our attention quick with his ability as a playmaker.

Tyler B - One of our QB's and while not as athletic as Kassious, gets it done with smarts and is always in the right position, once again playing QB gives him an advantage in the secondary IMO as he understands routes and reads very well. Though I am sounding like a broken record, another small kid that packs a nice wallop when he has to come up and make a play.

Overview
We have a very talented defense and the starters have only given up 3 scores in 5 games (all three coming in our first two games of the season) They will bend a bit on ocassion, but will always come up big when our goaline is threatened and since points, not yards win games thats all I care about. They are also probably the most physical freshman Defense I have ever coached as they put 3-4 kids (usually running backs) out each game for a few plays just from knocking the wind out of them or ringing their bells. They will swarm as well and are a tough group, which I attribute to our frequent scrimmages with the JV team and the fact that they practice against a physical offense.