Summer

    As always, the Purple Raiders had a very busy summer in preparation for the 2006 season.  The "old" weight rooms were crowded with an average of 40 lifters attending the four day a week workouts.  The lifting cycle concluded with a strength test, the results of which can be found on the Strength Program page of this website.  The Raiders then ended the summer by moving into the new, much more spacious weight room in the main building at BHS.  This will prove to be immediately beneficial as the football team will now be doing in-season workouts, something that was impossible due to the space limitations of the old rooms. In June, several skill players attended Bishop-Dulligan passing camp and ten linemen attended Midwest Linemen Camp at Illinois Wesleyan.  In July, came the annual Purple Raider camp at Fred Carlton Field, and the 2006 edition proved to be one of the best attended camps ever.  Over 100 players took part in the three week camp with a nightly average around 80.  The Purple Raiders also participated in three passing tournaments over the summer at the University of Illinois, Illinois State University and East Peoria High School.

2006 Season

    Any conference that sends its champion to the 6A state championship game four years in a row must be loaded with talent and solid programs, and the 2006 version of the Big 12 Conference should prove to be much of the same.  The difference being that this year's conference race looks to be one the most wide open in years.  The previous two seasons have seen an influx of new coaches into the conference.  Those coaches now have established systems at their respective schools and are looking to challenge the Bloomington/Normal teams for the top spot.  The Raiders return as the six-time defending conference champions/co-champions.  The Normal Community Ironmen defeated the Raiders twice last season on their way to the 6A title game last November.  The Wildcats of Normal West shared the title with and defeated the Raiders in 2004, and are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in school history.  The Chargers of Champaign Centennial were the only conference team to defeat Normal Community last season, and that was a very sound 23-0 victory in week four.  Decatur MacArthur was on the brink of a playoff berth last season before losing the Raiders week nine, a point that is surely being driven home as their prepare to host the Raiders week one this season.  The Green Wave of Mattoon are only three years removed from an appearance in the 5A semifinals.  And many feel the Maroons of Champaign Central, by virtue of their record last season combined with the SIZE and success of their freshman and sophomore teams may be the team to beat this year.  So, on paper, the 2006 conference race looks to be one of the most competitive in years.

    The Raiders enter the 2006 season with a roster of 48 players made up of 18 seniors and 29 juniors and one sophomore.  Giving the team more depth than it had last season, and as a consequence more decisions to be made regarding depth chart.  An added bonus was that the school calendar allowed for three more days of "triples" than the team has had in years past.  This allowed the "education" process to proceed at a slower pace, a benefit truly appreciated by the coaches. 

    Offensively, the Raiders return four starters from last season, but three others that saw significant playing time.  Gone from the backfield is the highly productive combination of Chris Jameson and all-state tailback Valshun Powe, but returning may be the deepest group of backs in some time.  After serving last season as the back-up quarterback and sometimes tight end, senior Stephen Esch will start at quarterback this season.  His back up will be Levi Johnson.  At fullback seniors Matt Musick and Cole Lamberti will compete for playing time with juniors Jake Lehr and Marquis Williams.  Competing for time at tailback will be senior Erik Wilson, juniors Darian Davis and Terry Bausley and sophomore Darrelynn Dunn.  The receiving corp returns the most experience as seniors Josh Mitchell and David Cook return to their split end and flanker positions, and tight end Justin Zoeller returns after filling in for an injured Ryan Kernes the second half of last season.  Joining them will be juniors Eric Furler, Tyler Sipes and Will Bishop at wideout, and tight ends senior Mike Aguliar and junior Charlie Schmelzer at tight end.  On the offensive line, seniors Andy Malinowski and Brad Lanham return to the starting positions they held at the end of last season, and joining them are several others, the SIZE of which the Raiders haven't seen since 2002.  6'5" 285 pound junior tackle Marcus Trisler and 6' 270 pound guard Deonte Person combined with Malinowski and Lanham give the line an average size of 6'1" 256 pounds.  Looking to start at the other guard spot and serve as back ups are 5'11" 244 pound Chris Love, 6' 236 pound Ben Ehrlich, 6' 220 pound Zack Collins, 6'2" 250 Xavier Marsh, 6'1" 237 pound Chris Cluver and 5'11" 320 Ricky Robinson.

    Defensively, the Raiders have more experience returning, and this off a unit that allowed the fewest points in the conference during the nine game regular season last year.  The defensive front will be anchored by 2005 all-conference and all-city noseguard Rich Kwitkowski, and all-city defensive tackle Eric Floyd.  Floyd's 415 pound bench in May and his strength total of 1165 pounds rank first and second respectively in Purple Raider strength records.  Competing time at the other defensive tackle position and as back-ups are Lanham, Person, Robinson, Zack Taylor, Trisler, and Malinowski.  The end positions are truly up in the air with Esch, Furler, Lamberti, Aguilar, Zoeller and Schmelzer competing for starting positions.  Musick and senior Joey Tyson return at linebacker.  Musick started the final eight games of the 2005 season, and Tyson saw considerable time as a back-up to Chris Jameson.  The secondary will be led all-conference and all-city corner Josh Mitchell.  Joining Josh will be Wilson at the other corner, Dunn at the strong safety and Johnson at free safety.  Cook, Sipes, Will Bishop and Dustin Henry should also see time in the secondary.

    The Raiders have all the pieces in place for a very special season, but many of those pieces are inexperienced at the varsity level.  Taking into account the team's record and success over the past five seasons would lead most people to believe that they have simply reloaded for another run at the conference title.  But the last two titles have come with help from Centennial (they defeated NCHS in '05 and West in '04), and the two losses to Community last season loom large.  It will be very important for this team to jell together and for individual players to mature in their positions quickly once the season begins.  As always, the responsibility falls upon the senior class, the players that have the experience, to lead in these areas.

Game #1 MacArthur

    The preview of any week one game is a guess at best and usually flat out wrong.  What you are about to read is supposition based on what the Generals were doing at the end of last season and the personnel they return.  In one sense, the Raiders met MacArthur in the playoffs last season.  The Generals came to Fred Carlton field week nine last season needing a win to qualify for the 6A playoffs.  The 28-7 loss ended their season, and is bound to be fresh in the minds of the coaching staff and all players that participated in the game.   Offensively, the scariest thing about the Generals is that you never quite know what they are going to do, and they have the athletes to do whatever they want.  In week seven last season, they threw the ball all over the place and came within seven points and 45 seconds of defeating Community.  Then in week nine against the Raiders, they rushed for over twice as many yards as they passed for, and had two sustained drives in the first half, one which gave them an early lead, the second that stalled on the 1/2 yard line.  This versatility comes through a multi-formation offense that spreads the defense and attempts to create one-on-one match-ups with the General's best athletes.  Sets include a double twins, trips, double wing, tight end with double twins, and wish bone backfield with two split ends.  Out of the spread sets they will throw a variety of screens and five step drop passes.  A favorite appears to be motioning to trips and throwing a post route to the split end back side.  They will also motion a slot back into the backfield and run option, lead, jet sweep, pitch and a couple of different reverses.  The reverses also have the added option of a pass with the split end running a vertical up the sideline.  Once the tight end returns to the formation, the Generals become a little more ground oriented blocking down and kicking out the end, or simply reading him in the option.  But with series of playaction passes and a tight end screen, the defense can't simply key run.  For good measure, they will also run a wishbone backfield, but at the same time spread the defense with two tight ends.  This gives them an extra blocking back coming out of the backfield.  Try to put the safeties in the box and man up on the ends and they will go over the top on you.  Out of all this, what will the Generals attempt to run week one?  The only indicator may be the presence of Ken Goodman.  Goodman is the strongest player in the program (1015 pounds on their strength test) and according to Illinois State University "we can't touch him," meaning he is a solid Division I Bowl Subdivision (lets all get used to saying it) recruit.  Last season he lined up at tight end and split end.  He was the ball carrier on most reverses and threw a reverse pass.  He was also the target on the isolated back side post patterns and tight end screens.  With someone of that caliber in the offense, you have to believe he will touch the ball several times.

    Defensively???  The Generals switched from years of the 4-4 to a 5-2 last season.  Same coach, so you would assume same system.  One adjustment the General make compared to the Raider's 5-2 system is to eagle down the defensive tackles taking away the inside gaps and force the offense to run off tackle.  They will then widen the linebackers making it very difficult to block them with linemen.  Traditionally, they are not afraid to man up in the secondary and free up safeties for run support and additional pressure.  The only thing that is certain is that Goodman will line up at a linebacker or end spot and definitely make his presence known.

Game #2 Normal Community

    It seems that every season when I preview the intercity match-up between the Raiders and Ironmen, I end up saying the same thing.  Both teams always enter the game with identical 1-0 records, usually the result of lopsided week one victories.  Both teams generally are still trying to work out early season kinks and discover what their strengths will be for the season.  And both teams truly appreciate the importance of the contest in that the winner has either won or shared the conference title for the past, well nobody really remembers the last time it didn't happen.  Recently (the past four seasons), the winner has also gone on to play in the 6A state championship game.  Fortunately for intercity football fans, nothing has changed heading into this season's contest.  In week one, the Raiders defeated MacArthur 42-0 while the Ironmen shut down Champaign Central 34-0.  Returning more starters on defense than on offense, both teams anticipated solid defensive efforts and were rewarded with shutouts.  With heavy personnel losses on offense, both teams were searching for an offensive identity.  The Ironmen passed for over 200 yards, but struggled somewhat with the ground game, rushing for just over 120 yards.  The Raiders were pleasantly surprised with nearly 250 yards rushing, but frustrated by a  lackluster 96 yards passing.  Another eerie similarity is that both teams either blocked or altered their opponent's first punt attempt, resulting in early scores. 

    One BIG difference heading into this season, however, is that there has been a complete role reversal between the two teams.  The Ironmen are now THE team to beat, and deservedly so.  After defeating the Raiders twice last season (for the first time ever), the Ironmen went on to finish a very close second in Class 6A, losing to Morris 14-9 in the championship game.  They enter week two the #1 ranked team in 6A by the Associated Press poll.  They return seven starters, including Big 12 defensive player of the year Kirkland Grant,  from a defense that held the Raiders to a total of 21 points in the two games last season.  Offensively, on paper, they return only one starter, but that one, Austin Davis, is the only running back to rush for over 200 yards in a game against the Raiders in over a decade.  He ran for 204 yards in the intercity game last season.  They  return 6'4" receiver Marcus King.  King has already been offered a scholarship by ISU, and did not start last season only because he was injured.  They also return quarterback Omar Clayton, who may have been the starter last season if he had not been playing in Cowboy Stadium for Plano East High School in Texas.  Tight end Jake Detmers, flanker Alex Buck and running back Kennedy Freeman also saw considerable playing time last season.  So any talk of "inexperience" on the offensive side of the ball is completely misleading.   

    Yet predicting what the Ironmen plan to do offensively is difficult.  Their "bread and butter" offense that got them to the championship game last season was an I backfield out of a pro, twins, double tight or unbalanced set.  Favorite plays include the belly and speed option, iso, counter, dive and toss.  The double tight set allows them to run any of those plays to either side of the formation, and they would occasionally motion or place a third back into the backfield as an extra blocker on iso and toss.  The passing game consists of play action off nearly all the running plays, short drop hitches, fades and slants, and rollout crossing and wheel routes.  In short, this offense forces defenses to prepare for everything.  Clayton and King however, present a bigger passing threat than the Ironmen have had in years, and could open the offense up to numerous other plays that stretch the secondary and keep the defense from rolling up on the option.

    Defensively, nothing has really changed, unfortunately.  The Ironmen will line up in the same 5-2 cover 3/2 alignment that they did last season, and the personnel is almost exactly the same.  Joey Anderson returns at corner.  Alex Buck moves from corner to free safety, Sam Smith and Austin Kull return at the linebackers, and Kirkland Grant is back at nose guard.  Jake Detmers is also back but has made the transition from free safety to defensive end.  Jake Kretlow and Andrew Hamer also return at defensive line and linebacker after seeing considerable playing time last season.  With this level of experience, expect the Ironmen to be very aggressive knowing that there should be very few blown assignments or miscommunications. 

Game #3 Danville

    Well Purple Raider fans, we've got to get better.  Normal Community is much better than they were three to four years ago and has set an extremely high standard.  The Raiders have seven weeks left to try and reach it.  The positive is that a week two loss does not end your season, but the IHSA's geographic playoff groupings could set up a rematch in the post season.  First, however, the Raiders must focus on what remains of a very tough Big 12 schedule (see season preview above).  The first step is a match-up with the up and coming 2-0 Vikings of Danville.  The Vikings have reached their 2-0 standing in a very unique manner.  Week one they actually lost to Urbana, but had the outcome reversed when it was revealed that Urbana has used an ineligible player (the kicker that kicked the winning fieldgoal).  Week two, the Vikings earned a victory over Mattoon 32-28. 

    In both games this season, the Vikings have scored over 30 points.  How do they do it?  Well, for starters, they return ten of the eleven offensive starters from last season.  The only loss to graduation was the tight end, so this season, they simply line up without one.  The Vikings two main formations include twins/split and trips/split.  In both formations, the quarterback will be five yards behind the center in the shotgun formation with a back on each side in twins and only one back in trips.  From those sets, they then throw the ball all over the place, right?  Wrong.  Out of the two back set they will run iso, trap, zone, counter (running back and quarterback), and lead.  Last season, out of similar set, with the same personnel, they ran for 153 yards against the Raiders.  They also passed for over 200 yards.  This is an offense that at any time can go over the top and score very quickly.  They have averaged over 20 yards per reception in the first two games.  They will run quick slants and hitches, but prefer deeper verticals, posts, corners and wheel routes.  The returning quarterback has a strong arm and has demonstrated the ability to handle both bad snaps and an aggressive pass rush.  In one particular play against Urbana week one, the center snap is well over his head.  He tips the ball up, turns his back to the incoming rush to catch it, spins back around and hits his slot receiver in the back corner of the endzone 30 yards away. 

    Defensively, the Vikings will also present a challenge in that they are the first even front team the Raiders have played this season.  Danville lines up in a 4-4 cover 3 alignment that can adjust very quickly to any set the offense puts in front of it.  They beauty of the 4-4 is that it is perfectly balanced with an equal number of down linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs on each side.  Adjustments simply consist of sliding linebackers in and out and against unbalanced looks, rotating the free safety over.  Pressure by way of a blitz can come from outside or inside linebackers, and if a tight end is hurting them by way of the pass or blocking, they can roll up an outside linebacker, to "double team" the end and prevent him from getting off the line.  Gone this season are the massive bodies (300+ pounds) the Vikings usually have at the tackles.  They have been replaced with smaller, quicker plays, that when they blow through gaps can actually cause more problems.  As always, they will not fear manning up with the receivers and bringing as many as eight men up front.  This is a Danville team that struggled under a new but very good coach last season.  Year two, they return a solid group of players, and with a little help, they are off to their best start in years.  Knocking off the Raiders would be the next step towards their first playoff berth in five years.  This team is on an emotional roll and will be very prepared Friday night. 

Game #4 Urbana

    Week four brings the frustrated and anger Tigers of Urbana High School to Fred Carlton Field.  Urbana beat Danville on the field in week one, but had to later forfeit the game for the use of an ineligible player (the kicker that kicked the winning field goal as time expired).  In week two, they lost to their archrivals from Champaign Central 21-18 after eight turnovers and failing to convert all three PAT attempts.  Last weekend they were routed by Normal Community 48-8.  In addition to this season's struggles, the Tigers enter Friday's contest having been outscored by the Raiders 130-0 over the past three meetings between the two teams (43-0 and 41-0 in 2004, and 46-0 last season).  Yet the Raiders cannot afford to over look the Tigers.  Every game is an opportunity to improve regardless of what the competition brings to the table.  If they hope to make a run into the playoffs and present a challenge in an eventual rematch with Community, the Raider's growth process must continue to make strides every week.

    Offensively, the Tigers are very similar to the Raiders.  They will line up in pro and twins sets, and occasionally motion to change the strength of the formation.  Base plays include speed option, iso, counter, trap and pitch.  The passing game consists of play action off of the counter play, a three step drop series of hitches and slants, and roll out passes in the twins set.  The Tigers biggest offensive threats are receiver Alan Douglas, and tailback Antonio Jones whom the Champaign News-Gazette calls the best Tiger running back since Virgil Morris, who later played for the University of Illinois.  Both players have demonstrated the ability to turn any touch into a touchdown.  Douglas turned a 10 yard drag into a 70 yard touchdown against Community last week (the only touchdown the Ironmen have surrendered all season).  An alternative set for the Tigers is double twins with the quarterback in shot gun alignment.  This is similar to the base set that Danville ran last week, except the Urbana quarterback with scramble, to avoid pressure, but also to let his receivers adjust their routes and run away from defenders.  The double twins set is primarily a passing set, but they will also run a quarterback draw and quarterback counter once defenses drop six back in coverage.  Urbana's speed on offense is equal to the Raider's on defense.  With a quarterback that is willing to move around to make things happen, they present a challenge similar to that of Community.

    Defensively, it is really hard to tell what the Tigers line up in as a base.  They faced the spread sets of Danville week one and Central week two, forcing them to tweak alignments to match up to the offense.  Week three against the more traditional sets of the Ironmen, they seem to have settled back into a 5-2 cover 2/3 alignment almost exactly like the Raiders.  The strength of the defense is in their big linebackers and aggressive line that, for the most part, contained explosive running back of Corey Lehman of Central week two.  While occasionally giving up the big play, they had numerous tackles for loss and forced seven turnovers.  In case you haven't already done the math Central and Urbana combined for 15 turnovers in their week two match up, the second most in IHSA history for one game.  Aside from the defensive front, the Tigers take their best offensive skill and also play it in the defensive secondary.  Douglas plays corner and had three interceptions against Central and the quarterback plays free safety.  

Game #5 Champaign Central

    The next four games should be very interesting for the Purple Raiders and their fans.  The week two loss to Normal Community has put the conference race outside of the team's control.  The Ironmen would have to slip up for the Raiders to have a chance at winning or sharing their seventh consecutive Big 12 title.  Consequently, the team must shift their focus towards qualifying and preparing for the playoffs.  The next four games, against perennial playoff teams, will provide that opportunity.  The week five match-up sends the Raiders to Champaign to face the Maroons of Champaign Central.  Central is truly at the make or break point of their season.  They enter the contest with a 2-2 record, having narrowly defeated Eisenhower and Urbana, while dropping games to both Unit #5 schools.  Remaining on the Maroons schedule are Centennial, Mattoon, MacArthur, Danville and Bloomington.  They must win three of those games to have a chance at qualifying for the playoffs, so they will approach each game with a "must win" attitude.

    In real estate the saying is "location, location, location."  With the Maroon offense, it is formation, formation, formation.  Central CAN line up in as many as a dozen different offensive sets, and will shift and motion out of any of them into something else.  Why do they do it?  It forces the defense to stay basic.  You can't shift defensive fronts or blitz much if you can't predict what set the offense will break the huddle with.  In addition, most of the sets are spread, with only one back in the backfield, forcing the defense to cover all zones on the field on any given play.  Fortunately, they don't run too many different plays.  The overall philosophy seems to be to spread the field with a variety of trips sets, then hand the ball to their punishing tailback Corey Lehman and let him find a seam to run through.  Once the defense reduces down to stop the run, they rollout the quarterback and throw to one of their two 6'5" receivers on a drag, corner or out route.  Coach Dave Jacobs is only in his second year of running this system at Central, and has several sophomores and juniors starting, but once the players catch up to the system, they have several offensive weapons that will cause problems for their opponents.  Base plays include inside and outside zone, iso as a power play up the middle and a pitch to get to the corner.  On either of the zone plays, the quarterback can pull the ball, bootleg in the opposite direction, and run or pass to a receiver dragging across the field.  The passing game includes a swing pass to Lehman with three blockers in front of him, a screen to the outside trips receiver, and a couple of crossing and vertical routes to the trips.  The most difficult passing play, from a defensive perspective, is a flood route run out of trips or a balanced formation.  Four receivers will run a combination of drag and out routes in the direction the quarterback sprinting out of the backfield.  The difficulty of it is that it forces the defense to cover multiple zones at the same time with the quarterback stretching all of those zones to the sideline with his sprint.  A blitz or break down in the secondary will result in a receiver being wide open, and with two of the receivers being 6'5", they aren't hard to miss.

    What is their base alignment defensively? . . . . . . ...  Can anyone help me out, because I am not really sure?  It seems to depend on the offense they are facing.  In their first three games they appeared to line up in a 5-2 cover 2 and cover 3, a 5-3 cover 3, and a 6-1 cover 1.  What makes it real frustrating is they will use all three alignments in three consecutive plays, forcing the offense to stay rather basic, just like their offense does to opposing defenses.  Lehman will anchor the defense from the middle linebacker position, and the tall receivers play ends, making it very difficult for the quarterback to see into the secondary and even more difficult get the ball past them.  Aside from the confusion, it is a defense that has played well when it needed to, holding Urbana to 6 points in the second half allowing for a 21-18 victory, holding Normal West to 14 points providing the offense with an opportunity to win the game, and stopping a two point conversion attempt by Eisenhower last week preserving a 16-15 win.  They did however, give up 34 points in a lopsided loss to Community week one.

Game #6 Mattoon

    Two weeks ago, in a love fest that doubled as a football game, Normal Community coach Hud Venerable proclaimed the Mattoon offensive line and running backs to be the best they had faced up to that point in the season.  After a 42-0 loss, Mattoon coach Gerald Temples returned the favor by declaring the Ironmen the best team they would face all season, and the best the Big 12 Conference has seen since the 1998 Centennial Chargers, a team that won the old east division of the conference and lost to eventual state champion, Mount Carmel, in the 5A semifinals.  Seeing as how the Ironmen will probably go undefeated this season, Temple's first comment is accurate.  It is the second that I take issue with.  If we were playing the impossible game of crowning "the best" Big 12 team in recent history, I would nominate the '02 Purple Raiders, a team that went undefeated through the conference schedule, winning a combined conference title outright.  A team that shut out four opponents, and held five others to single digit scoring en route to a runner-up finish in class 6A.  SOUR GRAPES aside. . .

    What the Purple Raiders need to take from the above exchange of pleasantries is that, as Coach Venerable pointed out, the Green Wave is a solid football team.  Year in and year out, this team holds its own in a conference full of 6A schools that are 50% larger (in Community's case 100%) than they are.   When they qualify for the playoffs, they drop to 5A and usually make solid runs at the state championship.  They advanced to the 4A quarterfinals in 1999, and the 5A semifinals in 2003.  The Raiders also need to realize that the remainder of the season, particularly the next three weeks, provide not only the opportunity to improve against playoff caliber opponents, but also to regain some of the pride and respect that previous Raider teams commanded with their play and success within the conference.  

    The Green Wave enters the contest with a 3-2 record with wins over Urbana, Eisenhower and MacArthur and losses to Community and Danville.  With the exception of Community, the score of every game has been within 13 points.  Mattoon must win two of their final four games against the Raiders, Champaign Central, Centennial and Normal West to qualify for the playoffs, so every game will be approached as a must win situation.  The Raiders are coming off three straight victories, but for the first time since week two, face an opponent with a winning record.  A homecoming victory Friday night will qualify the Raiders for the playoffs for the 20th consecutive year. 

    Ask a Mattoon running back to run into a brick wall and he will do it, again, and again, and again, and again till the wall cracks and he eventually bursts through.  Even mortar gives way under a constant pounding.  It is a "three yards and a cloud of dust," mind-numbing, clock-eating, if the opponent never gets the ball they can't score type of offense.  With the offensive line in, at most, six inch splits, the Green Wave will line up in pro and twins formations, and repeatedly pound the ball right down your throat.  Base plays include an inside and outside zone, and a power lead play where they kick out on the defensive end with the full back and pull the backside guard to lead through on the linebacker opening a small seam for the tailback to slam himself into.  Once the defense loads up with everyone within two yards of the line, they will pitch it out to the tailback with the fullback and two pulling guards leading him to the corner.   So as a defense, you simply play man coverage and send everyone else through their gaps to secure the line.  They will counter with play action off both zone plays and the pitch that will put the tight end or fullback out in the weak side flat, with the quarterback hitting him off bootleg action from the backfield.  Making it extremely tough on the middle linebackers in a 5-2 scheme to cover a fullback sprinting to the flat.  The passing game also consists of crossing routes out of a trips set and balanced pro with a slot and a screen and swing pass to their tailback.  But those radical elements of the offense will only come out in desperate situations.  The main game plan will be to pound away three yards at a time and hope to win the game with three scores.

    Defensively, the Green Wave also presents a challenge with their 4-3 cover 2 alignment.  Six years ago, most high school teams were converting over to this college style defense, but this will be the first time the Raiders have faced the alignment this season.  The strength of the defense for Mattoon lies in their front seven.  The tackles are strong and sound enough to take on double teams, the ends are very adept at crashing down to blow up an option system, and the linebackers are versatile enough to widen out in pass coverage and come up to stop the run.  With a cover two alignment in the secondary to shut down the passing game, the front seven is freed up to aggressively shut down the running game.  They will bring additional pressure by walking up the strong side or weak side linebacker (and sometimes both) giving the front a 5-2 or 6-1 look.  This also allows them to shift ends and tackles around to keep the opposing offensive line from become too comfortable with their blocking scheme.  And as always the defense is very technically sound.  You will only beat them by blocking and running past them, they will not make mistakes and give up the big play.

Game #7 Centennial

    Week seven brings two teams together to battle for something that neither hoped for at the beginning of the season, second place in the Big 12 Conference.  The Raiders and Chargers enter the game with identical 5-1 records, and lopsided losses to Normal Community.  Common victories between the two teams have come over Decatur MacArthur, Danville and Urbana.  The Chargers other two victories have come over Normal West (23-0) and Eisenhower (46-0).  Statistically, the similarities go well beyond overall records.  In terms of points scored and points allowed, the Raiders currently rank second in the conference in both categories while the Charger rank third, but the teams are separated by only three points in scoring and 12 in points allowed.  The winner of this game guarantees themselves of a playoff berth (although both already likely have qualified with five victories and the playoff points they will accumulate in conference), and positions themselves over the other team in a 6A playoff bracket that is bound to include both teams and Normal Community. 

    Offensively, you only need one name, Mikel Leshoure.  He is 6'2" 225 pounds (their roster is incorrect) and has already rushed for over 1300 yards on the season.  That is an average of over 200 yards per game.  Take away the Community game where he was "held" to 113 yards, and he is averaging over 250 yards a game.  At this rate he will have over 2000 yards before taking a single handoff in a playoff game.  Community coach Hud Venerable called Leshoure not only the best running back in the state, but "the best in the midwest."  The Chargers get him the ball by running lead, zone, pitch, isolation and speed option out of pro and twins sets.  Gone are the days when the Chargers would shift and motion into a variety of different sets to try and create mismatches or out number their opponent to one side.  Now, there is no pretense about it.  Leshoure will touch the ball between 30-40 times, and account for nearly 80% of the total yardage per game.  To take SOME of the pressure off of him, they run a fullback dive and trap, and will occasionally line up in spread formations in hopes of loosening up the defense.  But even out of these sets, he will get the ball on a draw or screen (he is also their leading receiver).  Play action comes off of the lead and zone plays and usually consists of dumping the ball to the fullback or tight end in the flat.  They will also run short three step hitches, slants and fades, as well as a couple of different deep crossing patterns over the middle.  Aside from the Community game, the offense has been unstoppable, averaging over 36 points a game.  That is especially impressive considering everyone in the stadium knows that Leshoure is getting the ball on nearly every play.  It means that the other 10 guys on offense are doing their jobs very well.

    Defensively, nothing has changed with the Chargers.  Even the jersey numbers at several positions seem to remain the same every year.  The Chargers will line up in a base 5-2 front with the secondary rolled up in a tight cover two, or two/man alignment.  The defensive line is big and aggressive, averaging over six foot and 240 pounds per man.  The linebackers play tight to the line of scrimmage and consider stopping the run their number one priority.  They have faith that their secondary can man up with anyone they face.  Even against one back sets, they simply roll up a safety to cover the extra receiver and leave linebackers and ends to focus on the run or get to the quarterback before he can get the ball off.  As a unit, the defense is physical, quick to the ball, and their emotions feed off of big hits.  As the defense goes, so goes this Charger team.  If they shut you down, the offense will feed off the momentum and usually score quickly.  In most games, one score is all they need to win.

Game #8 Normal West

    Is it good enough Raider fans?  After getting our backsides handed to us in week two, the Purple Raiders have rattled off five straight wins, three of which have come over potential playoff teams.  Only one of the games (last week's 27-24 win over Centennial) was really close, but one can't help but feel that the Raiders have yet to play up to their potential.  At this point in the season, however, potential is a relative term that is quickly being replaced by cold, hard reality.  As a team, you have no potential once you lose a playoff game.  So I ask you, Raider fans; has this team improved enough to make a deep run into the IHSA playoffs?  The week eight match-up with Normal West should go far in helping answer that question.  The Wildcats are the best team the Raiders have faced since Normal Community in week two.  Why?  One, they played Community closer than anyone else has all season two weeks ago in a hard fought 14-7 loss.  Two, they have constantly improved all season long.  Their only other loss was to Centennial back in week one, and if that game could be played over again (and they may get their chance in the playoffs), the Wildcats would win it hands down.  This is a young, but now experienced Normal West team that has settled in on personnel and has a definite incentive in Friday nights game.  A victory by the Wildcats would put them into a three way, second place tie in the Big 12 conference with the Raiders and Centennial, a loss would almost guarantee them no better than fourth place. 

    Offensively, the Wildcats seem to have returned to their comfort zone of two years ago leaning heavily on an option attack with just enough misdirection and play action passing to keep defenses in check.  Base sets include a double wing/double split, a double wing pro, and an unbalanced double wing with the tight end and split in on the same side.  They will also run I backs out of pro and twins split, and just for good measure can also line up in trips.  The option package includes midline, outside veer, and a sprint lead option.  Misdirection comes from a fullback and wing trap, and play action comes off a simple full back dive and a bootleg off an off-tackle lead play.  Routes off the dive include hitches out of the split ends and seams with the wings.  Routes off the bootleg consist of a drag, corner and backside post.  One player who, for the third year in a row, is at the center of it all is heavily recruited, 6'6" 230 pound Cody White.  On the midline, he turns out the defensive end opening the off-tackle seam for the quarterback.  On the power lead play, he down blocks and clears out both tackle and linebacker.  On the bootleg pass, he runs the drag across the middle and racks up the YAC yards (yards after catch).  They will also line him up at split end and throw a three step fade to him, which at 6'6" is very difficult to defend.  The most difficult thing about defending this offense is that it forces all eleven defenders to stick to their assignment at all times.  Against the option attack, if one defender covers the wrong assignment the fullback, quarterback or tailback will rips of large chunks of yardage.

    Defensively, the Wildcats are playing very well right now as evidenced by holding Community to their lowest point total of the season.  When watching film of this defense, the one thing that jumps out at you is that the entire unit is fast and flies to the football.  They line up in a 4-3 cover 2 alignment, but will also run a cover 3 against teams that tend to favor running to the strong side.  The Raiders last faced this defense back in week five against Champaign Central, the difference is the Wildcats are more disciplined in their approach and cover all areas of the field.  White provides a long body at defensive end, making it difficult to read the sprint option or seal him down inside to get to the corner, but it is the fast flow of the linebackers that makes the defense tough to block.  The wide alignment of the outside linebackers makes it impossible for offensive linemen to get to them.  Leaving the offense no choice but to block them with the backfield or perimeter receivers, giving the physical linebackers an advantage.   

Game #9 Decatur Eisenhower

    I posed the question a week ago.  Did Friday's nail biter against Normal West provide any answers?  Entering the final week of the regular season, are the Raiders prepared to make a deep run into the IHSA playoffs?  Unfortunately, for most, Friday's game only "muddied the waters" and leads to a resounding MAYBE.  If you combine the first half of the Centennial game with the second half the Normal West game, the Purple Raiders could be considered a very dangerous team.  But that can only happen in fantasy land.  The reality is, that going into the final week of the regular season, the Raiders have yet to play up to their potential for a complete game.  Week nine provides one final opportunity heading into the playoffs, with the Panthers of Decatur Eisenhower coming to Fred Carlton Field.  The Panthers have struggled under first year head coach Donald Flowers, but they did get their first win of the season last week, 12-8 over winless Urbana.  This could be viewed as an easy week for the Raiders, but this team can ill afford to do that, as they are still searching that game that will give them confidence heading into the playoffs.  Also remember that other than Community and West, the Panthers were the last conference team to defeat the Raiders, a 14-12 victory in 2003.

    Coach Flowers has brought a new look to the Panther offense but the focus is still to run the football first, pass second.  The double tight wishbone set has been replaced by the single wing, twins, and even a trips formation.  Out of the single wing, their primary formation, the Panthers run iso, counter, lead, pitch, trap, lead option and a wing reverse.  The trap and wing reverse had success against the 5-2 front of Normal Community, twice resulting in gains of 30 yards or more.  Passes out of this set consist mainly of play action off of the iso, lead and wing reverse.  Routes consist of a deep cross off the iso action, a single post off the wing reverse, and a flood route off the lead play with the full back running a shallow flat route.  The twins set appears to be a primary passing set with a three step crossing route and deeper wheel route out of the slot receiver.  They will also swing the tailback out to the weak side and have the tight end serve as a lead blocker after the catch.  Passes out of the trips set consist of out and diagonals to "scrape" a slant route free back to the inside.  It is not pick route, but the bunch alignment of the trips makes it difficult to pick the coverage up right off the line, giving the slant the opening needed to catch the pass.  They will also counter the trips with a tight end screen back to the weak side.  This play is set up well with the tight end pass blocking before releasing the defensive end up field and widening out to the flat.   The tackle and guard will also release and get up field to serve as lead blockers.

    Defensively, the Panthers start in a base 4-3 cover 2 alignment, but will spend less than 25% of the game in it.  They will walk up the weak side linebacker and a strong side safety while off-setting the remaining linebacker, and give a 6-2 look to stop the running game.  They can walk up just the linebacker while shifting the down linemen, and give a 5-3 look to force the offensive line to change blocking schemes.  If the offense spreads their formation, they simply go back to the cover 2 alignment but widen the outside linebackers to take away slant and hitch zones.  The point is the defense will adjust to almost anything, and the will bring pressure with linebacker and safety blitzes out of any of the sets.  Unfortunately for the Panthers, this has resulted in a feast or famine outcome.  Normal Community failed to score against them to till the 8 minute mark of the second quarter, but then scored over 30 points in a quarter and a half.  Being this aggressive makes you susceptible to the big play, and the Panthers have given up several.

6A Playoffs Round #1  Ottawa Township

Can any of you name the last time the Raiders played a team outside of the Big 12 Conference?

While you think about it, I will go on with the preview.  The Pirates of Ottawa Township will sail into Bloomington, attempt to commandeer Fred Carlton field and feed the Raiders to the sharks.  Aargh!!!!

No more pirate references, I promise. . .  For the first time since playing Providence in the 2004 state championship game, the Raiders will face a non-conference opponent.  It will also mark the first time since 2003 that they open the playoffs with a team not from Champaign-Urbana.  I liked the old quadrant system, but they did tend to shrink our "football world" for the first three rounds of the playoffs.  The IHSA has now taken the field of 32 6A teams and divided them into two brackets of 16, one northern and one southern.  As the fourth seed in the southern bracket, the 8-1 Raiders face the thirteenth seeded 5-4 Pirates.  The winner will play either fifth seeded Dolton Thornridge or twelfth seeded Blue Island Eisenhower next weekend.

    The Pirates finished the regular season in fourth place in the Reagan Division of the North Central Illinois Conference (NCIC).  Their five victories came over DeKalb, Chicago Steinmetz, East Moline, Streator and LaSalle-Peru.  They lost to Sterling, Dixon, Moline and 5A powerhouse Geneseo.  Visit www.ihsa.org for scores from all nine games.  This marks the first time since 2002 that Ottawa has been in the playoffs, but they are far from playoff amateurs.  They have qualified for the playoffs eight times since 1988, advancing as far as the quarterfinals in 1995 and reaching the second round as recently as 2001 and 2002.  During that 2002 season, they were on track to meet the Raiders in the semifinals but ended the season with a loss to Oak Lawn Richards. 

    Offensively, it all begins and ends with a double tight, wishbone set.  Take that set and play with it by splitting the ends out and moving  the half backs to wings or widening them to slots and you will begin to appreciate the multitude of offensive alignments the Pirates are capable of throwing at a defense.  More than not, they will line up with just the fullback in the backfield and two "receivers" on each side, but the alignment may be a tight end/wing to the right with a twins set to the left, or vice versa.  To get a second back in the backfield they will simply motion in a wing or slot.  They may leave two backs in the backfield in a broken bone alignment and have a tight end/wing to the left and split end to the right.  This is the most versatile set there is in football when it comes changing appearances, but still being able to run the same plays.  Put them in yellow and blue uniforms and call the Augustana.  As an ex-Titan I have nightmares about it.  And just for good measure, they will also line up in an unbalanced set (yet run weak) and a trips set.

    Base plays out of all this consist of a fullback dive and trap and a double dive and jet sweep after motioning in a wing or slot.  They key is that on any given play, either fullback or tailback play could be run, but the motion will not key it.  They will put a wing in a full sprint motion towards the quarterback.  On the snap, the quarterback may give him the ball or turn and give it to the fullback on a dive or trap.  He might also keep it himself and follow the wing around end, or give it to the other wing who is looping back towards the center.  This tests the defense's ability to cover its assignments, with as many as four different running backs potentially carrying the ball on any given play.  Add play action passing to the mix and it becomes even more difficult.  The Pirates run play action off the jet sweep play with an end going vertical and the two wings flooding the flat with outs.  They will also run a traditional bootleg off of the dive play with an end dragging the middle with the other end delays his release into the boot side flat.  Straight dropback passing come out of the trips set with isolation route by the back side end and combination routes to the trips.

    Defensively, the Pirates practically mirror the Raiders.  They line up in a 5-2 cover 3 alignment with slant tackles, a rush end and drop end.  The only real difference is in the alignment of the strong safety.  The Pirates will put him on the line and blitz to bring additional pressure from the outside.  They appear to be quick and athletic, flow well to the ball and have a lot of experience stopping the run.  The NCIC is a predominately run conference so the defensive backs are used to coming up and making tackles.

6A Playoffs Round #2 Thornridge

    The last time the Falcons of Thornridge High School qualified for the IHSA football playoffs, the current group of players ranged in age from two to five years old.  The last time they played an opponent outside the suburban Chicagoland area, well, in the research I have done, I don't know that they have ever played an opponent outside the suburban Chicagoland area.  Prior to this season, they had only won eight games over the previous five seasons.  Their last playoff victory was in 1993.  Yet none of this matters to the 2006 Falcons.  They are making history in what has truly been a special season.  This season they won their playoff opener 43-20 over Blue Island Eisenhower.  This season they tied for first place in the SICA conference east division.  This season they beat their nemesis Harvey Thorton for the first time since 1993, coincidently the last time they qualified for the playoffs.  This season they have already won eight games, their highest win total since 1986.  And this season they have quite frankly refused to lose, winning six of the seven games they have played in that were decided by one touchdown or less.  History doesn't matter.  The Raiders are playing the 2006 version of the Thornridge Falcons and this team is on a roll.

    Offensively, there is nothing complicated about the Falcons but they have players at every skill position that could score on any given play.  Base alignments are pro and twins with I or split backs.  They will spread occasionally into a twins/split or double twins formation, but will quickly return to the base sets.  Tailback plays include iso, counter, lead, pitch and a crossbuck play where the fullback dives one way and the tailback the other.  Fullback plays include dive, trap and outside veer.  Occasionally the quarterback will carry the ball off the outside veer, and may even pitch to the tailback, but the Falcons are not what you would consider an "option" team.  Aside from the considerable speed at the skill positions, the Falcons are also blessed with linemen that can flat out move.  They are not the largest line the Raiders have faced, ranging in size from 195-270 pounds, but they are the most athletic.  They will pull on the trap, counter and crossbuck plays, and seem to take pride in throwing a "highlight film" block to spring the back coming out of the backfield.  The passing game consist mainly of play action off the lead and counter.  The quick quarterback will bootleg off the play action fake and usually hit the fullback in the flat, tight end on the drag or wideout on a corner route.  They will also utilize a three step read route, and a series of screens to running backs and slot receivers. 

    Defensively, it is all about pressuring the line.  With gifted athletes in the secondary, the Falcons line up in a 5-3 or 3-5 alignment, depending on your terminology preference, and will send between five and eight defenders on every play.  The whole thing is anchored by an immovable object at noseguard (5'11" 310 pounds) and three very quick linebackers.  So confident are the Falcons in their ability to disrupt the flow of the offense by blitzing, that they will even lineup in a Cover 0, aligning every defender within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage.  The only thing similar to this that the Raiders have faced this season was Decatur MacArthur and the 5-2 cover 2 attack scheme of Centennial.