dailypress.com
Phoebus faces confusing test
The single wing has been the foundation of Stone Bridge's success. But it's not your father's single wing.
By DAVE JOHNSON
November 30, 2007
Brainstorms come from a variety of sources. Inspiration, perspiration, desperation … sometimes all of the above.
For Mickey Thompson, in his eighth year as Stone Bridge's head coach, it was nothing that dramatic.
"Honestly," he said, "I just got bored and wanted to do something different."
That was in 1998, when Thompson installed the single-wing offense at Park View High in Sterling. Two years later, he took it with him to Stone Bridge, which had just opened its doors. And now, that pain-in-the-caboose offense has carried the Bulldogs to the Group AAA Division 5 semifinals, where they will host Phoebus Saturday afternoon in Ashburn.
"They do so much on offense," Phantoms coach Bill Dee said. "They can create a lot of problems. It's not like (facing) the I."
It's also not a classic single wing, which evolved from Pop Warner's creation into a ground-oriented offense that involves a direct snap and plenty of misdirection. Stone Bridge quarterback Patrick Thompson, Mickey's son, has thrown for 1,929 yards and 25 touchdowns. Sometimes he throws from the single wing, and sometimes he throws from the shotgun in a spread formation.The Bulldogs' best two receivers, wideout Ryan Moody and running back Jeron Gouveia, are averaging a combined 23.3 yards per reception.
"They do have a large component of the single-wing offense, but they're also fairly multiple," said Robinson coach Mark Bendorf, whose team handed Stone Bridge its only loss this season. "You have to be careful not to hang that single-wing label and expect them to come out in an unbalanced set with 11 guys lined up in the space of a phone booth on every play."
But on many plays, that's exactly what the Bulldogs do. With a lot of misdirection, Stone Bridge likes to take advantage of the defense's confusion.
The running game averages 224 yards per game and 6 per carry. Yet the Bulldogs don't have a 1,000-yard rusher — Kareem Alexander is the closest at 896.
"We don't have any huge numbers for any one individual," Mickey Thompson said. "The thing about our offense is, it just involves that many more playmakers. Kids that might not have been the tailback are now major players offensively."
With that versatility, along with the unusual scheme, Stone Bridge's offense can give opposing coaches headaches. The Bulldogs are averaging 41 points and 384 yards a game.
Only Robinson, which beat them 41-14 in the season's second week, managed to shut down their offense.
"We had 385 yards rushing in that game and we held them to 24," Bendorf said. "But those early games are a crapshoot. They have some good, quality players."
Gouveia, who averages 13.4 yards every time he touches the ball, has committed to Virginia Tech. So has junior lineman David Wang — whose brother, Ed, is a sophomore tackle for the Hokies.
Thompson was the head coach at Park View, where he went 71-42, from 1990-99. His program had won 22 of its last 25 games when he decided to take the job at Stone Bridge, which opened in 2000 as a Group AA school. Bringing the single wing with him, Thompson expected growing pains. He was right: The Bulldogs went 3-7.
The following year, Stone Bridge won six games. Then, in 2002, the Bulldogs went 10-3 and made it to the Division 4 semifinals, where they lost to Lafayette. In 2005, its first year in Group AAA, Stone Bridge beat Matoaca 52-12 in the state semifinals and advanced to its first championship game.
Once there, the Bulldogs ran into Hampton. With Stone Bridge behind 15-8 in the final minute, Moody caught a pass at the 1-yard line. But just as he was about to score, Hampton's Tyrod Taylor popped the ball loose and teammate Aubrey Meekins recovered.
It was a bitter pill, but getting that far was a huge step for the program. This will be the fifth season in a row that Stone Bridge has finished with at least 11 wins.
"That first year, I definitely wanted to quit," Thompson said. "But after that, it turned around really quickly. And it's been a great experience."
Newport News, Va., Daily Press
Phoebus faces confusing test
The single wing has been the foundation of Stone Bridge's success. But it's not your father's single wing.
By DAVE JOHNSON
November 30, 2007
Brainstorms come from a variety of sources. Inspiration, perspiration, desperation … sometimes all of the above.
For Mickey Thompson, in his eighth year as Stone Bridge's head coach, it was nothing that dramatic.
"Honestly," he said, "I just got bored and wanted to do something different."
That was in 1998, when Thompson installed the single-wing offense at Park View High in Sterling. Two years later, he took it with him to Stone Bridge, which had just opened its doors. And now, that pain-in-the-caboose offense has carried the Bulldogs to the Group AAA Division 5 semifinals, where they will host Phoebus Saturday afternoon in Ashburn.
"They do so much on offense," Phantoms coach Bill Dee said. "They can create a lot of problems. It's not like (facing) the I."
It's also not a classic single wing, which evolved from Pop Warner's creation into a ground-oriented offense that involves a direct snap and plenty of misdirection. Stone Bridge quarterback Patrick Thompson, Mickey's son, has thrown for 1,929 yards and 25 touchdowns. Sometimes he throws from the single wing, and sometimes he throws from the shotgun in a spread formation.The Bulldogs' best two receivers, wideout Ryan Moody and running back Jeron Gouveia, are averaging a combined 23.3 yards per reception.
"They do have a large component of the single-wing offense, but they're also fairly multiple," said Robinson coach Mark Bendorf, whose team handed Stone Bridge its only loss this season. "You have to be careful not to hang that single-wing label and expect them to come out in an unbalanced set with 11 guys lined up in the space of a phone booth on every play."
But on many plays, that's exactly what the Bulldogs do. With a lot of misdirection, Stone Bridge likes to take advantage of the defense's confusion.
The running game averages 224 yards per game and 6 per carry. Yet the Bulldogs don't have a 1,000-yard rusher — Kareem Alexander is the closest at 896.
"We don't have any huge numbers for any one individual," Mickey Thompson said. "The thing about our offense is, it just involves that many more playmakers. Kids that might not have been the tailback are now major players offensively."
With that versatility, along with the unusual scheme, Stone Bridge's offense can give opposing coaches headaches. The Bulldogs are averaging 41 points and 384 yards a game.
Only Robinson, which beat them 41-14 in the season's second week, managed to shut down their offense.
"We had 385 yards rushing in that game and we held them to 24," Bendorf said. "But those early games are a crapshoot. They have some good, quality players."
Gouveia, who averages 13.4 yards every time he touches the ball, has committed to Virginia Tech. So has junior lineman David Wang — whose brother, Ed, is a sophomore tackle for the Hokies.
Thompson was the head coach at Park View, where he went 71-42, from 1990-99. His program had won 22 of its last 25 games when he decided to take the job at Stone Bridge, which opened in 2000 as a Group AA school. Bringing the single wing with him, Thompson expected growing pains. He was right: The Bulldogs went 3-7.
The following year, Stone Bridge won six games. Then, in 2002, the Bulldogs went 10-3 and made it to the Division 4 semifinals, where they lost to Lafayette. In 2005, its first year in Group AAA, Stone Bridge beat Matoaca 52-12 in the state semifinals and advanced to its first championship game.
Once there, the Bulldogs ran into Hampton. With Stone Bridge behind 15-8 in the final minute, Moody caught a pass at the 1-yard line. But just as he was about to score, Hampton's Tyrod Taylor popped the ball loose and teammate Aubrey Meekins recovered.
It was a bitter pill, but getting that far was a huge step for the program. This will be the fifth season in a row that Stone Bridge has finished with at least 11 wins.
"That first year, I definitely wanted to quit," Thompson said. "But after that, it turned around really quickly. And it's been a great experience."
Newport News, Va., Daily Press
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment