ESPN Video on The Wildcat package & The Single-Wing

.From 10/12/08

Wildcat help Dolphins beat Panthers

The wildcat rejuvenated the Dolphins last season, but they had kept it mostly under wraps in training camp before springing it on Carolina. The most elaborate play from the formation was a double handoff and pass, with Pennington coming off the flank to throw deep to a wide-open Cobbs.

Note: The Wildcat series starts at the 2:25 mark

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Vienna Eagles Football: Mike Rude Wingin' It Again

The Vienna Eagles Football team will play its first season in the Black Diamond Conference of Illinois. The Eagles first varsity football game will be against the Hamilton County Foxes on August 29th.

Are you ready for some football? It isn't the Vienna boys choir, it is football, baby! This team coming back has been the talk around Southern Illinois for a few years. The Eagles are flying into the Black Diamond for their first varsity football season since 1931. 1931! This was the year that the government got the conviction of Al Capone on tax fraud. The boys from Vienna have been playing a few years of underclass football, learning from not one but two Hall of Fame football coaches. Hall of Famer Mike Rude is the head coach while Hall of Famer Al Way has went back to help Harrisburg.

The field is a bit out of the way and it doesn't have lights so pile on out on Saturdays to watch Vienna battle in the historic Black Diamond Conference. Other schools from across the region have been pitching in to help Vienna. The scoreboard comes from Carmi High School, the press box from Marion High School, and the goal posts from Carbondale High School. How good will the Eagles be? Very hard to tell but with Coach Rude creating DVD's on how to run the unique Single-Wing offense, they might beat a few more teams than expected. We see a sixth or seventh place team at the end of the year, but five wins could get Vienna into the playoffs as the sixth Black Diamond team that qualifies for a playoff berth.

What is the Single Wing and why is it different?
The Single Wing is an unbalanced line where lineman are pulling and trapping and it doesn't feature the quarterback, but instead has a blocking back. Rude has traveled the nation helping teams install this offense and has a line of successful DVD's. From the DVD Sales page - "After only four years of running the Single Wing at Johnston City, Coach Rude's team has averaged over 4,000 rushing yards a season and has had six rushers with over 1,000 rushing yards. Using this rush-oriented offense will allow your team to control the clock, limit turnovers, and have fun with a new style of successful football." Mike Rude's Championship Production DVD.

Mike Rude (189-125, 40 coaching experience), one of the area's most storied coaches is the only area coach to win conference titles in three different leagues (Southwest Egyptian - Currently the SIRR-Miss. plus Murphysboro, Black Diamond, South Seven) while coaching Anna-Jonesboro, Johnston City, and Marion and among active coaches is only second to Du Quoin's Al Martin in wins (203-38).

The players do not have varsity experience but 42 are out for varsity with 37 returning with game experience. Ten players are returning starters on offense and ten are returning starters on defense. Two players to watch are seniors Colton Krelo (TB 5'10 190) on offense and Jose Ruiz (5'7 195) at Guard and Defensive End. Again, with the single wing offense lineman are pulling and trapping so look out for Martin Powell (G/LB 6'1 235) and Center Josh Wiltermood (6'4 210). Also in the backfield are junior Dillon Hall (5'8 160) and senior Reedus Maynor (FB/LB 6'1 240) and Dylan Kramp (WB/FB 6'1 150). Gaining varsity experience for next year will also be juniors Garrett Mattox (TE/DE 6'4 215), Branden Leeds (DB 5'10 150), and Trae Foster (DB 5'10 150).

Great Stories not yet Written that we would like to see
Because this is preseason of year one we can take a look at the season and pick out some great stories that may or may not happen. They might be far fetches, but it is fun to take a look.

•Vienna wins its first varsity football game since 1931.
•Vienna qualifies for the playoffs. Five Wins and they are in!
•Vienna goes undefeated at home. OK, this might sound crazy but the scheduling for the first year games was pretty fair. The Eagles have Hamilton County (first varsity game and also first home game), Carmi-White County which is coming off of a bit of a down year, Elverado-Trico, Eldorado, and the last home game of the year which puts Mike Rude against his old team of Johnston City.
•Mike Rude upsets his former team, the Johnston City Indians.


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618 Football
Vienna, GA 31092
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New Ford II football coach turns back the clock

Old school

New Ford II football coach turns back the clock
By Brad D. Bates
C & G Sports Writer

New Utica Ford II football coach Todd Winters is looking to take the Falcons back to football’s roots.

Winters is instilling a single-wing offense and hopes to refocus and renew the Falcons’ program with hard-nosed football.

“It’s old-school football,” Winters said. “It’s single-wing football — the beginning of football — stuff they ran on the 1934 Michigan team with Yale formations.”

The single-wing that Winters employs is a far cry from the modern spread offenses used by most of the teams in the Macomb Area Conference Red Division.

“We’re going to be the novelty,” Winters said of bringing his offense to the Red.
“They’re going to have one week to prepare for us, and we’re going to be the only one in the league doing it.”

The single-wing is primarily a run offense used most recently to perfection by Menominee High en route to back-to-back Division 5 state titles in 2006 and 2007.

The formation has multiple running backs and a quarterback who serves almost exclusively as another ball carrier.

“It’s a philosophy that allows substitutions, so we’re going to use a lot of different players,” Winters said. “(Junior) Aaron Cox will be one of the main backs. He’s the ‘quarterback,’ but there really aren’t too many pass plays.”

Terry Gissendanner, the smaller but faster senior, will join the 6-foot-3-inch, 240-pound Cox in the backfield.

The group that will see the most change is the Falcons’ offensive line.

Luckily for Winters, it’s a veteran group, with four returning seniors in right tackle Zach Orris, center Jon Balentino, left guard Kyle Unruh and left tackle Daryon DeVoogd.

“The last three years, coach (Jay) Anthes had them in a two-point stance,” Winters said of the offensive linemen under their former coach.

“This year, we’ll be in the three-point stance and in attack mode. There are fewer rules they need to follow. They just need to focus on the attack.”

There will also be a new defense for the Falcons, as they switch to a 3-3 stack where they’ll employ three defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs.

“The new defense is going to have press coverage and be a little more aggressive than a zone,” Winters said. “We’re going to change up our fronts, too.”

With so many changes, Winters admits his players were tentative early, but when they saw the opportunities the new schemes allowed, they were excited.

“When they heard about the offense, they were hesitant and wondered if it could work,” Winters said. “Once we got that mentality out of there, it didn’t take too long for them to warm up.”

While the Falcons adjust to new systems, they’ll have to replace a large senior class from the 2008 squad and make up for a reduced roster size in 2009.

“Our goal this year is to field 40 on varsity and 35 on JV,” Winters said. “Everything we do, you have to rely on your teammates.

“We won’t do a lot of one-on-one blocking, and we’re going to change the mentality and make it more aggressive.”

Winters, who has taught at Ford II for 14 years and coached football for 17, got used to doing more with less at his last head-coaching job a year ago at New Haven High.

“At New Haven, it was a good day when we had 22 kids, but we were always competitive,” Winters said of the Rockets, who were 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the MAC Bronze last year.
As Winters combines his know-how with Ford II’s resources, he hopes it will make for a successful equation.

“Now we’re on a level playing field, and hopefully, we’ll be able to compete.”



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C&G Publishing
13650 E 11 Mile Rd
Warren, MI
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