Building blocks
Published in The Daily Journal, Friday, Dec. 4, 2009
FRANKLIN TWP. — As a freshman, Jon Hickman had very little going for him. In the words of Ronn Flaim, the offensive line coach for Delsea Regional High School’s football team, Hickman “was just another kid on the team.”
Determined to crack the varsity starting lineup, Hickman became a different player. Helped by a natural teenage growth spurt and hours in the weight room, he gained 45 pounds between his freshman and junior seasons. Now a senior, Hickman will be firmly entrenched at left guard when Delsea hosts Haddonfield tonight in the Group II South championship game.
“I knew if I wanted to play, I had to do it,” Hickman said of his fitness program. “This offense is all about strength and staying low. In order to do that, you have to be strong and fast.”
Dedication like his has made Delsea’s line play the envy of South Jersey. While the multiple Wing-T garners lots of yards and headlines for fullback Austin Medley, wingback Sean McPherson and others, the linemen who make the offense work operate in anonymity.
The all-senior unit of Dennis Handy, Kyle Jones, Chris Trotts, Gary Colone and Hickman forms the backbone of an offense that compiled 4,600 yards of total offense through the first nine games of the season, running the ball 94 percent of the time.
“We’re a running football team, and you can’t do that without a good offensive line,” Flaim said. “Our whole program is based around those guys being good run blockers.”
Introducing the Wing-T
The Wing-T is one of the oldest offenses in football. Yet after decades of use on the high school and college gridirons, defenses still have not come up with a reliable way to stop a properly run Wing-T.
Most Wing-T formations consist of:
- Five down lineman
- A quarterback under center
- A fullback
- A tight end
- Two wingbacks set back from the line of scrimmage on either side of the offensive line
- Either a tailback, a wide receiver or another tight end
Delsea’s offense is patterned after the most popular version of the Wing-T, known as “Delaware,” in homage to the offense’s birthplace. Unlike “Delaware,” however, the Crusaders do not always have a tailback lined up beside fullback Medley and almost never pass.
The essence of the Wing-T is not so much the formations as the premise. Every formation brings with it a multitude of plays that succeed due to misdirection and fakes by all 11 players.
During practice this week, the Crusaders ran a trap and a sweep on successive plays. The two plays resulted in the ball going in very different directions, but they looked identical when the Crusaders lined up.
“Some people call it a hybrid Wing-T,” center Kyle Jones said. “Basically, they move around the wideouts and the backs and the tight ends. The central, core five stay the same. Our job (as linemen) never changes.”
Reading material
Motion by the backs forces the defense to react, which the offensive linemen read before the snap.
“We know they’re going to be making a lot of adjustments,” Hickman said. “You just sort of have to keep it simple and know your assignment on a single play.”
The center has a difficult job in any offense, and the Wing-T is no exception. As Jones strides to the line of scrimmage, he will double-check the snap count in his head. He will identify his assignment and any blitzers.
His pre-snap responsibilities are eased, however, by his familiarity with quarterback Chris Jackson.
“We’ve been quarterback and center since seventh grade,” Jones said. “We have the chemistry down. I don’t even think about snapping the ball anymore. I know he’s back there.”
For an experienced group like this, once the ball is snapped, instinct takes over. The nature of the offense makes blocking straightforward after four years in the program.
“They have a chance, if they do the right things in the weight room, to be a good run blocker,” Flaim said. “Because that’s all we practice.”
Perfect fit
When head coach Sal Marchese sits down with his staff at the beginning and end of each year, he starts by identifying which linemen are returning. Whereas some coaches build around their playmakers, the Crusaders build around the big men.
When the coaches formulated their plan for this season, they jotted down five names, all seniors, all with varsity experience.
The Crusaders had the perfect foundation for their state title defense, both on the field and off.
“You couldn’t ask for a better group of kids than this,” Flaim said. “Personality, work ethic, they’re the whole package.”
Still, many of the most diehard high school football fans have never heard their names. Jackson? Sure. McPherson? Probably. Medley? Of course.
From a Delsea lineman’s perspective, the attention those players receive is well-deserved.
“It’s great that they get that,” Handy said. “They’re the guys that get all the rushing yards. They have to do something, too. We just open the holes, do the small work. They have to get up the sideline and run all the way to the endzone. I’d rather have them running 70 yards, not me.”
Benjee
