If the Pioneers are to sweep their last three games and stay alive in the CAL Small race, they must focus on stopping the tricky Ipswich offense this Saturday.
Over the years, the Pioneers, along with many other teams in the CAL, have had trouble dealing with that offense. Former Tiger coaching legend Jack Welch took over the Tiger football program in 1964 and Ipswich has run the Wing T ever since. He coached for 37 years, winning three Super Bowl titles and compiling a record of 224-132-6 by the time he retired in 2000. For most, if not all, of those years, Ipswich had the smallest enrollment in the Cape Ann League. But with the Wing T and some smart, tough athletes, they always competed.
No wonder that they have stuck with it.
The Tigers run it at the youth level all the way through high school. I wouldn't be surprised if babies are delivered in Ipswich using inside handoffs and misdirection.
So I thought today we'd take an in depth look at the offense since it is very different from a "normal" offensive set.
Let's start with a definition.
This is from an article entitled "Belly Series in the Delaware Wing T" written by Ted Kempski, assistant football coach, University of Delaware, published in the Athletic Journal, September 1976:
"The Delaware Wing T is more than a formation. It is a philosophy of attack based on the anticipation of certain adjustments forced upon the defense due to the position of the wingback. It is a four back running system that forces the secondary to play at least three deep, due to the presence of three deep receiving threats. Thus it is readily apparent that although the Delaware Wing T is a ground-oriented attack, it is equally dependent on an interrelated passing game."
So what makes this offense so hard to defend and how do you stop it? For that I went to my panel of experts, a group I'll call the "Pioneer Alumni Advisory Board". Since Ipswich has run this offense forever, any Pioneer player that has faced them in the last 30 years has seen the exact same offense that the Tigers will trot out on Saturday.
So, on to the experts.
George Hennessey, Captain 2009, Linebacker:
"The wing T is a difficult offense to defend. One of the main factors is that the linemen throw cut blocks trying to chop the defense down. The other part is locating the football. All of the plays look very similar so it's very hard to decipher who has the football. Also, last year we did a good job stopping the run in the second half but they started to complete a lot of play action passes since the run was anticipated. I know coach (defensive coordinator Gregg) Haberland will have a good game plan since he's seen the offense many times. As long as Lynnfield plays good assignment football and everyone does their job they should be successful in stopping them."
Pat Lamusta, Captain 2007, Linebacker
"I played against Ipswich when they had running back (Steve) Phaneuf (2006), and he epitomized the damage a Wing T can do to a defense. Why it is hard to defend?
How do you stop it?
"For a defense the Wing T was one of the most complex offenses that I faced. It is definitely not your normal offense. It is very effective if run right. Teams run the Wing T because it is a ground and pound and helps the running game tremendously. One pointer I learned is you as an individual cannot try and follow the ball because everyone is crisscrossing and going different directions. Looking in the backfield does not help, and it takes a team effort to stop. Ways to prevent from my viewpoint: The best way of defending the wing-T is of course practice against it. The defense needs to learn their assignments. As long as the defense does what they are told and does their jobs to the fullest then it can be stopped." Mike Geary, Triton Assistant Coach, Captain 2000, Defensive Lineman "I think what makes the Wing T so difficult to play against is the misdirection in the backfield. Young linebackers have trouble trusting their keys, which are usually the fullback and guards. Also, we (Triton) run nothing similar to the Wing T for our offense, so the scout team has trouble simulating it in practice for the starters." Kevin Condardo, Captain 2000, Center "The big part of the Wing T is that all the plays look basically the same, and (because all the inside handoffs and play fakes are happening directly behind the trenches) you never really know who has the ball until suddenly they're running past you. The defensive line really needs to clog everything up in the middle so no one can get through and force the running backs to shift their momentum and get outside, where hopefully there's an outside backer ready to swallow them up. It all happens very quickly, and one missed assignment can lead to a gaping hole. There's not much recovery time. We had a little experience running the Double Wing my junior year (1999), which was similar in that there was a lot of pulling linemen and inside handoffs. One of the great things about that offense, when it's run correctly, is that you can overload an area with blockers very quickly...if you're running off the right tackle, you can pull both the left guard AND left tackle, then have the flanker on the left side running an end around, and suddenly you have four offensive lineman and a fullback leading the ballcarrier. If a defense doesn't react quickly enough and get bodies to the point of attack, they'll be outmanned quickly. Speed kills, as the old saying goes..." Got all that? Now you understand why it is such a difficult offense to defend. And a big thank you to my panel of experts. But to boil it down, the offensive movement and blocking schemes are so intricate, that the defense has to constantly focus on finding the ball and staying home. They can almost become hypnotized by the gyrations going on in the backfield. The goal for the offense is to suck the defense into stopping the running game and then catch it off balance with the quick pass play. |
Some years are better than others for running the Wing T, and as with most offenses, the level of success is largely dependent on the ability of the personnel who are running it. In 2006, Ipswich had great players and won a Division 3A Super Bowl. For the next three years, they didn't have the experience or skill level of that 2006 team and they suffered through 30 losses in a row. So as with any system, you need the players to make it work.
This year, the Tigers have some solid components to run the Wing. First they have an outstanding quarterback in Brendan Gallagher who can both run and throw. He has thrown nine TD passes, tied for seventh in Division 3A and has run for two more.
This quote is from Ipswich Coach Ted Flaherty in a story by Josh Zywien in the October 28 Ipswich Chronicle:
"“Brendan Gallagher has really done a great job,” Flaherty said of his three-year starting quarterback. “He’s such a threat to run the ball and he’s a really strong passer. He’s just a great all-around player and he’s gaining a lot of confidence. Just handing the ball off and faking, [Gallagher] holds off a few players on defense, so our running back gets a few extra yards and a little less of a hit. I would imagine the opposing teams really have to account for him.”
They have three other good backs in Pete Moutevelis, (4 TD's), Jake LeBlanc and Kenny Wing.
And they have a key ingredient for a successful Wing T in outstanding receiving threat John Eldredge who leads Division 3A with nine TD receptions.
Having talent like that makes the system that much more effective, so it is no surprise that the Tigers are surging and come into the game with a 4-4 overall record, 2-2 in the league. Ipswich beat North Reading and Georgetown and lost to Amesbury and Newburyport in league play. In non-league games, they defeated Triton and Manchester-Essex and lost to Pentucket and Marblehead.
As George Hennessey pointed out above, the Pioneers had a bit of a struggle with the Tigers last year, before finally subduing them 20-3. They did allow 178 yards rushing and they return all the key components this year with more experience and confidence now that they have tasted winning.
The Pioneers will again be without co-captain Jeff Gannon leaving a significant hole at running back and linebacker. They will be looking for a bounce-back effort after last week's disappointing loss.
Senior Day
The team should have some added incentive since Saturday will be Senior Day, where the 15 seniors will be honored before the game. It will be the second to last game playing on Pioneer Field at LMS for captains Gino Cohee, Jeff Gannon, A. J. Roberto and Steve Ullian as well as Rick Berardino, John Bossi, Nick Burtman, Craig Cataldo, Rich Dimare, Pete Foustoukas, Matt Kelly, Ben Kendrew, Evan Panzero, Tim Shannon and Wes Sullivan.
This senior class will be the first since 1988 that will finish their four year career with a winning record. They stand at 23-19 with three games to play. The '88 squad had a four year record of 27-14 with three winning seasons. The most wins ever by a senior class was the Super Bowl team of 1986 who finished their four years with a record of 32-9 posting records of 9-1, 5-5, 9-1 and 9-2.
Game time is 2 pm.
Check back for my post game entry.
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