Playbook Is Scorpions' Secret Weapon
Oakland Mills first-year coach Seth Willingham calls a play as Rich Gonzalez, Bryson Cramer and David Pearman, from left, try to learn a new offense.
(By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Gun right slot close blizzard.
This might be the name of one of Oakland Mills' plays, but even if it is, don't expect Coach Seth Willingham to admit it.
Willingham won't give a peek inside his playbook, which is more than 25 pages and includes at least 15 formations -- making it one of the bigger playbooks in Howard County.
If fact, he'll just reveal the front cover: "Oakland Mills Football 2006."
"That's pretty much all you're gonna get from me," the brawny, bristly-faced, first-year head coach said, smiling as he helped players with their equipment.
The Scorpions are in the midst of rebuilding their program after finishing 0-10 last season, but that didn't deter Willingham from installing a more complex offensive system. He launched right in, scrapping last year's wing-T set and distributing playbooks during the summer so the team could run through various formations on the first day of practice.
The changes were made so the Scorpions could "catch defenses in weak spots," Willingham said. "If they overload the strong side, you can come back on the weak side. Certain teams, if they can't match up against a formation, they'll switch to cover one [man] and then you have an advantage in the passing game."
Mastering the offense has been a challenge at times. Sophomore fullback Nick King shifts to change formations and has had some difficulty with pre-snap motions.
"It's been hard because I'm not used to making mistakes," King said.
Junior lineman Michael Santiago first thought, "I have all this stuff that makes no sense to me." But after time, Santiago, King and the rest of the Scorpions are feeling good about the season, the playbook and all 15 formations.
