ProfessorSea65
11-20-2003, 12:11 PM
Air Force Fun
By CHAD CONINE Tribune-Herald staff writer
Mac Peoples Stadium at Connally High School exudes metaphor these days.
As recently as last November, the field would've been cold, dark and quiet on a weekday evening. Now the lights are on and there's enough energy around the Cadets' football practice to make a windy night seem less harsh.
While Connally has displayed lightning bolts on the sides of its helmets for several seasons, there's definitely been an increase in voltage lately. After practice on Tuesday, a couple of the key spark plugs reminisced about the path from a dismal 2-8 campaign of 2002 to their current perch at 10-1.
"Terrible, very terrible," Connally senior wide receiver Ray Simon said about his junior season. "I couldn't even wear my letterman jacket. We'd go to the fair and they'd be like 'You're from Connally? Take your jacket off.' "
Oh, how things change. Now Simon and fellow senior receiver DeMarcus Gidding can't get enough Cadets paraphernalia.
"We'll wear anything," Gidding said. "Shirts, hats, Cadets stickers on the car's bumper."
Connally will attempt to extend its season, and perhaps move a few more T-shirts, when it plays Jasper at 7:30 Friday night at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.
Along with helping out the Connally merchandising boom, Simon and Gidding have combined for 57 receptions for 847 yards and 11 touchdowns. Add Torian Williams’ 30 catches for 561 yards and five scores and Brent Munn's 17 receptions, 367 yards and three touchdowns, and it becomes apparent where the Cadets are generating success.
Connally quarterback Lance Loftin started the last two games of 2002 when the program began implementing a new offense designed to spread the field and get more skill players involved. At first he said it was confusing, but help was on the way.
Cadets' coach Stephen Burrow hired former Robinson assistant Kevin Hoffman as offensive coordinator and the spread offense began to take shape.
"We had a lot of athletes, but we needed a way to get them on the field and get the ball to them," Burrow said. "We ran the spread some last season, but we didn't completely put it in until two-a-days when Coach Hoffman could be here full-time."
Loftin admits to being confused at times until he became more familiar with the system during the off-season.
"It looks fun and it is fun," Loftin said. "It seems hard, but it's really pretty simple. The coaches do all the thinking for you. You read the coverages and you'll be alright."
Loftin added that Connally likely wouldn't be as successful in a power running scheme. But by spreading the field and getting the ball in a lot of different hands, the Cadets have achieved balance. Connally's 4,000 offensive yards have been precisely distributed between rushing and passing (2,028 on the ground, 1,980 through the air).
"In everything we do we try to be balanced," Hoffman said. "We pass as much as we run and we pass to the left side just as much as we pass to the right."
Pat Williams, who has 654 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, handles the bulk of the rushing duties, although Torian Williams has scored 10 rushing touchdowns.
Connally's senior class, which includes Loftin, Simon, Gidding and Munn, has won before. In 2000, the Cadets' freshman team went 9-1.
Simon's body language and contented smile after practice show that he's thrilled to be on a winning team and perhaps even more happy to be a major contributor.
"We've always thought that if they put me and DeMarcus on separate sides of the ball that they couldn't guard us," Simon said. "We've been thinking that since our freshman year. They finally did and we got some success."
There's a little more to it than that. Simon and Gidding each acknowledged that running decoy routes and blocking are equally important facets of their roles.
Still, Connally's "Air Force Fun" offense is driven by pass catchers who know the ball will eventually come their way.
"You can throw it to anybody," Loftin said. "We go four receivers, two on each side or three and one. It's there every time. You know where to throw it and know they're going to catch it."
By CHAD CONINE Tribune-Herald staff writer
Mac Peoples Stadium at Connally High School exudes metaphor these days.
As recently as last November, the field would've been cold, dark and quiet on a weekday evening. Now the lights are on and there's enough energy around the Cadets' football practice to make a windy night seem less harsh.
While Connally has displayed lightning bolts on the sides of its helmets for several seasons, there's definitely been an increase in voltage lately. After practice on Tuesday, a couple of the key spark plugs reminisced about the path from a dismal 2-8 campaign of 2002 to their current perch at 10-1.
"Terrible, very terrible," Connally senior wide receiver Ray Simon said about his junior season. "I couldn't even wear my letterman jacket. We'd go to the fair and they'd be like 'You're from Connally? Take your jacket off.' "
Oh, how things change. Now Simon and fellow senior receiver DeMarcus Gidding can't get enough Cadets paraphernalia.
"We'll wear anything," Gidding said. "Shirts, hats, Cadets stickers on the car's bumper."
Connally will attempt to extend its season, and perhaps move a few more T-shirts, when it plays Jasper at 7:30 Friday night at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.
Along with helping out the Connally merchandising boom, Simon and Gidding have combined for 57 receptions for 847 yards and 11 touchdowns. Add Torian Williams’ 30 catches for 561 yards and five scores and Brent Munn's 17 receptions, 367 yards and three touchdowns, and it becomes apparent where the Cadets are generating success.
Connally quarterback Lance Loftin started the last two games of 2002 when the program began implementing a new offense designed to spread the field and get more skill players involved. At first he said it was confusing, but help was on the way.
Cadets' coach Stephen Burrow hired former Robinson assistant Kevin Hoffman as offensive coordinator and the spread offense began to take shape.
"We had a lot of athletes, but we needed a way to get them on the field and get the ball to them," Burrow said. "We ran the spread some last season, but we didn't completely put it in until two-a-days when Coach Hoffman could be here full-time."
Loftin admits to being confused at times until he became more familiar with the system during the off-season.
"It looks fun and it is fun," Loftin said. "It seems hard, but it's really pretty simple. The coaches do all the thinking for you. You read the coverages and you'll be alright."
Loftin added that Connally likely wouldn't be as successful in a power running scheme. But by spreading the field and getting the ball in a lot of different hands, the Cadets have achieved balance. Connally's 4,000 offensive yards have been precisely distributed between rushing and passing (2,028 on the ground, 1,980 through the air).
"In everything we do we try to be balanced," Hoffman said. "We pass as much as we run and we pass to the left side just as much as we pass to the right."
Pat Williams, who has 654 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, handles the bulk of the rushing duties, although Torian Williams has scored 10 rushing touchdowns.
Connally's senior class, which includes Loftin, Simon, Gidding and Munn, has won before. In 2000, the Cadets' freshman team went 9-1.
Simon's body language and contented smile after practice show that he's thrilled to be on a winning team and perhaps even more happy to be a major contributor.
"We've always thought that if they put me and DeMarcus on separate sides of the ball that they couldn't guard us," Simon said. "We've been thinking that since our freshman year. They finally did and we got some success."
There's a little more to it than that. Simon and Gidding each acknowledged that running decoy routes and blocking are equally important facets of their roles.
Still, Connally's "Air Force Fun" offense is driven by pass catchers who know the ball will eventually come their way.
"You can throw it to anybody," Loftin said. "We go four receivers, two on each side or three and one. It's there every time. You know where to throw it and know they're going to catch it."