Da Mules
11-03-2005, 08:46 PM
kinda long article from Amarillo Globe
Canyon's senior receivers put octane in the 8-1 Eagles' explosive offense
By Roger Clarkson
roger.clarkson@amarillo.com
Leading the Charge: Canyon senior receivers Jared Peddy, left, Brady Bressler, Greg Franklin and Dee Pittillo have made life miserable for opposing secondaries this season.
Forgive opposing defenses if they sometimes confuse Canyon's quadruple threat at wide receiver with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Or even the Four Horsemen of the Apox-Grip.
The four Eagle receivers have given defenses headaches all season as Canyon has posted a string of gaudy offensive performances en route to an 8-1 record.
Brady Bressler, Greg Franklin, Jared Peddy and Dee Pittillo are the leading Class 3A receivers in the area. Peddy, Franklin and Bressler are the third, fourth and fifth-leading receivers in the state, according to statistics kept by the Texas High School Coaches Association.
They are all seniors. They started their careers as quarterbacks and they have been on the business end of 35 percent of all the offensive snaps Canyon has taken this season.
On Friday night they play their final regular-season game when Canyon (8-1, 3-0) hosts Perryton (6-3, 3-0) in a matchup that will decide the District 1-3A championship. Canyon has a chance to run its district winning streak to eight games and lock up its second straight district title.
"We take our best offensive athletes, guys we would at one time have at running back, and put them at receiver," Canyon coach Blake Bryant said. "These guys are tough, tough football players. They love the game. They're students of the game and on top of everything else, they're very intelligent. We can do a lot of the things we do because they're able to make the adjustments on the field."
They have combined for 162 catches for 2,629 yards and 26 touchdowns. They have also run a combined 12 times for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Canyon averages 515 yards a game, including 318 through the air. Quarterback Anthony Ramos has completed 167-of-232 passes for 2,653 yards for 27 touchdowns and one interception. Most of those passes have gone to Bressler, Franklin, Peddy and Pittillo.
The receivers have the opportunity to catch so many balls because running back Jake Romero can block and has run for a team-high 649 yards and nine touchdowns. Linemen Keegan Neill, Justin Thompson, Seth Brackett, Cade Hales and Greg Fortner have provided almost airtight blocking so that Ramos' jersey rarely gets dirty.
"We can all do everything," Peddy said. "We can all go deep. We can all break it off and catch the short pass. We all block. We're all possession receivers who can get deep."
Canyon's passing offense places a premium on reading defenses and making adjustments on the fly so they can defeat one-on-one matchups wherever they find them.
Pittillo and Franklin usually line up outside and take responsibility for sideline routes designed to expose mismatches in the middle of the field. If the defense slants to the middle of the field, the outside receivers can take their patterns deep for big plays.
Peddy and Bressler are the inside receivers whose responsibility is to identify the mismatches and get open for Ramos. Once any of the four catches the ball, the other three are expected to race downfield to block so they can turn a short gain into a big play.
"We want our outside guys to be big and physical so they can go up and get the ball," Bryant said. "Our inside guys need to have quick feet because they're going to catch a lot of short passes and they need to be able to make the defense miss. What we want to do is find the mismatches and be efficient in what we're doing."
"These guys are tough, tough football players. They love the game.''
Deep Threat
Bressler leads the team with 12 touchdown catches. He has 34 receptions for 793 yards. He has made opponents pay for rolling their coverage to limit Peddy and Franklin on one side of the field by repeatedly getting loose down the field for long-distance touchdowns. Bressler is the receiver who most often breaks behind the defense for quick touchdowns.
"He's our fastest and he's got really good hands. When defenses kick their coverage over to Jared's and Greg's side, we love it because he's the kind of guy who can make you pay,'' Bryant said. "That's exactly what we want, to turn him loose down the middle of the field."
Rest Is For Wimps
Franklin starts on offense and defense so he rarely comes off the field. On defense he is a safety who looks to deliver hits on receivers over the middle. On the other side of the line, Franklin must absorb the punishment as he works high and inside where opposing safeties can draw a bead on him.
Franklin has 49 receptions for 807 yards and six touchdowns. On defense he is also one of the team's top tacklers.
"I get some payback some times. The safeties like to touch me back," Franklin said. "But that's OK. I'm kind of slow and I don't get down the field like the others. I just do whatever the team needs. I love playing. It's my senior year and I'm going to spend every minute I can on the field."
The Playmaker
Peddy is a two-year starter and usually figures heavily into everything Canyon does. He leads the area with 60 catches for 832 yards and has eight touchdowns. After a 50-catch season as a junior, defenses have adjusted their coverages to take away his big-play potential.
This year he has caught much of the underneath hitch and crossing routes. But his running instincts and quick feet mean he's one broken tackle away from turning a dump pass into a big gain.
"There's a reason why he gets the most touches. He's our playmaker," Bressler said. "He's shifty and he's really good in the open field. He makes things happen out there."
Wingman
Because only so many passes can go to so many receivers, somebody must sacrifice for the team. After Peddy, Franklin and Bressler get their catches, not many receptions are left over for Pittillo. He has 19 catches for 197 yards and one touchdown.
He is responsible for drawing coverage away from Bressler but must always be ready to make a catch despite not seeing many balls. He jokes that his relative lack of receptions is because he is the designated downfield blocker.
"He's the consummate team player," Franklin said. "He's just as good as any of the rest of us. He's the most unselfish one of all of us. He just doesn't get as many chances."
In The Beginning
All four of the Canyon receivers started their football careers as quarterbacks. They learned to look at a defense from a quarterback's perspective. That gives them insight when reading the pre-snap positions of opposing safeties and linebackers and making the same adjustments as Ramos.
"That makes the communication so much easier," Bryant said. "When I'm talking about coverages and windows, they know exactly what we're talking about. We know the same terminology. We see things the same way. It saves so much time explaining things."
When Canyon switched from an I-formation to the shotgun spread three seasons ago, they shifted to the perimeter.
"The coaches came in and said we were going to the spread," Peddy said. "Then they started talking about how they were going to throw the ball a lot and they needed receivers to make it work.
"Having the chance to catch a lot of passes sounded good."
Canyon's senior receivers put octane in the 8-1 Eagles' explosive offense
By Roger Clarkson
roger.clarkson@amarillo.com
Leading the Charge: Canyon senior receivers Jared Peddy, left, Brady Bressler, Greg Franklin and Dee Pittillo have made life miserable for opposing secondaries this season.
Forgive opposing defenses if they sometimes confuse Canyon's quadruple threat at wide receiver with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Or even the Four Horsemen of the Apox-Grip.
The four Eagle receivers have given defenses headaches all season as Canyon has posted a string of gaudy offensive performances en route to an 8-1 record.
Brady Bressler, Greg Franklin, Jared Peddy and Dee Pittillo are the leading Class 3A receivers in the area. Peddy, Franklin and Bressler are the third, fourth and fifth-leading receivers in the state, according to statistics kept by the Texas High School Coaches Association.
They are all seniors. They started their careers as quarterbacks and they have been on the business end of 35 percent of all the offensive snaps Canyon has taken this season.
On Friday night they play their final regular-season game when Canyon (8-1, 3-0) hosts Perryton (6-3, 3-0) in a matchup that will decide the District 1-3A championship. Canyon has a chance to run its district winning streak to eight games and lock up its second straight district title.
"We take our best offensive athletes, guys we would at one time have at running back, and put them at receiver," Canyon coach Blake Bryant said. "These guys are tough, tough football players. They love the game. They're students of the game and on top of everything else, they're very intelligent. We can do a lot of the things we do because they're able to make the adjustments on the field."
They have combined for 162 catches for 2,629 yards and 26 touchdowns. They have also run a combined 12 times for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Canyon averages 515 yards a game, including 318 through the air. Quarterback Anthony Ramos has completed 167-of-232 passes for 2,653 yards for 27 touchdowns and one interception. Most of those passes have gone to Bressler, Franklin, Peddy and Pittillo.
The receivers have the opportunity to catch so many balls because running back Jake Romero can block and has run for a team-high 649 yards and nine touchdowns. Linemen Keegan Neill, Justin Thompson, Seth Brackett, Cade Hales and Greg Fortner have provided almost airtight blocking so that Ramos' jersey rarely gets dirty.
"We can all do everything," Peddy said. "We can all go deep. We can all break it off and catch the short pass. We all block. We're all possession receivers who can get deep."
Canyon's passing offense places a premium on reading defenses and making adjustments on the fly so they can defeat one-on-one matchups wherever they find them.
Pittillo and Franklin usually line up outside and take responsibility for sideline routes designed to expose mismatches in the middle of the field. If the defense slants to the middle of the field, the outside receivers can take their patterns deep for big plays.
Peddy and Bressler are the inside receivers whose responsibility is to identify the mismatches and get open for Ramos. Once any of the four catches the ball, the other three are expected to race downfield to block so they can turn a short gain into a big play.
"We want our outside guys to be big and physical so they can go up and get the ball," Bryant said. "Our inside guys need to have quick feet because they're going to catch a lot of short passes and they need to be able to make the defense miss. What we want to do is find the mismatches and be efficient in what we're doing."
"These guys are tough, tough football players. They love the game.''
Deep Threat
Bressler leads the team with 12 touchdown catches. He has 34 receptions for 793 yards. He has made opponents pay for rolling their coverage to limit Peddy and Franklin on one side of the field by repeatedly getting loose down the field for long-distance touchdowns. Bressler is the receiver who most often breaks behind the defense for quick touchdowns.
"He's our fastest and he's got really good hands. When defenses kick their coverage over to Jared's and Greg's side, we love it because he's the kind of guy who can make you pay,'' Bryant said. "That's exactly what we want, to turn him loose down the middle of the field."
Rest Is For Wimps
Franklin starts on offense and defense so he rarely comes off the field. On defense he is a safety who looks to deliver hits on receivers over the middle. On the other side of the line, Franklin must absorb the punishment as he works high and inside where opposing safeties can draw a bead on him.
Franklin has 49 receptions for 807 yards and six touchdowns. On defense he is also one of the team's top tacklers.
"I get some payback some times. The safeties like to touch me back," Franklin said. "But that's OK. I'm kind of slow and I don't get down the field like the others. I just do whatever the team needs. I love playing. It's my senior year and I'm going to spend every minute I can on the field."
The Playmaker
Peddy is a two-year starter and usually figures heavily into everything Canyon does. He leads the area with 60 catches for 832 yards and has eight touchdowns. After a 50-catch season as a junior, defenses have adjusted their coverages to take away his big-play potential.
This year he has caught much of the underneath hitch and crossing routes. But his running instincts and quick feet mean he's one broken tackle away from turning a dump pass into a big gain.
"There's a reason why he gets the most touches. He's our playmaker," Bressler said. "He's shifty and he's really good in the open field. He makes things happen out there."
Wingman
Because only so many passes can go to so many receivers, somebody must sacrifice for the team. After Peddy, Franklin and Bressler get their catches, not many receptions are left over for Pittillo. He has 19 catches for 197 yards and one touchdown.
He is responsible for drawing coverage away from Bressler but must always be ready to make a catch despite not seeing many balls. He jokes that his relative lack of receptions is because he is the designated downfield blocker.
"He's the consummate team player," Franklin said. "He's just as good as any of the rest of us. He's the most unselfish one of all of us. He just doesn't get as many chances."
In The Beginning
All four of the Canyon receivers started their football careers as quarterbacks. They learned to look at a defense from a quarterback's perspective. That gives them insight when reading the pre-snap positions of opposing safeties and linebackers and making the same adjustments as Ramos.
"That makes the communication so much easier," Bryant said. "When I'm talking about coverages and windows, they know exactly what we're talking about. We know the same terminology. We see things the same way. It saves so much time explaining things."
When Canyon switched from an I-formation to the shotgun spread three seasons ago, they shifted to the perimeter.
"The coaches came in and said we were going to the spread," Peddy said. "Then they started talking about how they were going to throw the ball a lot and they needed receivers to make it work.
"Having the chance to catch a lot of passes sounded good."