By Paul Frommelt
Variety is the spice of life. On the football field, variety as been a key aspect in Osbourn head coach Steve Schultze’s success over the past few years. In the last two weeks, the Osbourn football team has taken down two undefeated and highly ranked football teams. In both games, the Eagle’s offense has put more points on the board than any other opponent both teams had faced. In fact, the Eagles scored nearly two touchdowns more than those team’s average allowed points.
To understand how the Eagles were able to do it — to understand Osbourn’s offensive success, you have to go back to 2002 when Schultze first took over as Osbourn’s head coach.
Schultze came from Loudoun County High School, where he worked under veteran coach Pat McManus. At Loudoun County, the Raiders ran the popular wing T offense, which relies on an active offensive line and deception in the backfield. Shultze, however, was intrigued when Park View High School began going to the single wing package on offense. Much like the wing T, deception is king in the backfield with the single wing.
“It was really tough to defend,” said Schultze, of the Patriots’ single wing. “The preparation time grew for us to defend against Park View teams when they went to the single wing.”
Soon, Shultze became the head coach of the Eagles, and because he won the job so late in the year, he installed what he knew during that first year — the wing T.
“I coached the team with what I knew and what I was best at,” said Scultze, whose Eagles went 2-8 that year.
But the single wing stayed in the back of Schultze’s mind. With a full year to prepare for his next season, Schultze decided to install the single wing.
“I knew for us to compete, that I wanted to go with something different,” he said. “I thought that might give us advantages over teams in the Cardinal and Cedar Run.”
To a degree, Shultze was right. The Eagles improved to 4-6 that year with the single wing. Personnel changes and a step backwards in 2004 led Schultze start thinking about changing up the Eagles’ offense again in 2005.
“We were just kind of pounding the ball like we do know, but we weren’t getting big plays out of it,” said Schultze. “When your offense makes a mistake, you have trouble. When you get behind, it’s not a great come-from-behind offense. That was my decision to go to the spread.”
It also helped that Schultze had a young quarterback named Brandon Hogan to run that spread offense. The spread does just what its name implies. Schultze put Hogan in the backfield and spread out four — sometimes five — slot wide receivers from sideline to sideline. The quarterback could choose to run the ball against the spread out defense, or throw the ball up to one of the Eagles’ talented receivers. Schultze also pulled from the wing T offense on the line, utilizing traps and kickout blocks with his speedy offensive guards to open some holes for Hogan.
“We had an influx of speed in our system,” said Schultze. “There was a lot of motion involved. It just fit our style. When you have a great athlete like that, you just get the ball in his hands.”
It was a perfect marriage of talent and execution. Hogan passed for 2,539 yards with 32 touchdowns and rushed for 1,735 yards and 26 touchdowns during 2006 — leading the Eagles to a AAA Div. 6 state championship.
“A lot of coaches are gun-shy about letting a quarterback carry the ball 20-30 times per game and throw it 20-30 times per game,” said Schultze. “For us, it was a perfect fit.”
When Hogan graduated, Schultze put another young quarterback — Jerell McFadden — in the backfield to run the Eagles’ spread offense. Turnovers plagued the Eagles during the 2007 season. The Eagles finished with a 4-6 record and missed the playoffs for the first time in three years.
“It took him a while to develop that run and shoot,” said Schultze. “I felt like we tried to throw the ball too early in his career. We took it on the chin there that season.”
So Schultze again made a change at the beginning of this season, putting quarterback Thomas Keith behind center and moving McFadden around the field. During the season, Schultze would switch back to the single wing during short yardage or goal line situations, giving McFadden a chance to get his hands on the ball more. The single wing was working so well that Schultze began using it more. During a Oct. 10 win over Fauquier, the Eagles used the single wing for the majority of the second half.
Schultze realized that his team had two identities. They could use their natural talent and Keith’s throwing arm to make some big plays. They could also pound the ball right at teams with McFadden and an undersized but tough as nails offensive line.
“That is where we decided to become a power running team as well,” said Schultze. “[McFadden] is our fastest ball-carrier, our most aggressive downhill runner. It is something that we have always done, but we have just emphasized it more.”
Both offenses have worked wonders for the Eagles. Against Woodbridge in the Northwest Region final, Keith connected with his brother, Timmy, for two touchdown passes in the spread offense. With three minutes left and nursing a slim lead, the Eagles’ pounded the ball with McFadden out of the single wing, getting two first downs and icing the game. Against Varina in the AAA Div. 6 state semifinals, Keith threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another to start the scoring. In the second half, McFadden put the Blue Devils away with four rushing touchdowns.
Tomorrow afternoon at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, the Eagles’ offense will face their toughest opponent of the season. Eastern champ Oscar Smith has allowed an average of 6.6 points per game during their 14-0 undefeated season. Schultze believes that his Eagles are up for the challenge.
“We are playing on heart and character. We love that underdog role,” he said. “The kids are excited to play against a nationally ranked team. They are confident, they feel like they deserve one of the top teams in the state.”
Processing your request, Please wait....
