Monday Mailbag: up-tempo offense, more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

This week’s Monday Mailbag includes questions about the up-tempo offense, artificial turf, big upsets, Glenville and state title game venues, Ohio St.’s quarterback situation.

Q: Van Wert — and probably many other teams nowadays — get into the next play so quickly that I wonder how the players do it successfully. Please explain. Seems like they do it so fast that PA announcers and scoreboard keepers (down, distance, and “ball on”) can’t keep up, e.g. Van Wert/Bryan game. Name withheld upon request

A: For the answer to your question, I went directly to Van Wert head football coach Keith Recker, who’s teams have successfully run a no-huddle up-tempo offense for several years. Here is his answer:

“When we go fast we are snapping the ball 10-15 seconds after the last play is over. There are a lot of good reasons why we do it, but we believe there are three main things that explain how we do it.

• We practice at the pace we want to play and we signal all of our plays at practice. This gets our players used to playing at a fast pace along with allowing our play callers and players to get comfortable with all the signals. We also film every practice, so we do a lot of teaching from the film after practice so we can continue to go fast during practice.
• Our coaches put a lot of time into studying opponent film so they know what to expect from opposing defenses and what adjustments could be made. This allows us to call plays quickly and confidently. The other part to that is we have a lot of trust in our players that even if the ‘perfect play’ isn’t called, they will be able to make the adjustment and/or read to make it work.
• The last part, and probably the most important part, is to go fast we have to gain positive yardage and stay on track to get a first down. Incompletions and tackles for loss make it difficult to go fast because you really have to have a good play to get back on track the next down. On the other hand, big plays allow us to get into our fastest tempo and catch the defense in a vulnerable situation.”

Thank you to coach Recker for providing the insight. Hopefully, that answers your question.

Q: With more schools going to artificial turf do you see a day where it becomes mandatory? Name withheld upon request

A: No, simply because it’s not feasible for a lot of school districts. While a bond issue to install turf and make other improvements at Eggerss Stadium passed handily, other communities may not be as generous and a lot of school districts don’t have the funds to cover the cost. Then it becomes a question of where the money comes from.

Q: Can Bath’s win over New Bremen already be considered the upset of the season? Name withheld upon request

A: There are plenty of games left to be played but if it’s not tops, it most likely will be a top 2-3 upset. After all, New Bremen is the defending Division VII state champion and Bath was 0-10 last season and had lost 14 straight entering Friday’s season opener.

It’s obviously a big win for first year head coach Frank Russell and the Wildcats, who will travel to Van Wert to open WBL play this Friday night.

If you go strictly by 2022 records, another notable upset was Lima Sr. over Piqua. The Spartans went 3-8 including a playoff loss last season, while Piqua was 9-3.

Another big upset was St. Henry (2-9 in 2022) over St. Marys Memorial (9-3).

Another upset nearly happened in Wapakoneta. The Redskins led powerhouse Marion Local 26-14 with just under 5:30 left in the game but the Flyers rallied for a 29-26 victory.

Q: I watched some of the Glenville-Dinwiddie game on Spectrum last (Saturday) night and two things came to mind. Glenville is going back to the state championship game in the same stadium they won the game last night, and why aren’t state championship games played in Columbus? Name withheld upon request

A: Agreed on Glenville. I watched a good chunk that game myself. Dinwiddie is Virginia’s defending Class 4 state champion, which is the equivalent of Division I in Ohio. The Tarblooders simply dismantled Dinwiddie and honestly, it could have been a lot worse. For those who didn’t see it, it was 36-13 and it wasn’t that close. Leading 36-7 at halftime, Glenville played mainly subs in the second half and Dinwiddie’s second touchdown came on the final play of the game.

As far as state championships and Columbus – I’ll answer a question with a question, even though my mother taught me not to do that. Where in Columbus? Even though they’ve done it before, Ohio State apparently has no interest in hosting the title games. I’ve heard people mention Columbus Crew Stadium and Lower.com Field, but those venues don’t seem to have any interest either. You’ll want a stadium with a seating capacity of at least 15,000, preferably more. Yes, there are small colleges in and around colleges along with a number of Division I high school stadiums, but none of them have the necessary seating capacity.

Q: Does it make you nervous that Ryan Day hasn’t named a starting quarterback yet? It’s making me nervous that Kyle McCord and Devin Brown haven’t been able to show enough to be named the starter. Name withheld upon request

A: Let’s just say I’m just slightly concerned at the moment but I also believe Day and the coaches are trying to squeeze every drop they can out of these two during the quarterback competition. That’s what it’s all about, pushing both to be the best they can be for themselves and the team.

Regardless of which one it is, there could be some early struggles. Remember how C.J. Stroud struggled early on in his first year as a starter? People wanted him benched, etc. after each and every mistake. It won’t be surprising to see and hear more of the same this year.

If you have a sports question or comment for the next Monday Mailbag, please email it to sports@thevwindependent.com.