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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wayne opponent: Like Centerville, running works just fine for us
No one is going to be scared of the Hilliard Davidson High School football team when it gets off the bus.
“We’re just not very impressive to look at,” said Davidson coach Brian White. “You’ll see, we don’t have anybody really big and mean. People say, ‘Good God, how have these guys ever won a game, let alone a state championship?’ “
But that’s exactly what the Wildcats have done, take home two of the past four Division I state titles. Now, they’re back in the semifinals with a date against Wayne at 7 p.m. Saturday at Welcome Stadium.
Undefeated and fourth-ranked Davidson will try to extend one of the most impressive big-school runs of the decade that included championships in 2006 and ‘09 using an offense that has been highly discussed in Dayton-area big-school circles.
Like Centerville, Davidson runs a triple-option that emphasizes execution. Some in the Miami Valley have criticized Centerville for using the same offense, saying it’s not sophisticated and varied enough to help the powerful Elks advance in the postseason.
White begs to differ.
“When we’re winning, no,” White said with a laugh when asked if he faces the same criticism. “We did, when we first got here a few years ago and maybe not winning as much as we are now.
“In ‘06, our police chief in Hilliard said, ‘Hey, if you guys want to win in the playoffs, you have to throw more.’ I’ve never let him forget it.”
That’s because Davidson went undefeated and won the state championship in 2006. In the 36-35 double-overtime title game victory against Mentor, Davidson rushed for 345 yards as Mentor passed for 327. In the second overtime, Davidson’s Bo Delande scored from 3 yards, then ran in the 2-point conversion for the victory.
Last season, Davidson played a favored Glenville team and won 16-15, rushing for 250 yards and allowing 210 passing yards. Similarly, Spencer Delande (Bo Delande’s brother) scored from 1 yard with 1:04 left, and Jake Trubiano rushed in the 2-point conversion that held for the victory.
So, you understand why White thinks his offense works.
“I would argue running option is just as sophisticated as the spread offense,” White said. “People think it’s a joke, but we throw in practice as much as we run the option, but it’s not what we do in games.”
Whatever the Wildcats are doing, it’s working. They’re 13-0 with a defense that allows 5.1 points per game and an offense that has done enough to help them past Northland, Springfield and Pickerington Central in the playoffs.
Now, Wayne will face the same offense it sees each year in playing Greater Western Ohio Conference rival Centerville. It’s an offense, White argues, that works as well as any.
“It’s just uninformed people,” White said. “It’s embarrassing that people think they know more than the coach at Centerville knows. I think so many people out there think winning in football is play-calling. It’s the character of your kids, the work they put in.
“You’ll find very few spread teams have won in Division I.”
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