By Thomas Jones, Sports Editor 

 

Football’s latest fashion stretches from high school teams in California to the Dolphins of Miami.

Include Westlake among the teams joining the trend.

The Chaps first introduced the formation, which features a direct snap to all-district running back Ryan Swope, in their district-opening win over Bowie a month ago. They have used the formation in each of their district games, and they opened Friday’s win against Connally with five direct snaps to Swope. Swope had three carries for 60 yards on that scoring drive, including a 25-yard touchdown run.

“It’s been successful for us,” Westlake coach Derek Long said. “For whatever reason, it seems to give defenses problems.”

Although the direct snap to a running back – the single wing, as any old-timer would call it – has been around since a Princeton grad student strapped on ear pads almost 200 years ago, the formation has found new relevance in recent seasons. Arkansas popularized its “Wild Hog” formation when it had future NFL running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in the backfield, and the Dolphins have recently utilized a direct snap to Ronnie Brown effectively in what they call their “Wild Cat” lineup.

In Westlake’s parlance, the play is called “razor” when it goes right and “laser” when it goes left. 

Regardless of which direction the play goes, the formation includes a few basics. Swope stands behind center in a shotgun formation with a fullback to one side, and quarterback Tanner Price splits out wide to draw a defender. Swope can then run a zone read with fullbacks Jeff Ballew or Bryce Hager, or he can hand off the ball on on a reverse.

“It puts the defense in a bind,” Long said. “They (the defenders) have to account for everyone.

“And it also gets the ball into the hands of one of our best players, and that’s always a good thing.”

 

Defensive front wreaks havoc

A trimmed-down defensive playbook trumped Connally’s dangerous running game.

Westlake’s defense had seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage and two sacks. Those negative stops came from seven different players, indicating a swarming front seven.

“We’ve gotten back to basics on a lot of things defensively,” Long said. “The guys are getting comfortable with their reads and shifts up front, and I think cutting out some stuff (defensively) has helped that.”

It’s also helped that Westlake continues to take advantage of a deep rotation on the defensive line and at linebacker.

“We’re getting a lot of helmets on the ball,” said defensive tackle David Durham, who had five tackles.

 

News and notes

 

Friday’s game marked the first meeting between Westlake and Connally, a 10-year-old school in the Pflugerville district that moved up to Class 5A this season. … Barton Prideaux had Westlake’s first defensive touchdown when he returned a fumble in the fourth quarter. … Colton Lye had his first career reception. … Sophomore Sean Potter ran for his first career touchdown.