Making a gutsy call

The Westwood coaching staff made a gusty call Friday night against Chapel Hill in the season opener. And it was not the call to go for the two points and a win with about 20 seconds left on the clock.
The two-point conversion call was not a complete surprise. I have seen that call many times at the high school level as the teams want to go for the win instead of trying their luck in overtime. With the way Westwood was moving the ball on offense, it was not a bad call, it just did not work out in the Panthers' favor.
However, the gusty call that did work out in Westwood's favor was the play before the two-point conversion attempt. It was the screen pass that was called on a fourth down and 15 and the Panthers had to get to the 3-yard line for the first down or into the end zone to get within one point.
That was a do or die call because on the screen pass, the ball only travels a few yards and the rest of the play is up to the ball carrier and the blockers trying to get past the line of defensive players protecting the end zone.
The play call ran through my mind while Westwood took its timeout but I waved it out of my head just as quickly as it came in, thinking it was too risky to try. But Westwood did it and Cameron Shead got the screen pass in the middle of the field, turned around and had three defenders that had him in their sights and were ready to attack. But Shead made a quick cut on the damp turf, got the the outside and scampered into the end zone.
If it was not for the risky play call, Westwood never would have had the chance to make the decision to go for two points or not.

Dogwood Circle Football Magazine

The Dogwood Circle Football Magazine will be hitting the stands on Sunday. The magazine was scheduled to come out on Wednesday, but we got the magazine earlier than expected from the printer so we decided to get it out to the public earlier. Hope you enjoy it.

Six-Man Football

Headed out to Oakwood today on my tour of two-a-day practices in the area and got my first taste of what six-man football is all about. And it has a lot different feel than what I am used to seeing on the football field.
But before I get to that, let me say how nice and courteous the young men at Oakwood were to me. I have the opportunity to sit down and talk to the five seniors on the Panther team and afterwards they thanked me for coming out. Class acts all the way.
As for the six-man football part, I am not sure how to explain it. A mix of the good old days when playing football on the street combined with 7-on-7 football and the a whole lot of hard hitting.
With only six men on both sides of the ball, it makes for an interesting strategy. Watching Oakwood practice, when the offense was on the field, all six players took up an area of a 5 yard by 5 yard box. Oakwood also did some other things in practice, but don't want to give any secrets away since the coaches were kind enough to let me stand around and watch for more than an hour.
I know Oakwood lost two of its top players from last year, but after Tuesday I don't think that will matter much this season. I can tell that the returning players have a great understanding of six-man football and this year the Panthers should make a push for one of the playoff spots.

First Day of Practice

Got out to the first practices this morning for Westwood and Palestine. This is one of the best days of the year, even if I do have to get up hours before I normally do. It is a new start for every team, no matter what they did last year.
At Westwood, I got there as the team started doing their first individual conditioning workouts. The players had to go from station to station, including rope and ladder drills, agility workout and even running around and over a line of logs. The coaches were working the players hard and it could be seen which guys had been working out this summer and which ones have not. Got to love two-a-days.
Over at Palestine, got there in time to see some team offensive drills. The Wildcats were going through their base offensive formations and plays and looked sharp doing so, even though cannot tell everything until those pads come on and they start hitting on Friday.
Will continue the updates on two-a-day practices as I travel across the Dogwood Circle area this week.