Shorthorns, Bulldogs know their options

BY MIKE FORMAN - MFORMAN@VICAD.COM

August 09, 2008 - 10:42 p.m.

Reports of the demise of option football are not only premature, theyre completely false in Fayette County.

Schulenburg will run out of the veer for the second straight season and Flatonia will utilize the mid-line option after returning to the I-formation after two seasons of operating out of the spread.

"Most defenses are assignment responsible," Schulenburg coach Tommy Bludau said. "You dont see this offense that much. It used to be the spread that you didnt see. Now, more people are running out of the spread. People are running offenses to get people more involved while they try to spread the ball around."

Bludau installed the veer offense when he took over at Schulenburg last season and expects to see better results this season.

"Ive had success with it in the past," said Bludau, who has previously coached at Yorktown, Columbus and Boerne. "I think it will be successful here. This is the kind of offense that gets better as the season goes along simply because the timing is a little different. You dont have to hold your blocks as long, but you have to be exactly in the right place."

Flatonia coach David Sine went to the spread offense before the 2006 season to take advantage of his personnel. He made the decision to return to the I-formation for the same reason.

"We were trying to adapt to our personnel," Sine said. "Thats kind of what we did. One of the reasons we went to the spread is we havent had a tight end. Now weve moved Chris Migl over to tight end and Dallas Ponder can also play the position. The kids have picked it up really well. Its surprising how well theyve picked it up considering weve been in the spread for two years. Were having a lot of fun with it and so are the kids."

Flatonia advanced to the Class 1A, Division II area playoffs last season and should be a playoff contender again with running back Adrian Lighteard and quarterback Jordan Williams operating behind an experienced offensive line.

Many of Flatonias players were also members of the baseball team that advanced to the state final.

"We told the kids this summer about to go to it," Sine said of the offense. "They took it and ran to the weight room. I think winning breeds winning. Once the kids start winning, they want to keep winning."

Bludaus first season at Schulenburg was marred by player suspensions and other off-the-field distractions. The Shorthorns had a 7-3 record but failed to make the playoffs.

"You do the best you can," Bludau said. "A lot of the time you have no recourse. There were two or three big things that happened. We just tried to stay focused as well as we could. I thought we had a good first year. We were in every game that we played. We didnt make the playoffs, but there were other good teams in our district that didnt make the playoffs."

Bludau is encouraged about this season because an experienced offensive line will give quarterback David Houston, who played wide receiver last season, time to develop.

"We have almost everyone back and we should average around 250 pounds per man in the offensive line," Bludau said. "The offensive line is the key to any offense. Everybody at some time will have people who can run. But you dont always have people who can block."