Oak Park showed off its new playbook against Oaks Christian
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Oak Park didn’t need to play above themselves to beat Oaks Christian -- it just had to play differently.
Like most coaches heading into a big game, Coach Dick Billingsley knew he’d have to pull off some surprises if he was going to direct his team past the numerous film dissectors on the Oaks Christian coaching staff. So, he used a number of plays and formations that Oaks Christian might have been expecting, but wouldn’t have seen on film.
‘We run the triple option, but we only ran it once on Friday,’ Billingsley said. ‘We also ran the shotgun and the double wing a lot more.’
From what I could tell on the video, the double wing was probably the most effective formation, especially in the first half, since Oaks Christian’s linebackers had some difficulty figuring out if speedy QB Kyle Andrus or RBs Kyle Shorten or Sean Westgate were going to get the ball. With three quick guys in the backfield, Malcolm Jones and Chris Potter had their hands full on both sides of the ball (Jones plays LB, Potter, DB).
I also saw some I formations and some other variants of the shotgun with the linemen positioned further apart than usual that worked well on short gain passes. The Eagles’ no-huddle offense also looked strong, especially on their first possession when they melted through the Lions’ defense.
‘I think our offensive line has improved and played tremendous,’ Billingsley said. ‘They’re a big reason for our success.’
The only negative thing I have to say about Oak Park’s on-field play is something has to be done about those uniforms. Yellow numbers without black bordering on white jerseys are nearly impossible to see from the top of the grandstands (or on a grainy web video).
Well, I guess that’s something the Eagles can try to adjust for next year.
- Austin Knoblauch
