Serra High Football Team Has This Offense Down to a T : Running game: Although the Cavaliers have used the full-house formation since 1989, they have been particularly effective with it this season.

The full-house T offense is a throwback to the early days of football.

The offensive set, used primarily during the era of leather helmets without face guards, features three running backs lined up behind the quarterback in a T-formation.

Over the years, the offense has gathered a lot of dust. It is rarely used at any level.

But there are exceptions.

At Serra High, the Cavaliers thrive on the full-house T. Serra has rushed for 1,660 yards, an average of 332 yards a game, on its way to a 4-1 record and No. 3 ranking in the Southern Section Division VIII media poll. The Cavaliers lead the Camino Real League with a 2-0 record going into tonight’s 7:30 game against St. Anthony (0-4-1, 0-1) at Clark Field in Long Beach.

Senior halfback Kenny Fredieu leads Serra’s potent running game. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in every game, including a season-high 190 yards in 13 carries Oct. 2 in a 26-21 victory over Cantwell. He ranks second in the South Bay with 675 yards and nine touchdowns in 61 carries, an 11.9-yard average.

Complementing the 5-foot-8, 160-pound Fredieu in Serra’s backfield are juniors Jason Rugley, Lajon Jordan and sophomore Ricky Boyer, all of whom have rotated between fullback and halfback.

When Fredieu was held scoreless against Mary Star last week, Rugley picked up the slack with two touchdowns. The 5-11, 205-pound Rugley averages 7.4 yards a carry.

“We’re not that big but we’re very quick,” Fredieu said. “We have a great line and very good coaches who know how to run the offense.”

What makes Serra’s running game work?

Cantwell Coach Joe Canales said Serra’s multiple-back set and team speed create problems for opponents.

“To get ready for Serra you have to prepare for all three backs,” Canales said. “You can’t just key on one.”

Serra’s play selection includes a lot of misdirection. Defenses keying on one back may allow another back to slip through the line.

“(Serra’s offense) is difficult because you don’t know who’s getting the ball,” Canales said. “Also, they have very, very good running backs.”

St. Genevieve Coach Richard Fong, whose team lost to Serra, 48-6, on Sept. 25, doesn’t see the full-house T as the secret to the Cavaliers’ success.

“It’s not so much the set as (their) tremendous speed,” Fong said. “They could line up in an I or wishbone or any type of backfield and do great.”

While some coaches might dread facing a team lining up in the full-house T, Fong said the formation shouldn’t be a problem for defenses.

“It’s an easy set to defend against because the entire backfield is clumped together,” Fong said. “If (Serra’s offense) didn’t have the speed, it wouldn’t pose problems.”

Whether speed, misdirection, or the full-house T causes problems for Serra’s opponents, first-year Coach Kevin Crawley said he will continue to use the offense installed in 1989 by former coach Leo Hand. That year the Cavaliers finished 14-0 and won the Southern Section Division VII title.

“I’d like to think I’m a little more pass-oriented,” said Crawley, who was an assistant under Hand in 1989-90. “I think (Hand) leans a little bit more toward the run, which is what got him (a two-year record of) 24-1.

“You can’t knock something that was working. I would be crazy to try to vary his running game. He teaches here at the school and I’m talking to him constantly.”

Hand, now the offensive coordinator at Harbor College, became interested in the full-house T when he was a coach at Long Beach City College in 1982. The Vikings played Taft College, which ran the full house.

“Nobody ever understood (Taft’s) offense,” Hand said. “It was so different than anything we used to see. As a defensive coach, their offense was dreaded. It was a nightmare.”

Crawley said it takes more than a speedy backfield for Serra to be successful.

“We would never be anywhere without our five guys that block for our backs,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, we have the best offensive line in the South Bay.”

Serra’s linemen--Dwayne Merriweather, Joey Hodges, Marlon Anderson, Milford Kinnard and Reggie Dixon--”love this offense,” according to Crawley.

“It’s easy to block,” said Anderson, a 6-4, 295-pound senior. “We have a rule that we can apply to all plays.”

Anderson said the linemen recognize stunts and blitzes, allowing them to change blocking assignments.

Serra runs the ball 85% of the time, Crawley said.

“We’d like to balance that out because we are confident that we could pass more,” he said. “Whether we’ll do it is another question.”

For now, Crawley said Serra will stay with the running game.

“My philosophy is, ‘If it isn’t broke, why fix it?’ ” he said. “We’ve been shoving the ball down a lot of peoples’ throats by running it.”