The Back Bunch : Here’s the Story on Why Playoff Teams Stand a Better Chance Running Than Passing

About this time every season, Foothill Coach Tom Meiss gets a kick comparing final league standings with county football statistics.

Meiss, with more than 20 years of coaching experience, notices that almost all the top playoff teams have a good running back who can get the tough yards when needed.

“Teams that have winning records have a running back who can break one or two long runs per game,” he said.

Meiss, whose team hosts Cypress Friday in the opening round of the Southern Section Division V playoffs, is just one of many county coaches who believe, this season in particular, the teams that will advance furthest in postseason will be the ones carrying the ball instead of throwing it.

Here are some of the top backs who are being counted on:

* Michael Jones, the county’s leading rusher, has gained 2,063 yards and scored 29 touchdowns for Laguna Hills, ranked No. 7 in Orange County.

* Leo Kosi has led No. 10-ranked Rancho Alamitos, gaining 1,878 yards and scoring 28 touchdowns.

* Billy Newman has gained 1,669 yards and scored 15 touchdowns for No. 3-ranked Santa Margarita.

* Ray Ohrel of Newport Harbor has run for 1,570 yards and 24 touchdowns.

* Kyion Grayes has gained 1,554 yards and scored 19 times for Troy.

* Franklin Haynes fell four yards short of 1,500 yards andscored 12 touchdowns for Foothill.

* Malaefou MacKenzie of No. 9-ranked Capistrano Valley gained 1,147 yards and scored 16 touchdowns.

* James Farley has run for only 772 yards, but he has averaged 6.8 yards a carry and scored 13 touchdowns for top-ranked Mater Dei, which has the most-balanced team in the county.

Blending the pass and the run effectively is the goal of every good program.

At Sea View League champion Santa Margarita, for example, quarterback Carson Palmer has had a good season, completing nearly 60% of his pass attempts.

However, the Eagles, according to Coach Jim Hartigan, averaged 75 yards per game more on the ground than in the air, thanks mostly to Newman.

“Whenever you have a quality running back it presents a threat to the defense,” Hartigan said. “The opponent has to make a choice: Put extra guys in the box and try to stop the running back, stay balanced or overload coverage on the pass.”

Talk about balance, in Friday’s 35-0 victory by Foothill over Canyon, Haynes ran for 185 yards and quarterback Tyler Lang passed for 183. Lang has passed for 1,612 yards, just a bit more yardage than Haynes’ 1,496 rushing yards.

“Over the course of a season, you’re going to get 10 long runs of 60, 70, 80 yards out of a good running back,” Meiss said. “If you don’t have that guy, the offensive line may open a nice hole, but you only get 20 yards and so it takes two or three times to get as far as that one big run.”

Troy’s Grayes, who rushed for 249 yards and three touchdowns in the Warriors’ 41-24 victory over Sonora last week, says a good fake can go a long way toward helping the quarterback.

“The defense usually keys on a good running back,” he said. “That leaves the tailback open and gets the wide receiver open for big plays.”

The most keyed-upon running back in the county, Jones of Laguna Hills, will play a major role in how far the Hawks advance in the playoffs. Jones, a junior, still leads the county in rushing, but last week, while battling the flu, he carried only 15 times for 70 yards in a 28-21 loss to No. 5-ranked Aliso Niguel.

Expect a healthier Jones to get the ball a lot more in Friday’s first-round Division VIII game against Pacifica at Mission Viejo High.

“Certainly, on our football team the running back is of utmost importance,” Laguna Hills Coach Steve Bresnahan said. “We’re going to run the ball 35 or 40 times a game.”

Servite, the top-ranked team in Division V, knows just how important it was to have running back Vince Reed in the Friars’ lineup.

Five weeks ago, Reed left Servite’s showdown with top-ranked Mater Dei early in the second quarter with a dislocated collarbone. That meant quarterback Greg Cicero had to pass more. The result? Mater Dei keyed on the pass, had four interceptions, and won, 41-7. Reed has been used sparingly since he was injured.

Jim Patterson, boys’ athletic director at Esperanza, has seen a lot in his 27 years as a high school football referee. He remembers when the wing-T was used to gain three yards and passing the ball was just a passing fancy. In the 1980s, he watched strong-armed quarterbacks lead the charge. Through it all, he says, one thing has remained constant:

“The more weapons you have, the tougher it is to defend against them,” Patterson said. “The teams that are hard to defend are the teams that win.”

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Football Playoff Facts

Here’s a look at what’s ahead in prep football playoffs:

* FORMAT: There are 12 divisions, based on school enrollment, which begin play this weekend in a four-round, single-elimination format. Neutral fields are preferred from the second round on, but a host team can use its home facility if it can safely provide for the anticipated crowd.

* DATES: Most first-round games will be Friday, but a few will be played Saturday. Quarterfinals will be Nov. 29-30 and semifinals Dec. 6-7. The Division II, III, IV, VI, VIII, IX and XI finals are Friday, Dec. 13. The Division I, V, VII, X and XII finals are Saturday, Dec. 14. The Division I final will be 7:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Coliseum and will be broadcast live on Channel 13 (KCOP).

* ADMISSION: Through the semifinals, tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for children younger than 12. Tickets to the finals--with the exception of the Division I final at the Coliseum--are $7 for adults and $4 for children. Tickets at the Coliseum range from $4.50 to $8.50, plus $7 for parking. No league or individual school passes will be accepted for any playoff game.

Schedule Changes

There have been changes in several scheduled playoff football games:

* The Los Alamitos-Long Beach Poly game on Friday has changed venues. It will be played at Veterans Stadium.

* Tustin’s home game against Canyon has been moved to Saturday night.

* Cypress and Foothill will play Friday at Tustin.

* El Toro and El Dorado will play Saturday at Valencia.

The venue for St. Margaret’s game against Palos Verdes Peninsula Chadwick on Friday is still being determined.