Valley’s offensive numbers rising with no end in sight

October 11, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

There were some amazing numbers put up throughout the Mahoning Valley during the sixth week of the high school football season.

Champion scored 34 points, Warren John F. Kennedy tallied 35 points, United lit up the scoreboard for 36 while Niles racked up nine touchdowns en route to a 62-point performance.

Now, here’s the amazing part of the equation.

Those four schools all went down to defeat, losing by an average margin of 22.8 points.

Here’s some more craziness.

Joe Alessi of South Range rushed for 340 yards and six touchdowns. On any other given night, Alessi’s heroics easily earn player-of-the-week honors. On Friday, he took a backseat to Canfield’s Kimu Kim, who rushed for 497 yards and nine TDs.

Niles’ Kyle Paden threw for 505 yards and accounted for nine touchdowns in a losing effort.

Last week, there were 25 games involving Valley schools. Those games produced 1,674 points — an average of 59.7 points per contest. Sixteen teams scored 40 or more points, including three which reached into the 60’s, and a pair which hit 70.

Just a few short years ago, the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust style of football played in the Mahoning Valley was reflective of the area’s gritty, blue-collar work ethic. Today, scoreboards throughout the region are lighting up like Tinseltown.

While last week’s numbers may be a bit out of the norm, they do reflect a long-term trend. Of the 44 area schools, 13 are averaging 30 or more points per game. Three others are just a fraction under 30.

Why the spike in scoring?

According to area coaches, the reasons are as varied and complex as the offenses which are scoring at a record pace.

What everyone agrees on is the fact that the spread offense has revolutionized high school football.

“I think a lot of teams just don’t have the players, either on the line or in the backfield, to run down your throat,” said Austintown Fitch coach Phil Annarella. “Coaches are smart enough to know that you can counter that by spreading things out and giving the skilled players more field to work with.”

Like a number of high-scoring area offenses, Fitch (6-0) has succeeded almost exclusively on the ground. The Falcons have gained 2,285 yards this year — including 2,003 on the ground.

“You don’t have to throw the ball all over the place to score points,” Annarella said. “You go with your strengths. But the threat of the pass will open up the run. If you line up with three wideouts, the defense has to account for those players. They aren’t going to be left unguarded even if the defense expect a run.”

Girard coach Nick Cochran is considered by many to be the originator of the spread offense in the Mahoning Valley. Cochran began working his magic in the 1990s as the Indians’ offensive coordinator. In his early days, Cochran’s offenses produced one record-setting quarterback after another. At one point in time, four Giard quarterbacks consecutively set Trumbull County passing records.

“When we first went to the spread, we were zinging the ball downfield all the time,” Cochran said. “Looking back, I may have been a bit selfish. You need to have some balance.”

Cochran noted that in last week’s 56-34 win over Champion, “We ran about three plays and we were pretty equal in terms of throwing and running the ball.”

Girard has thrown for 1,515 yards this year, while gaining 1,317 on the ground.

“A lot of times, our formations make it look as though we’re running all different sort of plays, when in reality we’re not,” Cochran said. “A big part of the spread is keeping the defense off-balance. They see you line up with all different looks, and that alone gets the defense nervous and puts them back on their heels.”

The wide variety of formations and the complexity of the spread offenses from team to team puts defenses at a huge disadvantage throughout the course of the season, according to Annarella.

“You only have so much time in a week to prepare for the next opponent,” Annarella said. “Today’s offenses are so sophisticated, that each week you have to restructure your defense for a new look. In a lot of cases, you just don’t have the time.”

“Then on game day, the defenses are on the field so much, they’re getting winded early on. If you don’t have the personnel to constantly sub, tackling becomes tougher and tougher as the game wears on.”

Cochran pointed out that today’s complex offenses also benefit from extended off-season workouts.

While passing scrimmages and seven-on-seven drills have become commonplace, defenses are still strictly limited in terms of contact drills.

“There are all sorts of camps and scrimmages where offenses can work on their game throughout the summer,” Cochran said. “By the time two-a-days roll around, the offenses are always ahead of the defenses in terms of preparation and continuity.”

When Niles coach Brian Shaner took over the Dragons’ program in 2012, he brought with him a high-octane Oregon-style offense which has produced points both on the ground and through the air.

Last season, the Red Dragons amassed 2,200 rushing yards, while quarterback Stefan Yuhas threw for 1,488 yards.

This season, through just six games, Dragons quarterback Kyle Paden has already thrown for a single-season school record 1,826 yards.

“By spreading things out, you’re forcing the defense to tackle in the open field, and that’s tough to do at any level,” Shaner said. “Whether you are running or passing, you’re putting the defense at a disadvantage just by lining up in the spread.

“Defenses these days, they have to have great schemes, and they have to have the personnel to make it happen. They have to be very disciplined, they have to know their roles and they must execute. And even then, it’s tough to defend.”

As the founder of scoutingohio.com, Mark Porter has seen his share of football throughout the state. He says that the offensive outbursts witnessed in the Mahoning Valley is indicative of the style of play throughout Ohio.

“I was in Cincinnati last weekend, and I saw Colerain beat Princeton, 56-38, and Moeller beat LaSalle, 31-28,” Porter said. “The spread has changed high school football, at all levels, and in all regions.

“Right now, with offense taking over the game, the best athletes on any given team are being put on offense. The defenders, no matter how talented they are, they just aren’t fast enough to cover the entire field.”

Porter believes the high-octane offenses are here to stay.

“The run and shoot and the wildcat, they might have been fads, but the spread will stick,” he said. “Especially at the high school level, the drop-back passer is a dying breed. The spread, at least right now, puts the defense at a big disadvantage.”