Tackling is becoming a lost art

October 17, 2014 at 12:10a.m.

E arlier this season, Bill Bohren was asked to explain the spike in scoring which has been prevalent throughout the ranks of high school football. “People think the spread is the sole reason for all the scoring, but the tackling is horrible,” Bohren said. “You see teams throw a 2- or 3-yard pass, but then a missed tackle at the spot turns the play into a 60-yard gain.”

Bohren, who has coached for 43 years and hopes to return to the sidelines in the future, even devised a gameplan for his next stint.

“I’m going to run the ball 100 percent of the time,” Bohren said. “Seriously, teams can’t tackle, and because of the spread no one practices or plays run defense anymore. A strong, fundamentally sound run game can eat up today’s defenses.”

While area coaches have mixed opinions on Bohren’s assessment of current-day defenses, the numbers suggest that he may be on to something. Clearly, many area teams are struggling to keep their opponents out of the end zone.

Among all football-playing schools in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties, 48 percent (21 of 44) are currently giving up an average of 25 or more points per game. Of those, 16 are yielding at least 30 points per contest.

“The game has changed in many ways, and at every level,” said Youngstown State University coach Eric Wolford. “Right now, you’re seeing a lot of spread offenses, and players are sometimes having a difficult time tackling in open space.”

When evaluating high school talent, Wolford said he and his staff must pay close attention to the tackling habits of potential YSU prospects.

“Defensive players today, they have to be so much more athletic to keep up with the skilled players,” Wolford said. “And, you have to find that kid who is already fundamentally sound, who knows how to finish a play.”

Wolford noted that the fear of injury is another factor which has handcuffed defenses.

“The NFL and NCAA limit how much tackling can take place during the course of a week, and naturally the less reps you get at practice, the less prepared you are on game day,” Wolford said.

Wolford’s comments were echoed by Niles coach Brian Shaner, who believes the fear of injury has reduced numbers for many programs. That, in turn, has made coaches leery about going all-out in practice.

“In the old days, you were taught to smash helmets, smash heads,” Shaner said. “Obviously, we’ve become wiser now in terms of player safety. But beyond that, you scale back with contact in other ways because you can’t afford to lose players.”

Shaner noted that Niles rosters of the past would easily top the 60-player mark. Today, those numbers are in the low-40’s — a trend seen at many schools.

“The difference between our first- and second-level guys is drastic,” Shaner said. “We just can’t afford to lose our top guns, so we have to be a bit cautious in our approach at practice.”

Shaner’s club set numerous school scoring records in 2013, however because the Red Dragons struggled defensively, they finished just 5-5. After allowing 300 points for the first time in school history a year ago, the Red Dragons are on pace to give up 348 points this year.

Though he agrees that player safety is paramount, Tony Napolet wonders if coaches today are doing more harm than good by being too soft on their athletes.

Napolet guided Warren John F. Kennedy to 12 playoff appearances, a Division V state title in 1991 and and state runner-up finishes in 1992 and 2006. He retired in 2011.

“The basics of football are blocking and tackling, and today a lot of kids simply don’t like contact — they don’t like to get hit,” Napolet said. “Well, if they don’t want to deal with that part of the game, get out. Don’t insult the game.”

Napolet said that if some of the coaching methods he and his staff used decades ago were implemented today, “We would probably be led to the center of town and put in a guillotine.”

But, he says, such drills rarely led to injury during practice and helped prevent injury in games.

“Football is very physical by nature. But if you teach the proper fundamentals and techniques, it can be a very hard-hitting game without injury,” Napolet said. “Tackle properly, and you can avoid injury and do away with bad football and all these crazy offensive shootouts.”

However, it is not just bad football teams which are giving up points. Five of the area’s 21 high schools which are giving up 25 or more points per game currently own winning records. In college football, 20 of the Top 25 teams that were in action last weekend gave up an average of 28 points per game. Seven of them gave up 34 or more points.

Last year’s Division I state title game was won by Cincinnati Moeller when it outlasted Mentor 55-52. There were 64 points scored in the Division II title game, while the Division VI game lit up the scoreboard for 60 points.

Warren G. Harding offensive coordinator Jim Parry believes the high-scoring trend isn’t always the result of poor play on defense. Rather, it is a combination of rule changes and sophisticated offensive schemes which put the defense at a disadvantage.

“Players are being asked to make one-on-one, open-field tackles on a regular basis against the most skilled players on the field,” Parry said. “That just wasn’t the case in the past. Old-timers, and I guess I put myself in that category, gripe when they see these crazy scores. However, we didn’t face these types of offenses. Defenders were never put in these types of situations.

“In the past, if you had a really good defense you knew you were in good position to win. With today’s rules, the philosophy for many coaches is to focus on outlasting the opponent in a shootout.”

Parry then offered up a bit of advice for quarterbacks facing adversity in third-down situations.

“In the past, you had to make a play downfield. Now, if you can just keep the play alive long enough you’re going to eventually get a defensive holding call,” Parry said.

Still, there are teams which are proving that it doesn’t always take a pass-happy or spread offense to pile up the points. The area’s two lone undefeated teams — Hubbard and McDonald — are both 7-0 thanks in large part to offenses which revolve around the running game.

Hubbard is averaging 390 rushing yards, and has thrown the ball just 53 times for 574 yards. The Eagles are averaging 48.7 points per game, and they’ve allowed just 80 points all season.

McDonald is averaging 39.1 points. The trio of Cameron Ifft, Caleb Dimery and Jake Reckard have rushed for 1,714 yards and 24 touchdowns, while the Blue Devils have just 56 pass attempts.

“I think that there are times when some coaches get so caught up in trying something new, they get away from the basics,” said McDonald coach Dan Williams. “Our wing-T offense is so simple it’s ridiculous.

“But, we have the players who can make the defense miss. Our kids are athletes and they are fundamentally sound, so they can turn something simple into a big play.”

Despite being involved in a handful of lopsided games which gave Williams the ability to empty the bench early on, McDonald has surrendered just 69 points through seven games.

Williams noted that the Devils’ defense had more than 10 missed tackles in their season-opening 59-20 win over East Palestine. They haven’t been in double-digits in any game since.

“We work on tackling every single day in practice, we stress the importance of sound, fundamental tackling,” Williams said. “It’s something that is instilled in our players early on, and it becomes a focal point.

“Some teams, and you see this from the pros on down, they work so much on their offense that they don’t worry about defense. Offensively, we keep things simple and we strive to play great defense.”

At Ursuline, the Irish have played consecutive games against Steubenville, Mentor Lake Catholic, Warren G. Harding, Farrell and Massillon. The Irish haven’t given up more than two touchdowns in any of those games, and are 4-1 during the stretch.

Ursuline coach Larry Kempe said a change in philosophy has helped propel his team into the thick of the playoff chase.

“We wanted to go back to 2008, ’09 and ’10 when we were very aggressive up front, defensively” Kempe said. “If you can win the battle up front, both on offense and defense, you’re going to succeed. It all starts there.”

Like Williams, Kempe said that the success of his team revolves around simple, fundamental play.

“From day one in the offseason, our focus is on defense,” Kempe said. “We tell our kids straight up, it doesn’t matter how many points we put up, if we can’t stop the opponent, we can’t win.

“Teaching the proper tackling techniques is probably the most important aspect of our program. Sure, you gotta have the athletes to carry out the plays, but without the fundamentals, athleticism alone won’t get the job done.”

Though the rule changes and the sophisticated offenses would lead many to believe that the days of smash-mouth football are over, Kempe isn’t so sure.

“Things always run in cycles in this game,” Kempe said. “Eventually people figure it out that the basics — blocking, tackling and proper fundamentals — are the keys to success.”