In high school, running comes naturally

Football was played in the United States for somewhere around 40 years before a rules change in 1906 allowed for the forward pass.

Watching some high school football teams, you'd think not all coaches have received the memo yet.

"If I had my way, a perfect football season, we would run the ball 1,000 times and throw it twice," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "I'd like three yards and a cloud of dust, and move the football."

Jackson actually did throw the ball plenty of times last year -- in a season that was less than perfect at 4-5 -- but the Indians are one of many high school programs in the country that have built a tradition on smashmouth football.

"When Pete Adkins was at Jeff City," Gross said, referring to one of the state's legendary programs, "if they threw the ball three times a game, people were ready to check his mental status."

"In high school football, there's a lot of running to it," St. Vincent coach Keith Winkler said. "Why is that? I don't know. But year in and year out, you look at the most successful teams: They line up and run it at you."

The run is a popular weapon on the high school level for many reasons.

At the top of the list is risk. In the running game, the quarterback isn't retreating seven yards behind his line of scrimmage, and the ball never flutters through the air like a wounded duck.

"When you throw the football," said Gross, "several things can happen, and only one of them is good.

"You've got to have people who can catch the football and someone who can get it to them," he added. "There are so many things that can go wrong."

The passing game takes more development -- which means a lot of time in practice on formations and routes -- and it requires more than one athlete to make a play, which is not always easy to come by in high school.

"That's what's unique about high school football: You can't recruit," Central coach Lawrence Brookins said. "You get what you get, and you've got to be flexible and not stay married to an idea."

Which brings us to the situation this year in Southeast Missouri. What teams have got is running backs with experience -- many more of them than quarterbacks. Only Perryville and Chaffee have quarterbacks coming back to play that position again this year, and those two teams combined for three wins last year.

But the running backs are plentiful:

Scott City's Matt Schaefer is the only returning back who exceeded 1,000 yards last year, finishing with 1,249 yards.

"He's real small, quick and has great vision," Scott City coach Terry Flannigan said. "He makes that first man miss and if he gets in the secondary, he's a nightmare."

Central returns leading back Brandon Twiggs, who ran for 686 yards last season, exceeding 200 yards in the Class 4 district game that handed Poplar Bluff its only loss and sent the Tigers into the state playoffs.

Jackson has two top backs in Jason Meystedt and Austin Bock, though neither exceeded 500 yards last year.

Chaffee returns fullback David Rhoda, the team's leading rusher last year as a freshman.

St. Vincent's Kyle Kline, who shared feature back duties with brother Chris last year and still surpassed 800 yards, returns along with Anthony Brown.

And Perryville's Matt Unterreiner, who was recognized with all-state honors for his kick returning abilities, rushed for 897 yards last season to lead the Pirates.

One would think Unterreiner should have a lot of carries this year, but the Pirates also have a number of skill players coming back from a passing game that averaged more than 20 throws per game.

Pirates coach Rick Chastain does not subscribe to a "run-first, pass-later" philosophy.

"When you're trying to rebuild, you've got to make it exciting for the kids," Chastain said. "When you throw, the practices are more enjoyable, too. The type of offense we run, there's a lot of action.

"The key to the passing game is to work on it every day. You can have a passing game but a lot of coaches won't take the time to do it. You've got to have guts to do it."

While Chastain may be a swash-buckling risk-taker in this group of high school coaches, he's also dealing with the fact Perryville's line won't push many schools around consistently.

"When you don't have big linemen, it's easier to pass block for three seconds than it is to drive block down the field for 15 seconds," Chastain said.

Added Chaffee's Terry Brashers: "You can have an all-state back but if you don't have good blockers for him, you're not going to go anywhere."

St. Vincent and Jackson boast the linemen with size and experience. Winkler and Gross have been trying to use the time since last season ended to prepare in a way that trumps almost any defensive scheme: strength on the offensive line.

A program that emphasizes the run doesn't show up on game day with a week's worth of tricks in the bag, nor even a couple weeks of preparation. Ground-oriented programs have been able to get kids in the weight room throughout the winter, spring and summer so that Friday night becomes an exercise inposing one's will on another team by pounding the ball up the gut.

"To be successful," said Winkler, "you're going to have to be able to run the ball, especially in the playoffs in November."

The end of the high school season is not only more intense, it also can be filled with cold, rainy nights that make hanging on to the football hard, never mind throwing it.

Thus, to run the football can mean control.

"If we can play smashmouth football," Gross said, "I'll do that. It shortens the game. You can go on a 12- or 16-play drive and take up the whole quarter.

"In 2001, we were able to do that. We won games 28-0, 21-7. We would get up two scores and it made our defense better. Teams would worry about how we were moving the ball and controlling it, and they would start throwing it around."

Gross admits he's a bit of a throwback, but he may get another laugh this year if Jackson is able to power back to the winning side of .500.

"Everyone has been watching TV too much," said Gross, 52, "and a lot of young guys are coaching."