Rhiannon Walker
Two of the best offenses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have accumulated more than 3,990 yards of total offense, produced leading rushers in the area and scored more points than any other team in their classes. {{more}}
Euless Trinity (9-0) leads the way in 6A with its 404 points, 4,441 total yards, but only has five more yards through the air (409) than it has in total points. Kennedale (8-0) has recorded 472 points and 3,998 yards on offense in 4A, but has only completed five passes all season for 131 yards.
These teams are the ultimate example of ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,’ as both have historically run the ball and run it with tremendous success.
Kennedale’s Quardraiz Wadley leads all players in scoring with his 32 rushing touchdowns, and of the team’s total yards, 97 percent (3,867) have come on the ground. Kennedale has only thrown seven passes but two passing touchdowns, but the five completions have gone for 49, 32, 24, 20 and six yards.
Coach Richard Barrett said part of it is the philosophy, but a lot of it is the kids going out there and actualizing it. The lineman love seeing their hard work result in big plays and the wide receivers have definitely bought into not only executing blocks, but also being ready for passing plays when they are called.
“We can X and O, and do all that kind of stuff, and we have to do that,” Barrett, who has coached at the school for 25 years, said. “But the most important thing, I think, it’s not the X’s and O’s, but the Jimmys and the Joes. It’s the kids that do that. We give them a basis on to the certain things we like done and then there athleticism takes over.”
At Trinity, Ja’Ron Wilson, DeJuan Garrett and any number of players are having success because of the offensive line, tight ends and fullbacks creating running lanes for the ball carrier.
The team has thrown more times (65) than its 4A counterpart, but still has the same amount of touchdowns through the air (two). And similar to Kennedale, coach Chris Jensen explained the team uses a system to maximize its players best attributes.
In 2000, the team ran a version of the wishbone, triple option that former coach Steve Lineweaver had run at Southlake Carroll. After seeing Katy play John Tyler in a state championship game, Lineweaver reached out to a former colleague and a switch was made.
Of all the players that performing well this year, Jensen said the players that made the most improvement are Elijah Tasini and Keion Griffin, the full backs who don’t carry the ball much, but have sacrificed their bodies to open holes for those running behind them.
“We’re not about making any particular group happy,” Jensen said. “That gets you in trouble when you try to make everybody happy with their stats. We’re not stat oriented at all, but if you watch a game live, maybe you can see a great run…but you rewind the video and see the lineman did a great job of not only blocking the interior lineman, but to the linebacker level and even the safeties. The wide receivers are buying in and blocking down field, and turning the 10-yard gain into the 60-yard gain, and that doesn’t happen without the wide receivers buying in.”
