It isn't only about slinging the ball all over the field. It also can revolve around the run, even in four-receiver sets. The threat of the pass, creating a 7-on-7 inside matchup, can open up running space against inferior linemen and linebackers.
La Salle, the defending PIAA Class AAAA state champion, has a multiple-spread scheme. Pottsgrove, reigning District 1 Class AAA titlist, runs the spread-option. Abington, one of the Suburban One League National Conference's best programs, goes with a shotgun-spread.
Gabe Infante, new coach at St. Joseph's Prep, is from North Jersey, where the spread has been a high school staple for some time. "In a nine-game schedule, eight teams use the spread," he said. "That's pretty much all you see."
With the ball-control, ground-and-pound offense becoming a thing of the past, coaches, especially defensive coordinators, are hard at work trying to out-scheme spread-minded opponents.
"You can't sit back in a base defense against the spread," said Infante, whose Hawks have a multiple 4-3 defensive set. "If you do, you'll get cut off at the point of attack. You'll get butchered."
More time than ever is being put in to derail the spread attack, whose various forms also include the no-huddle and Wildcat. It involves, among other things, matching speed with speed, disguising schemes, identifying the offense's intention, mixing fronts, and having a capable rotation of defenders that might include up to 17 players.
For defenses, it's a take-control or be-controlled situation.
Mike Carey, new defensive coordinator at Archbishop Wood, coached alongside Mike Pettine for 24 years at Central Bucks West. With Carey overseeing the defense in the 1990s, the bruising Bucks won four Class AAAA state titles, including three in a row. In 2000, with Carey at the helm, they came oh-so-close to a fifth crown.
