BUCKNER'S NEW, OLD OFFENSE

Panthers head coach Khris Buckner is going old school for his team's new offense -- the single-wing. Even if you've never heard of it, you've probably seen its baby -- the wildcat. It's a formation that does away with the quarterback (adding an extra blocker to the backfield), utilizes an unbalanced line and scoots the strong-side wide receiver closer to the tackle for more blocking power. If that didn't make sense -- don't worry. We'll break it down. The single-wing formation was created by Glenn Pop Warner and is the precursor to the modern shotgun formation. Down the line from the weak side its positions are tight end, quick guard, center, guard, and a pair of tackles. In the backfield is a pair of running backs and a fullback. The wide receiver, which Buckner calls the x-receiver, lines up on the strong side near the tackle and can either block or go out for a pass (see graphic). It's old school, and a quick Google search revealed its nationwide comeback at the high school level has defensive coordinators across the country pulling out their hair. "It's primarily a running offense, but there's so much misdirection with it," Buckner said. "To me, it's the most difficult offense to prepare for because if I run a sweep, I can get four guys at the point of attack." Buckner said the strong-side position players are always strong-side, flipping sides depending on the play. "It's unlike anything in the area," Buckner said. "But back in the '20s, it's what everyone ran. The kids love it. They absolutely love it, and here's the thing about it: Every play, one of our players owns that play, and he makes the call. "It doesn't matter what the defense lines up in, we have five or six variations of the play, and that's what I like about it. It's one of the most difficult to defend, and one of the easiest to install. It can look like complete chaos from a linebacker's perspective." The single-wing formation relies on deception. In fact, it was one of the first offenses designed around tricking the defense rather than simply overpowering. The single-wing was among the more popular offenses until 1940, when the Chicago Bears, using a newer straight-T offense, beat the Washington Redskins and the single-wing 73-0 in the NFL title game (we're talking before the Super Bowl), which some consider to be the "death" of the single-wing formation. But it didn't stay dead. Successful college teams ran the single-wing through the 60s, and more recently word of the resurgence of the single-wing has spread across the internet. Apopka High School in Florida famously ran the single-wing to several state championships. Incidentally, Apopka's head coach Rick Darlington visited Clarksville over the summer to do a full install of the offense. The offense has its pitfalls. Like any ground-and-pound style offense, it can be difficult to score quickly. If forced to come-from-behind, a team can easily run the clock out on itself. The single-wing does have pass plays, and thanks to the high percentage of running plays, Buckner said receivers are typically wide open. Clarksville's in-county rival, the Lamar Warriors, could have a leg-up on most teams defending the single-wing. Warriors head coach Josh Jones defeated a variation of it in 2010 when he was the head coach of the Magazine Rattlers. "It's still football," Jones said. "It's going to come down who has better players. To beat it, you just play assignment football." Jones utilized a 5-3 defense to beat the Strong Bulldogs' single-wing offense 34-26 on his way to the 2010 Class 2A state championship. Danville Little Johns head coach D.J. Crane also beat the single-wing in 2010. Crane defeated the Bearden Bears 20-14 in the semifinals of the Class 2A state championship but eventually lost to Jones' Rattlers. Crane said the offense is absolutely to be respected. "It's not a gimmick," he said. "It's very effective if ran efficiently. You have to be very disciplined on defense. We had the offense practice with a roll of tape, no ball. That way everybody had to fit in their gap." Crane explained the tape. "It forces you to get your eyes on your key and not ball carriers. That's what's confusing about the single-wing -- the misdirection. If you keep your eyes on your key, it will take you to the ball. The running back that would run got the roll of tape in the huddle. Fit where you are supposed to fit, and you can stop it." Or can you? Kickoff to the 2017 regular season will tell.

BUCKNER'S NEW, OLD OFFENSE

Photo Credit: Clarksville High School Athletics