Bombers aim for third straight district title
The Bombers walked through District 2A-2 last season outscoring their opponents by an average score of 28-10 on their way to the District Championship and a perfect 7-0 district record. A tough Perkins-Tryon team put a damper on the Bomber's hopes of their sixth gold ball with a 15-14 upset in the first round of the playoffs ending the Bomber's season with an 8-3 record. That loss left a bad taste and some unfinished business for second year coach Todd Hudson and 14 full or part time returning starters.
While Bomber fans will notice plenty of familiar faces
wearing bolts this season, the offense will have a new look as the Bombers have
optioned to run the wishbone this year instead of the I-formation that led Class
2A in offense last season. The main
reason for the switch is talented senior quarterback Willie Lane.
An elusive speedster, Lane, helped the Bombers with over 1,000
all-purpose yards last year and could surpass that mark both on the ground and
in the air this season.
"We have to be able to get the ball in his hands a lot
without defenses being able to tee-off on him," Hudson said, "and the
wishbone does that for us. We think
this offense fits his talents."
Lane won't be the only speedster in the Bomber backfield.
Junior trackster Josh Hughes will line up at fullback with seniors
Charlie Love and Justin Billy at the tailback positions.
Hughes showed Bomber fans a glimpse of what he can do in last week's
scrimmage against Elk City as he split the defense and raced 60-yards to the
endzone on the Bomber's first offensive play.
Love and Billy both have a combination of speed and power that should
make them a force to be reckoned with out of the Bomber's wishbone formation.
Charlie Sheffield, who will be a mainstay on the Bomber defense, is also
more than capable of pounding out yardage from the fullback spot while sophomore
Gamaliel Ramirez is an adequate backup in all three backfield positions.
"Josh Hughes can be a really good running back."
Hudson noted, "He could be a great tailback, but we've moved him to
fullback (because of the way we run this offense).
There's a misconception about the fullback position.
Most people think that fullbacks are blockers in every offense, but
that's not the case in our offense. Last
season we had a fullback (Kenny Sheffield) carry the ball for over 1,000 yards,
so the fullback will get the ball a lot."
Hudson went on, "In the wishbone, the fullback does not have to
block very much, the halfbacks do most of the blocking.
We feel really good about our people at halfback.
We have two seniors, Charlie Love and Justin Billy, that we feel real
good about and who we think can be pretty good for us there."
The passing game is in excellent hands as well with returning
starter Justin Garza. With his
knack for getting open and his ability to make the difficult catch, Garza will
be a threat to opposing secondaries. Senior
Larry Williams and juniors J.R. Smith and Richard Rubio provide the Bombers with
plenty of depth at receiver. The
tight end position should play a large role in the Bomber offense this season
and senior Jon Fatjo provides the Bombers with an experienced blocker and
pass-catcher. Backup quarterback
Chris Messner could also see some time at tight end.
Depth on the offensive line is a concern for the Bombers;
however, line coach Patrick McKay does have three senior starters returning.
Shaun Phillips returns to head the interior at center while 280-pound
Chris Arumugam adds bulk at tackle. Matt
Gray started at tight end last year but has moved to guard where he has been
excellent throughout the pre-season workouts.
The remaining two line positions are up for grabs and five guys should
all see plenty of playing time filling in where needed. Juniors Lyle Clayton and Justin Hicks along with sophomores
Billy Bob Walker and Michael Winton provide size in any of the line positions.
Senior Will Cassidy has been out of football for a while but has been
good in the pre-season and could start at guard.
Ryan Mitchell, Chris Charles, and Lance Whitson should help give the
O-line more depth once they gain more experience.
Whitson could also help out on special teams as a kicker.
"We feel like we can move the ball and be really good
offensively." Hudson added, "When you run the wishbone the way we run
it, (defenses) have to have someone on the quarterback, someone on the fullback,
and someone on the pitch. By
design, if they can't do that, then they shouldn't be able to stop (our
offense). Most defenses in today's
game aren't geared toward stopping the option because they don't see it very
much. The wishbone offense is a
good offense and I think it fits the personnel we have this year.
We're not going to be hard-headed and say this is what we're going to run
every year. It's my philosophy that
there are going to be certain things that we're going to do no matter what
offense we're in. We're going to
try to get our players in the best possible situation to have success.
We feel like (the wishbone) is going to give us the best chance to
win."
The Bomber's new attack should put plenty of points on the
board, but once again the Bombers will be known for their tough-as-nails defense
that has been the trademark for the Bomber's success in the past.
The Bomber "D" has seven returning starters lead by senior
linebacker Matt Gray and free safety Willie Lane.
Gray was in on over 100 tackles last season and will be joined once again
by senior stablemate Charlie Sheffield. Cassidy
has the makings of a great linebacker and should patrol the field with Gray and
Sheffield forming what could be one of the districts best linebacking corps.
The Bomber secondary returns three starters including Lane,
Garza, and Hughes. Lane was among the state leaders in interceptions last season
with seven while Garza and Hughes had several of their own from their positions
at corner and strong safety, respectively.
Love or Williams will fill the other corner spot with Rubio, Joe Herndon,
and Blake Childers serving in the backup roles.
Messner and Fatjo anchor the defensive front from their
defensive end positions. The Bomber's lone defensive weakness could be at the tackle
position where they have several holes to fill; however, look for a rotating
group from the offensive side of the ball to step up and improve throughout the
season.
"We feel real good about our defense," Hudson said,
"we feel like we can put 11 pretty good players out there, and I'd be
really surprised if we weren't a real good defensive football team."
Hudson hopes a large group of sophomores including Billy Bob
Blankenship, Heston Williams, Justin Robbins, and Matt Rogers can help out on
special teams as well as fill in for spot duty on both sides of the ball.
Others expected to help include Shanta Nolan, Kenny Herndon, Cuahtemoc
Torres, Rashad Stanford, Kenneth Kelly, Chris Hopkins, and Michael Guerrero.
The Bombers were one of just a handful of teams to win 100
games in the 1990's with a 101-26 record for the decade.
Hudson expects that success to continue into this century as he noted,
"We have one goal and that's to play for a state championship in December,
and we feel like as long as there is any opportunity for us there, then that's
got to be our goal. We're selling
ourselves short if we don't make that our goal.
I think we've got enough talent to get it done, and everything we do is
geared toward that goal."
Along with Millwood and Hobart, the Bombers are among the
favorites to take home the District 2A-1 crown.
A tough pre-district schedule, in which the Bombers face 4A No. 1 Clinton
and A No. 1 Turpin along with Elgin, should prepare the Bombers well for the
tough road to their third consecutive district championship.
The Bombers have a key game early in the district schedule as they travel
to Hobart to open district play. The
winner will be in the driver's seat early while the loser will be playing
catch-up for the remainder of the season. The
2000 Bombers have the talent, speed, and experience to carry on the Bomber
tradition of excellence and to contend for the district and possibly the state
title. The Bomber's flight is aimed
for a December destination in Stillwater, and it takes off on Friday.