MACHESNEY PARK — The famed no-huddle wishbone offense that has led Belvidere to 26 consecutive winning seasons is in mothballs. So, too, might be the Bucs’ string of reaching the playoffs in 20 of the last 23 seasons if they lose tonight at Harlem (1-0).
“No team wants to start 0-2,” coach Matt Weckler said.
Nor does any team want to shelve its signature offense. But the Bucs (0-1) felt they had no choice when the roster dropped from 58 players to 32 in their second year after splitting with North into two schools. The Bucs used to have almost no two-way starters. They have five this year, including three linemen. They wore down last week when Hononegah rushed for almost 500 yards and scored the last 27 points in a 41-14 victory.
“You saw what we were all about the first half,” Weckler said. “In the second half we wore down. Our offensive and defensive lines were coming out way too high. Once you get tired, you start standing up, and the drive from you legs just isn’t there.”
Count last week’s loss as a harsh learning experience for the Bucs.
“We’ve already made some changes to hopefully keep the kids fresh,” Weckler said. “In the past, we went no-huddle as fast as we could go. Now we’re slowing down, to a tempo that will benefit us.”
Harlem coach Jim Morrow wants to do the same thing Hononegah did.
“We want to own the time of possession battle and keep their defense on the field,” Morrow said. “If we can grind it out and move the chains, it’s going to be in our favor.”
Usually, it’s the Bucs who try to wear teams down.
“It’s out of character to see Belvidere not getting up to the line, firing and running everything from the line of scrimmage,” Morrow said.
The Bucs still might. They haven’t scrapped the no-huddle. Just temporarily benched it in order to get a breather.
“We practice no-huddle every day, just in case we need to have it done,” Weckler said. “If we get in a rhythm and the defense starts making changes, we might throw it back out there.”
Assistant Sports Editor Matt Trowbridge can be reached at: 815-987-1383 or mtrowbridge@rrstar.com.
