Brian Mentley knows he likely won’t be winning any style points on Saturday.
The double wing, after all, is viewed as an outdated, if not growingly dull, version of football.
But the Gowanda offensive assistant, who will serve in the same capacity in Saturday’s Big 30 All-Star Charities Classic at Bradford’s Parkway Field, had good reason to implement the tight, run-heavy formation into New York’s offense: Gowanda, he says, averaged “somewhere around 390 rushing yards per game” using that system last fall.
Not only that, the Panthers boasted one of the top running backs in the state in Kameron Alexander, who racked up 1,701 yards on 122 carries and 21 touchdowns, and will anchor the NY backfield this weekend.
And so … the double wing it is.
“We’ve taken it back to the 30s,” Mentley said with a laugh.
“We incorporated the double wing, but we’ve also brought a few other formations that are a little bit more modern, that (will allow) the kids to have a little bit more fun.”
The old-school style makes sense given New York’s personnel. The quarterbacks are Bolivar-Richburg’s Devin Carr, who wasn’t asked to throw very often last season, and Randolph’s Jake Beaver, a talented passer who hails from a historically run-first offense.
While Mentley says he sees New York “trying to be a (60 percent rushing, 40 percent passing) team” on Saturday, his running backs will be the focal point: Alexander, at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, broke the school record for rushing last season. Pioneer’s Jason Gauthier, who missed virtually the entire regular season with a broken foot, has proven to be one of the Big 30’s best backs when healthy.
Though he’s had a mere two weeks to teach a complex system, he feels his guys are picking it up quickly.
“I wish I could have four more formations,” he said. “We’ve just gotten it to where we feel they can handle what we call and most plays can affect a certain position on the field — down and distance — and we have stuff we can go to if we’re in a certain situation.
“I feel pretty confident as long as their nerves handle the show.”
Mentley’s unit will be a bit short-handed in the game’s 44th renewal. Two offensive linemen he was expecting to have were no-shows from the outset. Another, Olean’s Nate Bradley, was switched to defense early in practice.
As a result, NY will be rotating three guards and tackles, requiring those players to learn both the left and right side, which is “very difficult,” but also giving them more playing time, Mentley noted.
“So we have to shore that up a bit,” he said.
He possesses a potentially game-changing backfield, however, and “some of the best receivers I’ve ever seen on a football field.”
In mostly double-tight sets, it remains to be seen just how much of an impact those players will make.
But among those that Carr, a one-year quarterback, and Beaver, who hung with Franklinville/Ellicottville’s Brock Blecha in a 37-36 shootout last fall, will be throwing to are: F-E’s Dooley Brennan, a Big 30 all-star who helped the Titans average over 33 points per game, the talented Frewsburg tandem of Caleb Caldwell and Cordell O’Brien and Olean’s Joe Jedrosko, who’s transitioning from wideout to tight end.
“We have a little bit of everything,” Mentley said. “We split them up into how we think they can affect the game, with two fairly even offenses. Hopefully our job is done on Friday night and Saturday is their time to shine.”
New York will have a total of 19 offensive players in Saturday’s contest. Joining Alexander and Gauthier in the backfield are Alexander Edstrom (Salamanca) and Casey Williams (Southwestern). Other receivers include Allegany-Limestone’s Ryan Schlosser and big Pioneer tight end Brent Nourse.
The guards and tackles are: Jason Opferbeck (Cattaraugus-LV), Kurt Miller (Franklinville/Ellicottville), Liam Watt (F/E), Ben Kaczmarek (Pioneer), Marshall Johnson (Randolph) and Jacob Hardy (Cuba-Rushford). Southwestern’s Ben Brooks is listed as the lone center.
Mentley, who will call the New York plays alongside offensive coordinator Lawrence Wheeler, is a Gowanda graduate, making him even more familiar with this run-first brand, and played in the 1994 Charities Classic for the boss of the Panthers’ then-archrival — former Salamanca coach George Whitcher.
“So it was quite a surreal experience,” he said.
He understands it’s an all-star game featuring talented skilled position players on both sides, but doesn’t expect to get too cute.
“We’re lining up, strapping them on right and coming after them,” he said.
(Tomorrow: Pennsylvania defense)
