Wingin’ It

NORTH HILLS — It is football’s version of the shell game.

A deceptive offensive scheme in tight formation that relies on pulling linemen and confusing crossing patterns in the backfield, with as many as three exchanges between the quarterback, fullback and two wingbacks.

No high school team in the region is benefiting more from this crafty sleight of hand than Monroe High.

The Vikings are off to a 2-0 start after running roughshod over Hoover and Wilson, with 1,100 yards of offense and 97 points. With all but 48 yards coming on the ground, there’s not a team in region within 340 yards of Monroe’s rushing attack.

And the way the Vikings are running wild, that gap may widen.

To many the offense is known as the double-wing, not to be confused with the Delaware wing-T or wing-T, which are altogether different.

The formation features two wingbacks lined up inches behind two tight ends. The wingbacks are turned in, facing the quarterback. A fullback lines up inches behind the quarterback. Linemen pull on nearly every play, the objective being to overwhelm defenders with several blockers from different angles.

Some refer to the double-wing as the “Bloomington offense,” named after the high school where Coach Don Markham used it to set a state single-season scoring record with 880 points in 14 games in 1994.

Since conceiving the offense as a first-year coach at L.A. Baptist in 1970, Markham has gained a following of coaches. One of his disciples is first-year Monroe Coach Sloan Bunting, who first saw the offense in 1986 when Markham was an assistant at Pierce College.

Intrigued by the scheme, Bunting twice attended coaching seminars where Markham spoke about his “pitch offense.” Bunting has been a believer ever since.

“I finally was sold on it when I went to see Bloomington play for [a Southern Section] championship in 1994,” Bunting said.

Although Bunting’s scheme has the wingbacks set slightly wider than Markham’s, it is essentially the same offense.

Bunting calls his variation “Color in the Hole,” placing as many Vikings at the point of attack as possible. Everyone blocks, including the quarterback.

Eric Beltran, a 6-foot-1, 280-pound senior tackle and one of only two returning starting linemen, said he had no trouble picking up the new offense and prefers it to Monroe’s old pro set because there is more contact.

“It’s not a real difficult offense to learn,” Bunting said. “It is simplicity at its finest.”

For Bunting’s teams, it simply works. The past two seasons, Bunting used the offense exclusively as the freshman-sophomore coach at Grant. The Lancers were 17-2-1.

“Basically why I like this is you never know which way I’m going,” said Bunting, whose team lines up in the same formation on every play. “I’m balanced each way. [The formation] is always the same and I will always outnumber you.”

When Bunting was hired at Monroe in June, he took one look at his players, specifically senior running backs Vinny Walker and George Garcia, and must have asked, “How can I be so lucky?”

Walker and Garcia combined to rush for 2,759 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, statistics not lost on Bunting.

“I’d be a really stupid guy if I didn’t use this offense with these two guys,” he said. “Anybody who is an athlete will excel in this offense.”

Walker and Garcia have excelled beyond expectation. The pair, schoolmates since the second grade, are the region’s leading City Section rushers.

Walker, with 487 yards and a staggering 18 yards-per-carry average, trails only Notre Dame’s Justin Fargas among all rushers in the region.

Initially, Walker was wary of the new offense. Lining up inches from the tight end felt strange.

“The first couple of times I ran in it, it was awkward, but [Bunting] said just trust him, it will work,” Walker said. “And as practice went along, we got a feel for it and it got better and it started to work.”

Practice, Bunting said, is key. “Repetition,” he said. “We do a lot of the same thing, over and over again.”

When Bunting first drew up the offense for the Vikings, there were plenty of blank faces staring back. Except for one.

“The only person who got a big smile on his face was George Garcia, because George realized that now he was going to get equal time running with the ball,” Bunting said.

Garcia’s first impression was confirmed by one of his first carries this season--a 48-yard touchdown run.

“It’s pretty easy,” Garcia said. “Basically whoever coach gives the ball to is going to score. It’s been pretty easy to score the last two games.”

Garcia and Walker have scored 12 touchdowns, including eight on runs of 49 yards or longer and four on runs 72 yards or longer.

With that kind of success rate, it’s easy to understand why Walker and Garcia think they can each rush for 2,000 yards this season.

“I think there are going to be some teams that will be able to slow it down, but I don’t think anyone is going to be able to stop it,” Bunting said.