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Wednesday, September 13, 2000
In the huddle
Whether it's a circle or a line, it all begins before the play
By Richard Tijerina
Caller-Times Sports Editor
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| Photo illustration by Michelle Christenson and John Bruce |
| During games, when Calallen quarterback Armando 'Red' Leal (center) calls the Wildcats' next play in the huddle, teammates envision their individual assignments for the play. |
There are Xs and Os in every football huddle, the place where the winning or losing plays are called, where players can catch their breath, where teammates pump each other up and where mistakes are corrected.
And, sometimes, where even a high school math teacher like Paul Trotter can enter the game.
Only when he does, there are different kind of Xs and Os.
It was in last season's 55-26 West Oso victory at Odem, fourth quarter, game winding down, as quarterback Richard Gonzales was receiving the play from the West Oso sideline. Linemen Chris Islas and Moses Gomez sneaked a quick conversation into the Bears' huddle about the Pre-calculus test they had taken in Trotter's class earlier that day.
"I asked, 'Hey, did you get No. 3 right, the limit as X approached O?' " Islas said. "Sometimes we'll talk about stuff. But only if we're way ahead."
These, however, are not the normal Xs and Os of the football huddle.
It is an overlooked part of the game, the 25 seconds in between plays, where teams reload offensive and defensive game plans in their huddles.
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| Caller-Times |
Sometimes, the play is forgotten on the way from the sidelines to the huddle. Sometimes, the play is misunderstood by the players. Sometimes, the crowd is too loud and you cannot hear. And, sometimes, even the stadium is working against you; Calallen's Wildcat Stadium does not have a 25-second clock, so players must be extra-sensitive to time, and the clock at Buccaneer Stadium malfunctioned and was turned off in last week's Kingsville-Moody game.
It is an every-down race, lasting 25 seconds long. Get the play, call the play, run the play. And run it well.
"The huddle is where it all gets started," said Calallen quarterback Armando "Red" Leal. "It gives us a chance to go over what we did and what we are going to do. But it goes by fast."
'United, we stand'
Next time you are at a game, watch closely. This is how the huddle works:
The play ends. As players get up from the ground, the center lines up several yards behind the line of scrimmage and yells out "Huddle! Huddle!" He may do this several times, to make sure all of his teammates hear him.
The 25-second clock begins as soon as the referee marks the ball on the field and signals the clock operator. By this time, the offensive huddle already is forming.
Huddles come in different shapes and sizes. Last year, West Oso ran a sideways "V" formation, with the quaterback at the point. This year, the Bears huddle in a line: quarterback facing the rest, linemen in front with their hands on their knees, receivers and backs standing in back.
Most teams use the traditional circle huddle. Some teams hold hands in the huddle. Others don't.
"United, we stand. Divided, we fall," Islas said. "When you're down, you have your partner right next to you to squeeze your hand, pick you up and say, 'Don't worry. Everything's going to be all right.' "
As the huddle forms, the quarterback receives the next play from coaches. He can do this in one of two ways: either the coach tells the play on the sideline to a receiver, who then shuttles the call in to the field, or coaches feed the quarterback the play through hand signals.
'The time to ask questions'
During this time, players in the huddle go over the previous play. Depending on the situation, they may point out what went wrong. Or what went right. Or complain about an injury. Or, if you are Islas and Gomez, talk calculus.
"That's the time to ask questions," said West Oso running back Lydell Anthony. "Was I really supposed to do that on that play? Things like that. If you don't know the play that's being called, you have to ask the guy next to you."
The quarterback usually meets the receiver halfway between the huddle and sideline. They then race back to the huddle, where the quarterback tells the rest of the team. He also will give them the snap count, or the number of "huts" or "hikes" the play will begin when they all are lined up on the line of scrimmage.
"You have to be careful about how loud you talk in the huddle. You don't want the other team to hear," said Calallen fullback Jessie Pavelka.
In the huddle, the quarterback is the team's focus. Ten eyes, all fixed squarely on him. He is the on-field general, the coach away from the coach.
The huddle is a team's best chance to focus on what is needed to be done. Trailing in the game? Regroup and refocus in the huddle. Needing to put a team away? Make sure everyone understands that, in the huddle.
In a big District 30-4A game in 1994, Gregory-Portland found itself trailing Kingsville before then-Wildcats quarterback Travis Bush rallied the troops - in the huddle - with two minutes to go. "We got in the huddle and no words were said," Bush said after the game. "Then I said, 'This year's personal.' We all looked each other in the eye and we knew what we had to do."
The Wildcats then rattled off an 83-yard drive and won the game, 22-21.
Two years ago, in a Class 3A regional championship playoff game, Aransas Pass rallied late to squeak past Sweeney, 20-17. It all started in the huddle.
Before starting their winning 10-play drive late in the game, the Panthers rallied in the huddle. "We were in the huddle and we said, 'We're winning this whole thing right now.' " And they did.
'You're in the zone'
At every level, magic can be weaved in the huddle, whether the quarterback is Bush, Leal, Major Applewhite, Joe Montana or John Elway. But also, at every level, things are the same. The game of football is the most important thing to concentrate on in the huddle. Players must drown out the crowd, the fans, the cheerleaders and the band.
"You can hear the linemen saying things like 'I should've gotten that block' or the backs saying 'I should've broke on that play' " Anthony said. "You can hear coaches yelling at the linemen. You don't really pay attention to the crowd. You can't.
"It's just the coaches and the play," he said. "You just have to drown everyone else out, especially if it's a close game. You try to keep everything focused."
In the seventh and eighth grades, however, the huddles at West Oso Junior High were much looser. Islas - coaches still joke with him by calling him "Useless," he said - was the team's regular cut-up, making players like Anthony, Stephen Fillmore, Gonzales, Eric Sifuentes, Joey Trevino and Chris Carlock all laugh in between the play calling.
"We'd make jokes about who stinks on the other team, who looks goofy in their helmets," Anthony said.
But that was then. Now, in high school, players are much more serious - save for the occasional math talk. And it may get even worse for the Bears this year. Last year, it was Pre-calculus. This season, three Bears - Islas, Gomez and Gonzales - are in Trotter's calculus class. And it's much harder.
As the huddle breaks, most teams prefer to have approximately 12-15 seconds remaining on the 25-second clock. This allows the quarterback to look over the defense, make any adjustments at the line by calling an audible, or call time out.
At that point, the play is run.
Each play takes about five seconds before it is finished.
Then, the referee blows his whistle and spots the ball.
And the center is already yelling "Huddle! Huddle!" again.
Sports Editor Richard Tijerina can be reached at 886-3745 or by e-mail at tijerinar@caller.com
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