Option offer a variety of choices

By Lee Goddard
Caller-Times

Michelle Christenson/Caller-Times

Being an option quarterback like Rockport-Fulton’s Randy Key (5), means he must make a split-second decision whether to hand the ball to fullback Alan Soriano (45) up the middle or pitch the ball to halfback Breet Baer to the outside.

The play is called but, as the offense breaks the huddle, even the players don't know who will end up with the ball.
   The quarterback reads the defense as he comes to the line of scrimmage and may have an idea which player will get the call. But he can't be sure. Even as the he takes the snap, he is not positive who gets the carry.
   Sounds like chaos, but it's the option, and it's one of the most straightforward plays an offense can run.
   The most basic option is the triple option. Think Nebraska, although an offense doesn't have to use the I-formation like the Cornhuskers. Teams wanting to throw in the option can run from split backs, wing-T, Wishbone and nearly any other offensive set.
   The quarterback can hand off to the fullback on a dive play. Or he can sprint down the line and keep the ball himself. Or he can pitch it to the running back.
   Seems simple enough.
   But while the Huskers can make it look easy on television, the option quarterback still must accurately read the defense to make sure the ball ends up in the hands of the right back.
   And he may take a beating in doing it.
   "If the quarterback has the ball, hit him," said Charles Cox, a linebacker at Kingsville High School. "If he's just pitched, hit him. Keep hitting him and maybe make him a little scared."
   The dive
   The option events are set in motion when the quarterback reads the defense while waiting for the play to start.
   "You can't have it decided before the snap," said Kingsville quarterback Yale Vannoy. "You have to see if they take away the dive before you can make the decision."
   But the offense's hand is tipped early. Falfurrias' defense looks for one simple key to spot the option.
   "The way to tell if it's an option is if the quarterback shows you his facemask," said Albert Martinez, the Jerseys' defensive end. "Once the facemask turns in your direction, think option."
   Enter part one of the triple option: the dive play. Vannoy, as well as Tuloso-Midway's quarterbacks - Emmanuel Garcia, Ryan Kuhn and Eric Oliveira - all key the defensive end. If the end plays the dive, they go outside. If the end holds his ground, they turn and give to the fullback.
   The defense counters with assignment football. Each player has one specific job against the option and, regardless of who has the ball, that player better do his duty. It varies from team to team but, at Kingsville, the defensive end plays the fullback.
   "If it's an obvious fake and the quarterback still has the ball," said Bryan Hall, the Brahmas' defensive end, "I'll trail the ball in case they cut back. More times, I'll stay with the fullback because if he gets free, that's my fault."
   Down the line
   Things are done differently at Falfurrias, which relies on tackles and linebackers to stuff the dive.
   But, if the play starts with a fake to the fullback, a long journey awaits linebacker Brian Boerjan.
   "I spread things out," Boerjan said. "In order, I take the fullback, the quarterback and the pitch. I watch for the dive first. That's my main responsibility."
   To counter defenses that key on the fullback, the quarterback had better sell the fake to free himself to go down the line. And it must be straight down the line. He can veer in toward the defense a little but, if he angles into the offensive backfield, the defense can penetrate and bust the play.
   In these split seconds, a picture of what will happen begins to form in the quarterback's mind.
   "You absorb it all at once," Garcia said. "The place where you need to be, the place where they're supposed to be. Everything comes together so fast. What happens is instinct. It comes naturally."
   Making the pitch
   When the play rolls to the outside, the quarterback is nearest to the line of scrimmage and a back, trailing the play, is the pitch man. This is the most crucial phase of the play - keep it or pitch it.
   "It happens so fast," Kuhn said. "You make the right read and you'll make the right decision."
   Now comes the contact. At Falfurrias, Martinez stays at home, fighting off the tight end, who might be trying to hook him into the interior of the line. At the same time, Boerjan is plowing through would-be blockers using the "rip move," basically punching his way toward the quarterback. Cornerback Carlos Villarreal comes up to take the pitch man.
   And, while it seems frenzied, there is strategy to the scheme.
   "We play it fast or slow, depending on the athletic ability of the offensive players," Martinez said. "If the pitch man is a better runner, we want the quarterback to keep, so we play it slower. If the quarterback is a better runner, then we try to force him to pitch."
   Decision time
   Defensively, Kingsville also attempts to bend the offense to its will. Cox usually will shadow the quarterback, while strong safety Kevin Myrick handles the back trailing the play.
   It's also decision time for the quarterback. Ideally, he will see one man on the outside and, once that defender commits, the choice is made to keep or pitch.
   But if there are two defenders covering the outside, quarterbacks adhere to a major option rule.
   "Never pitch the ball in traffic," Vannoy said. "If we're both covered, I'll fake and keep it."
   Pitch or not, the defense now gets its shots.
   "If you're there and carrying out your fake, it's legal for them to take your head off," Kuhn said. "If you're just finishing the play or have pitched the ball, it's perfectly legal for them to do almost anything to you."
   And maybe go beyond legal.
   "One big old guy plowed me over," Oliveira said of an experience earlier this season. "And when he was on top of me, he jammed his thumb into my eye. A lot of dirty stuff goes on."
   Option pass
   While the quarterback absorbs shots, the pitch man endures the same thing. If the defender gets to the pitch man before the ball, the running back will take a hit.
   "If I'm not getting the ball, it's because they're taking me out," said Rockport-Fulton running back David Moss. "I'm just aware of what the defense is doing."
   And he must be aware of what quarterback Randy Key is doing. There's a potential disaster on each pitch, Moss said.
   "Mishandling a pitch and them getting the ball," Moss said. "Me getting hit just as the pitch is made and the ball is in the air. You have to be careful."
   Yet there is one more way for the offense to cross up the defense. It's commonly called the triple option, but that's wrong, there can be a fourth option.
   Maybe the quarterback sprints down the line, but takes a couple of steps back. Then - boom - a defense that has been stuffing the run the entire night is hit with one big pass play.
   "That's tough," Villarreal said. "Play action pass, it's easy to get sucked up on that one."
   With Villarreal primarily playing the run, it's up to safety Mark Cates to salvage the play.
   "That's my responsibility," Cates said. "If the tight end stays in and blocks, I look run. If he comes out, that's my man."
   Success or failure? Depending on which side of the ball you're on, it comes down to either discipline or execution.
   "If the defense plays proper technique, then the option will not work, " Martinez said.
   "It's tough to stop when you've got good athletes," countered Moss. "You just execute well and it all works out."