Another elephant walked into the El Toro Bowl discussion room last week.
Forget Sobrato's coaching change. Forget Live Oak's 16-starter overhaul. This was something different. When Morgan Hill's cross-town rivals kick-off their second meeting in history Sept. 5 at Richert Field, they'll have more than conspicuous personnel changes in common.
They'll have the exact same offenses.
Less than a year after coach Jon Michael Porras brought the "fleer" offense - a mixture of fly and veer - to Live Oak, Sobrato's first-year coach Nick Borello unveiled a similar scheme last week, switching from the multi-set system used by former Bulldogs' coach Dan Brown.
Borello had good reason for the switch. His alma mater, Palma High School, won five division titles from 1997-2003 while using it.
Borello was part of the dynasty as a player and coach.
"I'd say it's proven effective at the high school level," Borello said Friday. "It takes some learning. But once that's done, you have an offense that's very tough to contain."
So, what exactly is the fly offense? It's an oxymoron for starters. The fly offense has much to do with run and little to do with fly. It's a misdirection-run attack involving a quarterback (crazy, I know), two split backs and a single sweeper, or wing, lined up like a slot receiver. It can also be used with one or no backs. The fly offense gives teams the ability to run the ball while forcing defenses to play the pass.
"It requires precision," Porras said Wednesday. "It takes a lot of practice. You need everyone on the same page. If you run it right, it can't be shut down."
There lies the fun in this year's El Toro Bowl. Neither coach had a concrete formula for stopping the fly offense, but both said it can be slowed with assignment-savvy defenders - the kind that see it every day in practice. It's like playing a chess match against yourself (note: Both teams use the same 50-front defense).
"It'll be interesting to see how the game works out," Borello said. "It definitely adds to it - the fact we run the same systems. All we really need to do is have our scout teams play our own systems. I think it's an advantage. We both know each other's offense inside and out."
Porras agreed.
"It's going to make practice a lot easier for us," said the second-year coach. "I had a feeling they might switch to it because Nick ran it at Palma. It's going to come down to which team runs it better."
To say the fly worked wonders for Live Oak in 2007 would be an understatement. The Acorns rode it to their first CIF-Central Coast Section championship game in 18 years. Live Oak's offense averaged 271.3 yards and 22.8 points per game.
"The fly isn't easy to pick up right away," Porras said. "You need a smart, athletic quarterback and three talented ball-carriers."
The right tools are in place for both teams. Live Oak has a first-team all-league quarterback in Jeff Roberts, and Sobrato a first-team running back in Anthony Zizzo - just to name a few.
Don't think for a second this year's Spy vs. Spy El Toro Bowl will fall short of exciting. It's competition at its most raw - two talented teams comparing strength and smarts in the same system.
What better way to beat your rival than at his own game?
Scott Adams Scott Adams covers Morgan Hill sports for South Valley Newspapers. Send him an email or call him at 779-4106.
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