LO to unveil new offense this spring
MORGAN HILL — Taylor Alonzo caught up with Live Oak football coach Jon Michael Porras on campus in December, a month after the Acorns ended their first losing season in five years.
“Can we start practice now?” Alonzo asked.
“Sure,” Porras said. “But I wouldn’t be allowed to be your guy’s coach anymore.”
Understandably, everyone in the Live Oak football program has been itching to get back on the field and begin the road to recovery. The Acorns took their first steps this week with the start of spring practice. More than 70 kids showed up for the two-and-a-half-hour workouts, which included drills and light conditioning.
“We all want to be out here,” Alonzo said. “I feel like there’s a lot more discipline. We’re excited to get back out here. We just need to go 100 percent.”
Although memories of their 4-6 finish in 2008 lingered, Porras said they had a positive effect on his players.
“With the disappointment of last year, the kids are motivated to step it up,” Porras, now in his third year at Live Oak, said. “I’m already seeing some guys step up as positive leaders.”
Those include Alonzo and Dylan Frechette, the leading candidates to replace departing first-team all-league quarterback Jeff Roberts in fall.
“Taylor seems to be motivating everyone to do the right thing all the time,” Porras said. “Dylan is the opposite in that he’s a quiet leader, in that he listens and does thing right the first time you tell him to do it. They carry themselves well out there. I’m expecting them to do well this year.”
Both juniors played exceptionally last year — Alonzo at wideout and Frechette at kicker — but have limited experience under center. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem, though, with the Acorns’ new pistol-veer offense. Porras said it’s a combination of three things: the fly and veer offenses done with the halfback lined up behind the quarterback.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Frechette said. “It’s a lot of the same plays with different formations. It’s something to get used to. We’re looking forward to running it.”
The pistol veer’s advantage is deception.
“It’s really hard for the linebacker to see the halfback and pick up where he’s going to go,” Porras said. “Plus, we’re going to use multiple ball-carriers. It should work — as long as I don’t get too creative.”
Along with its new offense, the Live Oak coaches unveiled new tackling and drive-blocking schemes that utilize core strength.
“We’re not going to be bigger than other teams in our league, but we can use better technique,” Porras said. “Guys like Alonzo and (second-team all-league linebacker) Mike Singleton are going to be even more explosive.”
Of the most eager to impress this week were the offensive linemen, who endured their share of growing pains in 2008.
“It was a learning experience for a lot of us,” junior tackle Erik Poulsen said. “There was a few things we had to learn, but we picked it up near the end of the season. We all want to make an impact right away.”
Returning starters Thomas Mangano, Justin Santos, Andrew Michel and Poulsen have Porras’ eye.
“I’d say they’re our biggest strength right now,” Porras said. “They’re a lot stronger. They’re bigger, too. I don’t know if it’s because they’re eating more or what.”
