They haven’t pirated A-11 offense, yet

Has anyone heard of the A-11 offense? The subject came up in talking to Rick Giampietri at an early Central Valley football practice. Word was that Rogers was implementing it and Giampietri feared a nightmarish time trying to defend against it.

As it turned out, when the Bears and Pirates played on Friday the A-11 was nowhere to be seen. Giampietri said Rogers ran its regular Gun Option offense so well it wasn’t needed.

Intrigued by the A-11, I looked on the Internet ( http://www.a11offense.com/). It blends aspects of the spread, West Coast and Run and Shoot among others. Although only six players are eligible to touch the football on any one play, all 11 potentially could do so depending upon how they shift in the lineup.

Basically there’s a center with eight players on the line of scrimmage and two quarterbacks. All players wear an eligible number (1 through 49 or 80-99). The concept was developed at a high school in Piedmont, Calif., according to the Web site, unveiled last year and has been approved in 40 states.

Leave it to Pirates coach Matt Miethe to latch onto this wide-open innovation.

“I’d like to throw the football on every down,” said Miethe, an old lineman.

He said the talk during a coaches’ meeting this summer was to make sure it didn’t happen in Spokane. One coach commented, “Who would tell you if it did?”

“To be honest, we looked at it a while ago,” Miethe answered.

“I’ve always liked being on the edge a bit. People know who I am and would definitely be a guy who would give it a shot,” Miethe said. “It definitely caught our eye and we’ve done a few things with it.”

He said the offense forces defenses to either use linemen or linebackers to come at you or to play dime or nickel packages and try to cover the field.

Although Rogers has practiced the A-11, implementing it is another thing. The Web site calls it “fun, refreshing and easier to referee in real life than on a whiteboard.”

Miethe isn’t so sure about the officiating part. That’s a chance he doesn’t want to take. He believes you have to be selective in its use and is instead committed to running the ball this year.

“When we do (use it), it will probably be in a two-minute setting,” Miethe said. “Everybody knows if you do what you do real well you don’t have to come up with new tricks. But we’ll have a couple of wrinkles ready when needed.”

Biggies on tap

The first week of Greater Spokane League football went according to form – or at least to form if one were to predict the games. Class 4A teams beat their 3A counterparts, although Mt. Spokane and East Valley showed their mettle as expected.

This week the stakes are high when 4A meets 4A and 3A meets 3A.

On Friday, Lewis and Clark vs. Mead, 8 p.m. at Albi Stadium: A game between teams picked to go 1-2. Last year LC prevailed in overtime in a game between teams that finished 6-2. If you’re not there and have Comcast On-Demand, it will be televised within 36 hours.

Ferris at Gonzaga Prep, 7 p.m.: Which works better, spread offense or option? This game should reveal how good these teams can be.

Central Valley at University, 7 p.m.: The annual Greasy Pig rivalry. Neither team can afford to let this one slip away.

Also, East Valley vs. North Central, Friday, 5:30 and Shadle Park vs. Rogers, Thursday, 7:15 p.m., both at Albi: Overall league standings count, but head-to-head classification games dictate end-of-season hopes. Can Rogers end its 35-game loss streak?

GSL a go next week

If things seem to be starting later this year, they are. Every so many years the state calendar ends with state meets following the Memorial Day weekend and this is one of those. That’s why the first GSL soccer and cross country counters aren’t until Wednesday, with volleyball beginning next Thursday.