Ready to Wing it

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 | 11:01 a.m.

They both opened the season with victories, but last Friday night couldn't have been much more different for Palo Verde and Silverado.

The Panthers won at Valley behind a stifling defensive effort, holding the Vikings' traditionally strong ground game to zero net rushing yards.

The Skyhawks, meanwhile, downed visiting Western with a high-powered running attack, racking up a whopping 466 rushing yards en route to 52 points.

When the two clubs meet Friday night at Palo Verde, something will have to give.

"They've got a lot of offense right now, so hopefully our defense can step up and give them a game," Panthers coach Darwin Rost said.

Offered Silverado coach John DeNardin, "They're physical. They'll come up and challenge us defensively. They're going to load up against us, put nine in the box and dare us to pass."

Palo Verde spent this week devising a game plan to stop the Skyhawks' Wing-T, a two-back offensive set that relies heavily on misdirection. Last week, the Wing-T worked to perfection against the Warriors, allowing junior Larry Patterson to pick up 312 yards and five touchdowns and senior Marvin Reddick to add 102 yards and two scores.

"Coaches have a love-hate relationship with the Wing-T, but I believe in it," said DeNardin, who ran the offense as a player in high school and as an assistant coach at Clark before bringing it to Silverado. "It's a triple-threat offense, and we try to mix it up with a lot of play-action passes."

After watching film of the Skyhawks' 52-28 win over Western, Panthers' defenders spent this week trying to stop a scout team offense lined up in a Wing-T.

"Against the Wing-T, you have to read your keys and stay home," Rost said. "You have to rely on the other 10 players out there with you. If you start looking around in the backfield, next thing you know someone's got a long touchdown."

Agreed Palo Verde linebacker Jordan Wilmore, "The main thing is to watch your keys, stay with what you're supposed to do. If you do something different, it's not going to work out."

While the matchup between Palo Verde's stingy defense and Silverado's explosive offense will be the focus, the Skyhawks will also need to find a way to stop a Panthers' offense capable of putting points on the board as well.

In last week's 28-19 win at Valley, Palo Verde featured an effective running game of its own. Tailback Gerard Lawson rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown, fullback Ryan Worthen picked up 49 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Dayton Ponder added 110 rushing yards, including a 50-yard touchdown scamper.

"Offensively, they can run it down your throat," DeNardin said. "I expect a good game. We've got a good rivalry going with them. It seems like every time we play them -- varsity or JV -- it's a good game."

Last year, in the two schools' first varsity meeting, the Skyhawks prevailed 24-23 in overtime, taking advantage of a botched snap on a point-after attempt.