Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003 | 10:16 a.m.
When Kris Cinkovich took over as coach of the Las Vegas football program in 1994, Las Vegas became a passing team. Then it switched to a running offense with Antione White two years ago. Back it went to a passing team again last season with Corey Williams, and once more to a running team behind Eric Jordan this year.
Through the swirl of styles, two constants remain: The Wildcats are one of the city's most adaptable teams and their dominant offensive line play makes success possible for its skill position stars.
"We've got to win it up front," Cinkovich said. "That hasn't changed."
So if the line has paid the bills all these years, it is time to find out just how deep its pockets really are as the playoffs open next week for Las Vegas with its offense in flux not because of changing philosophies, but because of injuries.
Two weeks ago, senior quarterback Chris Gifford went down with a broken leg leg. Las Vegas (NE-1, 9-0) suffered an even bigger blow last week when sophomore tailback Eric Jordan broke a wrist bracing a fall at the end of a seemingly harmless fourth-quarter play, with the Wildcats well ahead of Desert Pines.
Both are out for the season. In their place are two sophomores -- QB Jeremy Craddock and RB Jamal Lomax -- with a combined one start on varsity. Now, with tough Basic (SE-4, 7-2) on tap in the first round, Las Vegas' unsung heroes -- linemen Richie Plunkett, David Mann, Cameron Busby, Armando Capetillo, Arturo Rodriguez and Steve Holmes -- get their chance to step up to the microphone and tell everyone that success originates in the trenches.
"I think it's a good challenge," Mann said. "I think it will be very good for our team to test the character and see how much our team wants to come up and be winners."
Both running and passing football require strength and agility on the line, and the Wildcats' linemen are as good as they have been in years. Desert Pines coach Leon Evans just shook his head talking about the speed and nastiness of Las Vegas' linemen as the Jaguars prepared for the Wildcats last week.
A 36-8 beating later, Evans' fears about that line were confirmed, as Jordan ran for 240 yards and two scores before his injury and Craddock completed his first seven passes as a varsity quarterback.
"We miss the guys that have went down," Mann said. "But I think the best thing to do for them is to step up and lead (us) to more wins."
At Las Vegas, another key to winning is constantly adjusting schemes to fit the players on the team. Cinkovich admits that his ideas about winning football have evolved to learn how to best use his players instead of pounding square pegs into round holes.
"We came here to be big-time throwers," Cinkovich said of coming to Las Vegas from Green Valley. "We've also had rushing success. The more we do it, the more we realize you need to pound it to have success."
White highlighted that philosophy as Las Vegas went undefeated in winning the 4A state championship in 2001. White ran behind a good line for 2,949 yards and 48 touchdowns.
Last year, Williams was clearly the most skilled offensive player. Cinkovich and line coach Art Plunkett asked their linemen to become pass blockers for quarterback Aaron Jenkins and they responded by taking the Wildcats to the Sunrise Region final. Williams caught 64 passes for 995 yards and 15 scores.
With Jordan ready to bust out this season, the Wildcats quickly shifted back to the ground game. They have not lost a game since and even players in the passing game do not mind the running emphasis.
"That's what one of our downfalls was last year," said Las Vegas senior wideout Stanley Copeland. "We didn't securely run the ball as good as we wanted to, which led to us not being able to go as for as we could have."
"This year, (Cinkovich) wants to have smashmouth running. After that, we can fall onto the passing game. It all starts with the running game, inside the trenches. With our line being so big and being able to move the way they can, there's no sense in not using them."
Bring on the responsibility of being used to win games in front of inexperienced skill players, Mann said.
"The pressure's been on our shoulders, but we practice really hard and the guys are up for it," Mann said.
The young man who took most of Las Vegas' snaps this year agrees.
"Our O-line is going to have to step up big-time," Gifford said. "They've already done an awesome job this year. Sometimes, I drop back and I'll look one way, and there's nothing. So I'll look the other way, and there's nothing. I'll look back and still, no one's in my face."
No one will be in Gifford's face next week and no one will be looking to stop Jordan. The Wildcats' line will need an especially in-your-face performance if the undefeated season, and the line's recent legacy, is to continue.
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