By Mike Kovak, Staff writer

mkovak@observer-reporter.com

Locate a major Division I football program and chances are a passing clinic of some sort is held there each summer.

From Pitt to Penn State to West Virginia, local teams flock to passing camps. Some, such as Chartiers-Houston High School, make extensive travel plans. The Bucs went to the University of Miami during the summer.

The time spent around college coaches is evident, particularly among Class A schools, where passing statistics are on a steep incline.

Call it high school football's version of the trickle-down effect.

"I think you always see what comes in college football shows up at the high school level three of four years later," Burgettstown football coach Matt Taylor said. "One reason why is all these clinics. You're hard-pressed not to find an offensive topic come up at a clinic that doesn't revolve around the spread offense."

Versions of the spread offense are popping up in the WPIAL.

Clairton runs its version to near perfection, as evidenced by the WPIAL-leading 281 points scored. In a driving rain, Thomas Jefferson went to a shotgun formation with a single running back and three receivers against Trinity and won, 40-0. Monessen utilized a spread offense against Beth-Center.

In Washington and Greene counties, the spread offense may not be in vogue, but offenses are throwing with much greater frequency than previous years.

"I try not to pay much attention to what is going on other than the week we're in but we have to use it," California coach Joe Kuhns said. "We don't have any big, bruising backs but we do have good, tall receivers. We have to throw the ball. The same with Carmichaels."

During last week's game at Carmichaels, California quarterback D.J. Martinak completed 12 of 19 passes for 207 yards and four touchdowns. Carmichaels quarterback Joby Lapkowicz went 11-for-12 for 235 yards and one touchdown in what might be the most efficient quarterbacked game in Tri-County South Conference history.

It's not just the Trojans and Mikes airing it out.

Among the schools that make their statistics available to the Observer-Reporter, the top nine local passers are in Class A.

Burgettstown freshman Dylan Bongiorni leads the area with 776 passing yards. Martinak has thrown for 677 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jefferson-Morgan's Brandon Kozich has passed for 591 yards and the Carmichaels tandem of Jonathan Krall (526 yards, three TDs) and Lapkowicz (520 yards, five TDs) rank fourth and fifth.

"One thing with the smaller schools is, traditionally, not a lot of the bigger schools run gimmicky offenses like the Delaware wing-T or the veer," Taylor said. "With smaller linemen, you can use deception and get away with it. The big schools have bigger linemen."

With the Class A schools throwing more often, rushing statistics are taking a major hit.

Only one local runner - Chartiers-Houston senior Brad Banas - is on pace to eclipse the 1,000-yard barrier by the end of the regular season. Banas has rushed for 713 yards through six game and is on pace for 1,070 yards.

Canon-McMillan junior Mike Hull is the area's second-leading rusher with 603 yards, which equates to 905 yards through nine games.

So, is this an offensive trend or just a passing fancy?

Coaches seems to think the latter. They point to teams such as Beth-Center, Clairton, Rochester and Avonworth. Each leads its respective Class A conference.

Beth-Center (4-0, 5-1), the first-place team in the Tri-County South, plays at rival California (3-1, 3-3) tonight.

"The team in our conference that runs the ball the best right now is 4-0," Kuhns said. "It still comes down to who runs the ball better."

Burgettstown (2-2, 2-4) faces Clairton (4-0, 6-0) and running back Deontae Howard, who ranks second in the Black Hills Conference with 837 rushing yards and 80 points.

"There's no doubt about it. You have to run to win," Taylor said. "If you look at the four games we lost, we didn't have a 100-yard rusher. In the two games we won, we did. No matter what passing stats teams are putting up, it doesn't mean much without good running."

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