Learning from State Champions - Illinois, Alabama, Maryland, and Ohio
Dec 23, 2022 7:49 pm
Coach ,
Around the country, state champions have been crowned, and we are excited to have their courses on CoachTube. We will be featuring our state champion coaches as well as sharing their insight into what makes them successful on the field in a series over the next weeks.
We recognize them as well as the courses they have created to share their knowledge. There is a wide range of topics and deep dives to learn from and apply to your own team.
Whether you are looking for a pass play that can give your offense the explosive play you need, a running game that dominates every front, or the secrets to building a championship culture, you can find insight from coaches who have used those strategies to help them reach their state’s final game.
Illinois 6A State Champion - East St. Louis, Head Coach Darrell Sunkett
The East St. Louis Flyers captured another football state championship in Illinois 6A. The title is East St. Louis' 10th as a program, and second in the past three seasons (not including the COVID year of 2020).
Head Coach Darren Sunkett's team was dominating this season, outscoring their Illinois High School opponents 523 to 64.
In this video he explains their Pop Pass off of Power Read and the Spot off of Zone Read. These plays created some explosiveness in their offense and protected the run game (click on image for video)”
Alabama 6A State Champion - Saraland High School, Head Coach Jeff Kelly
Coach Jeff Kelly serves as the Athletic Director for Saraland City Schools, as well as the Head Football Coach for the Spartans. During his time at Saraland, the Spartans have risen to prominence throughout the state in football, as well as other sports. The football team has reached the playoffs for 11 consecutive years, reached the AHSAA State Championship three times, winning it this year, and has compiled a record of 105-31.
The Spartans have several options with the quick game paired with RPO. In this video, Coach Kelly shows how they practice the back shoulder as well showing it on game film.
Maryland MIAA A State Champion - Archbishop Spalding, Head Coach Kyle Schmitt
Head Coach Kyle Schmitt played for Ralph Friedgen at Maryland. He helped Archbishop Spalding to their first MIAA A Conference Championship. He does an outstanding job in preparing his teams. When it comes to critical situations is “prepare” rather than plan. He shares the philosophy here:
Coach Schmitt’s clinic is part of the 2023 Offensive Coordinator Professional Development Bundle which includes nearly 10 hours of video form multiple clinics.
Ohio Division I State Champion - St. Edward High School, Head Coach Tom Lombardo
It’s Coach Lombardo’s fifth state championship. Coach Lombardo is the only coach in Ohio history to capture state titles with two different schools. He led Lake Catholic to a Division III state title in 2001 and has four now with St. Edward.
A key play for Lombardo’s offense over the last few seasons has been the power read. With a top talent at running back and multiple personnel groups, the Eagles have gotten plenty of mileage and points from the play
The play is a great complement to their zone-read play. They both read a defensive end. It allows his offensive linemen to carry over the techniques they use from zone to the power-read play. Coach Lombardo explains why they like it here (click on image for video):
The play is versatile against any front. Coach Lombardo illustrates it vs. the 4-2-5 with a 3 technique on the fronstide here: (click on image for video):
Video: Power Read vs Frontside 3-tech
Of course any great running play will create explosive opportunities with play action, and that’s true for the Eagle’s Power Read play. Here are three of Coach Lombardo’s favorites:
Finding that play that can be used in multiple personnel groups, handle multiple fronts, and builds a strong play action off of it creates a formula for offensive success. That’s exactly what the St. Edward’s Eagles have done with Power Read as they won another championship.
We will be sharing more from our State Champions in the coming weeks.
Enjoy the holidays!
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski