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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1981)
sports Gadget plays In crucial situations, Oregon has a few special tricks up its sleeve By STEVE TURCOTTE Of EnwraM They have the ability to bring the crowd to its feet They can change the complexion of the game And they can make a team look very good — or very bad. They are gadget plays, alias flea-flickers, alias gimmick plays, alias whatever you want to call them. Gadget plays are the offense's ace in the hole — sel dom used, but usually effective The object is to catch the defense off-guard, pick up the big first down, or even score an easy six points "The situation of the game really has a lot to do whether or not we run a play like that.” said Oregon offensive coordinator Erik Widmark “Timing of when the play is called is also crucial When we run the plays, we are looking for something that is tricky and hopefully we ll get a big play out if it ” In the Duck playbook there are a few of the gadget plays but the Ducks have unveiled but three of them on the playing field as yet Of those, the play that's worked the best has been the double-reverse pass In this play, (diagrammed at the right) the quarterback receives the snap from the center and quickly pitches the ball to the tailback who is lined up as the deep back in the *T’ formation The tailback then hands the ball off to the split end running from left to right The split end pitches the ball back to the quarterback who throws the pigskin into the arms of the awaiting receiver That play aided Oregon in three wins — two of which were over the Washington schools “That play worked for us three out of the four times we ran it last year," said Duck head coach Rich Brooks "The only time it didn't work for us was in the Arizona State game and it cost us "But it's a good play I think Kevin Lusk runs it better than Reggie Ogburn because he throws the ball better " Another gadget in the Oregon playbook that the Ducks have used before is the fake punt "We haven’t run the fake punt this year, but last year against Kansas it worked for us,” said Brooks "What we do is hike the ball to the short man, who is Vince Williams, who take the ball and runs for a first down " Though the Ducks haven't used the fake punt Oregon has had success with one other play — the fake field goal In the team's home opener two weeks ago against Pacific, a Vi Sandwich and soup for the price of one sandwich! 1. ROAST BEEF Roast Beef Sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.90 2. 1st LADY’S SPEC. 1st Lady's Special Ham-swiss cheese sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.75 3. 4« SL. TURKEY SI Turkey Choice of cheese Sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.60 5. COMBO. CHEESE Combo-Cheese Choice of swiss-cheddar Sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.40 7. SL. CORN BEEF SI Corn Beef Sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.95 8. TURKEY PASTRAMI Turkey-Pastrami Monterey jack Sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.55 9. BEEF PASTRAMI Beef-Pastrami Choice of cheese Sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.90 6. HARD SALAMI Hard Salami Provalone Sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.50 TURKEY SALAMI Turkey-Salami Monterey jack sprouts or lettuce Choice of bread $1.40 E.M.U. Fishbowl •J The illustration above diagrams the double reverse pass The quarterback pitches to the tailback, who hands off to the split end. who finally returns the ball to the quarterback — who can hit any of three receivers streaking up field Different versions can be run as in the below photo, where the tailback has kept the ball instead of pitching 34-0 win, (tie Ducks lined up (or an apparent 42-yard Doug Jol lymour field goal attempt But hold the phone Split end Greg Moser took the snap and sprint ed to the left side of the field and floated a pass of 25 yards to tight end Greg Hogensen ‘ We have run a fake field goal before,' said Widmark "On that play against Pacific, Moser had the option either to run for the first down or pass for the first down That touchdown was just an added bonus "There again, though is a situation where momentum has a lot to do with whether we run the play or not " To the fans, a gadget play may seem to be hastily con trived But according to Wid mark and Brooks, the plays are gone over with a fine-tooth comb during practice sessions "The plays are practiced, studied and executed during practice," said Widmark “The decision to go with them usually comes before the game Coach Brooks and myself, along with some other coaches have the input on which plays to run " "The plays definitely have to be worked on during practice," said Brooks "We like to use them when we see that the defense is falling asleep It's best to run the plays when the defense least expects them The Continued on Page 13 Photo by Bob Bako BOARDS & BRICKS
