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
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1st Lady's
Special
Ham-swiss
cheese
sprouts or
lettuce
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$1.75
3.
4«
SL. TURKEY
SI Turkey
Choice of
cheese
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$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
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$1.95
8.
TURKEY
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Turkey-Pastrami
Monterey jack
Sprouts or
lettuce
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$1.55
9.
BEEF
PASTRAMI
Beef-Pastrami
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cheese
Sprouts or
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6.
HARD SALAMI
Hard Salami
Provalone
Sprouts or
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$1.50
TURKEY
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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
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