KNIGHT HIGH FINDS COMFORT IN THE OPTION MERRITT MAKES SWITCH FROM RUNNING BACK TO QB.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Staff Writer PALMDALE -- The experiment was originally devised out of necessity late last season when Knight High's seniorless football team was left scrambling to field a team after losing nine starters to injuries. Knight coach Jim Bauer, who'd been running a power pitch offense since starting the program in 2003 and at Littlerock long before that, decided to run an option offense. The scheme centered around moving running back Terrel Merritt to quarterback, replacing an injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. Michael Solano. Although his passing skills needed some polish, Merritt's quick feet made him an ideal option quarterbacking candidate, and his combined 265 rushing yards in Knight's last two games were among the few bright spots for a team that was 2-8 overall and 0-6 in Golden League, giving Bauer reason to believe the scheme offered some promise. Merritt has since made great strides in the passing department, culminating with a clutch effort in Friday's 18-14 league upset of Quartz Hill, when he engineered a thrilling 83-yard scoring drive with a minute and 31 seconds left in the game. The option is a football version of a shell game, and when run well, it can be exceedingly difficult to figure out who the ball carrier is. ``What we did was take our best running back and we made him a quarterback,'' Knight coach Jim Bauer said. Merritt has thrown for 499 yards in five games, 117 more than the Hawks' 2005 season total in 10 games. ``The fact that he's been able to throw the ball has opened up our offense,'' Bauer said. ``Otherwise we'd be getting loaded up in the box and we couldn't run.'' Merritt was 4 for 6 on the drive, highlighted by a key third-and-long completion to Demetick Clifton and a 35-yard completion to Gillonni Green that got the Hawks to the Quartz Hill 3. Green fumbled on the play, but Justin Culver cul·ver n. A dove or pigeon. [Middle English, from Old English culufre, from Vulgar Latin *columbra, from Latin columbula, diminutive of columba, dove.] recovered for Knight, setting up Merritt's scoring run. Other key contributors for Knight included linebackers Darveon Morris and Joseph Fleming, who each had 10 tackles. Friday's victory, the program's first win and arguably ar·gu·a·ble adj. 1. Open to argument: an arguable question, still unresolved. 2. That can be argued plausibly; defensible in argument: three arguable points of law. among the fourth-year school's most significant victory in any sport, has the Hawks (2-3, 1-1) in contention for one of the league's four playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. berths. ``This was our first Golden League win and obviously it's a big deal,'' Bauer said. ``This is a very tough league and it's tough to win in this league.'' It has also been a boon for morale. ``It gives you a little more motivation to go out and practice,'' Bauer said. Wake-up call: After a lackluster effort in the first half of Friday's game against traditional rival Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , Palmdale coach Jeff Williams For the poker player, see . For the physician, see . For the astronaut, see . Jeff Williams (born June 6, 1972 in Canberra) is an Australian-born, left-handed pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. lit a fire under his team at halftime that by all accounts provided the impetus for a 37-10 victory. Heavy league favorite Palmdale was locked in a 10-10 tie with Antelope Valley at halftime, but the Falcons broke the game open in the third quarter, scoring on their first two possessions. Palmdale quarterback David Coleman This page is about David Coleman the sportsman, for the academic visit David Coleman (academic) David Coleman, OBE (born 26 April 1926) is a former British sports commentator and TV presenter. was 9 for 16 passing for 188 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. ``Coach (Williams) went off on us (at halftime),'' Coleman said. ``He told us exactly what we needed to hear and we picked it up in the second half.'' Turnaround: Antelope Valley Christian's 8-man team defeated Excelsior Education Center of Victorville 28-6 on Saturday to remain one of two unbeaten Antelope Valley teams. The Eagles' (5-0) remarkable run comes after two consecutive winless seasons. AV Christian was outscored 217-52 in last season's 0-5 campaign, and was a combined 0-14 the last two seasons. Inconclusive INCONCLUSIVE. What does not put an end to a thing. Inconclusive presumptions are those which may be overcome by opposing proof; for example, the law presumes that he who possesses personal property is the owner of it, but evidence is allowed to contradict this presumption, and show who is : Quartz Hill two-way lineman Jason Fonzi remains doubtful for this Friday's nonleague game against Saugus with a high-ankle injury that's sidelined him the last four weeks. Results of an MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. taken last week were inconclusive, Quartz Hill coach Pat Degnan said. ``They told him not to put any weight on it for a while for precautionary pre·cau·tion·ar·y also pre·cau·tion·al adj. Of, relating to, or constituting a precaution: taking precautionary measures; gave precautionary advice. Adj. 1. reasons,'' Degnan said. Rankings: Boron boron (bōr`ŏn) [New Gr. from borax], chemical element; symbol B; at. no. 5; at. wt. 10.81; m.p. about 2,300°C;; sublimation point about 2,550°C;; sp. gr. 2.3 at 25°C;; valence +3. remains the Antelope Valley's only unbeaten 11-man team after its 7-6 nonleague victory over Mojave on Friday. The Bobcats (5-0) are ranked No. 2 in the most recent Southern Section Northeast Div. poll, and are among four Antelope Valley ranked teams. Palmdale (4-1, 2-0) is ranked No. 7 in the Western Div., Rosamond (4-1) is ranked No. 6 in the East Valley Div., and A.V. Christian is Christian I (krĭs`chən), 1426–81, king of Denmark (1448–81), Norway (1450–81), and Sweden (1457–64), count of Oldenburg, and founder of the Oldenburg dynasty of Danish kings. ranked sixth in the 8-man Div. II poll gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com 661-267-7802 CAPTION(S): box Box: Local Scoreboard |
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