Had Terrence Charles been eligible last season, the Montclair High School football team could have made the playoffs – a season after going 0-10. This according to head coach Rick Ward, who took over last year following the winless 2007 campaign.
Well, Charles IS eligible this year. The Division-I talent will take over at running back for a Montclair team that “lost four games in the fourth quarter that would have put us in the playoffs,” according to Ward.
The 5-10, 175 pound Charles’ ineligibility expired in time for the final two games of last season. According to MaxPreps.com, he rushed for 52 yards on 16 carries in a lopsided loss to Colony. But, in the season finale against Garey he took his lone reception for a 56-yard touchdown and piled up 91 yards on just six carries. “He could have run for 100 touchdowns if I would have left him in,” said Ward.
Charles won’t represent the only increase in speed for a Montclair team that went 3-7 and finished fifth in the Mt. Baldy League last season. Returning 10 starters including wide receiver Tory Gilroy, who will play quarterback this season, the Cavaliers will switch to a no-huddle offense.
“We want to try and have 80 snaps a game,” Ward said. “It can lead to a lot of points, but if you have a rough one, it can be a long night.”
Ward was adamant about the main culprit for last season’s shortcomings – conditioning. The Cavs let four games slip away in the fourth quarter. So, to prepare for the pace of the no-huddle, Montclair is “running mountains.” Well, not literally (but it sounds almost as bad). Running the mountain consists of 2000 yards of sprints at a time.
Ward is looking for results now. If his goal of making the playoffs on the heels of an 0-10 season was any indication, patience isn’t quite a virtue.
“If we would have won six games and gone 6-4,” Ward said, “that would have been a huge turnaround.”
