Charles 'the difference in Montclair being a playoff team?'
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."
About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
Email Clay here
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