Balance is the word for Redskin offense

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  • Tony McSwain • The Madill Record The Kingston Redskin offense gets to work on a play against Marietta in their matchup during the 2018 season. The squad values their abilitiy to both run and throw ball .
    Tony McSwain • The Madill Record The Kingston Redskin offense gets to work on a play against Marietta in their matchup during the 2018 season. The squad values their abilitiy to both run and throw ball .
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Ask any of the Kingston coaches or players about their offense and you’ll hear the word balance thrown around a lot.

Officially the offense is called the multiple I, said Tommy Bare, Kingston head coach.

“We’ll be under center some,” he said. “We’ll be in shotgun some. It just depends on the situations. We feel comfortable either under center or in shotgun.”

New starting quarterback, junior Jase Hayes, echoed his coach’s sentiments.

With a balanced offensive, you’re under shotgun or under center,” he said. “There’s both running and passing so plays can be all over the place.”

Bare knows the team needs to replace the production of some key seniors.

“Offensively, last year we lost our quarterback,” he said. “We lost two running backs. And we lost three offensive lineman so obviously that’s who we’re looking to replace.”

Bare said the team is in good hands with Hayes under center.

“We feel really comfortable at quarterback with Jace Hayes who’s gonna step in and do a quality job there for us,” he said. “He’s a good leader, knows the game real well and is a coach’s son. He’s looked really good here in the fall camp. “

The offensive line should be a strength for the Redskins, Bare said.

“We’ve got Jakey William as a two-year starter back at center,” he said. “We’ve got JC Rose whose a two-year starter. Kolton Daniel is a one-year starter, Coltin Knape got a lot of experience last year. And Caleb Yaeger who is our best defensive lineman is gonna have to play some offensive line for us this year. Those are guys up front that obviously we can’t do anything without.”

Bare continued to name off some of the team’s top offensive talent heading into the season.

“ At tight end we’re in real good shape,” he said. “We got Matthew Hawkins back from last year. He was our second leading receiver.”

Similarly, Bare is pleased with the situation at running back.

“At running backs, we’ve got six guys with quality,” he said. “Got some experience last year. Tanner Showalter is our leading rusher coming back. He was our fullback. He rushed for 600 yards. To go along with him, there’s Matt Fleicher, AJ McKinney, Bryant Watts and Brandon Watson. So we feel like we’re in good shape in that position.”

While, the receiving depth starts with senior Tyler Blanchard, Bare said the team has some other solid pass catchers.

“He’s our leading receiver,” he said. “He’s a quality individual there. We have other guys to go along with him like Colton Robinson, Conner Short, Colby Carter. Again, all those guys are gonna have to step up in the passing game and catch the ball when we throw it. Those are things that again as we progress we’ll look forward to getting better at.”

A new quarterback

In preparation for his promotion, Hayes has spent his summer working on his passing.

“I’m also working on controlling the huddle and becoming a better leader,” he said.

Hayes calls himself more of a natural thrower.

“I’ve still got to get better though,” he said. “More with accuracy than arm strength. I come out here with my wide recievers and throw routes. It’s just repetition and time.

Hayes equates chemistry with his receivers to muscle memory.

“It’s getting the timing down,” he said. They’re good at communication and letting me know where the ball needs to be. We’re good at communicating that stuff. They’re pretty straight forward. A lot of it is, ‘let’s go, let’s go.’

Hayes said he enjoys play action play calls.

“I like five-step drop and all that. Doing that freezes the [opposing cornerback] and it freezes the linebacker. It gives you time to get out of the pocket, get set up and make a good pass.”

Hayes knows opponents look forward to playing Kingston.

“Teams will game plan for us. Some teams will put seven on the line and some won’t. they’ll have three down lineman and that’s it. Three down lineman is good when you’re running. You can’t pass against it. It’s difficult to pass there but it’s so easy to run that you don’t need to pass it.

Hayes relies on draws and set plays to get in a position to run the ball. He said those plays freeze the oppositng linemen and lineackers. It gives you a lane to go get some yards.

“We’ve got hot routes and signs that switch the routes to get [our receivers] in a better position to get the ball.”

Hayes said he doesn’t use words like Omaha when calling audibles.

“Nah,” he said with a chuckle, “we’ve got hand signals.”

Hayes then proceeded to provide a couple of examples.

“Every route has a complement. You have a deep route and a short route.”

Hayes said he can throw a good long ball.

“It’s pretty accurate,” he added.

Hayes said he enjoys running the ball.

“Anything to get yards and get a win,” he said. “Anything to help the team.”

Kingston’s signal caller said he is not the type to slide when running the ball.

“I try to truck through them,” he said. “I ain’t getting paid yet.

Hayes said at the end of the day, he team’s goal is pretty simple.

“The goal is to go 15-0 and win the state championship,” he sai.