Dogs’ offensive line keeps Allen safe, snug in his varsity debut
Posted on Saturday, September 6, 2008
Stunting and blitzing were absent from Little Rock Central's defensive game plan Friday night at Harmon Field.
The Tigers rushed four down linemen most of the night and made Fayetteville's sophomore quarterback throw into coverage. Even with seven defenders covering four and five Fayetteville receivers, precocious Brandon Allen picked apart the Tiger secondary.
He threw for more than 280 yards and five touchdowns during the first half of his varsity debut, spurring Fayetteville to a 35-0 win in the season opener. The offensive front afforded the sophomore all the time he needed to scan the field, forging a pass pocket impervious to the rush of Central's front four.
Allen experienced duress on only one of his 18 pass attempts and wasn't sacked all night. Snug in his bubble, Allen could direct his focus downfield and not worry about the Central rush.
"Now he knows that we're in front and we're going to do our part," said senior left guard Tyler McKee, one of two returning starters on the offensive line. "We're not going to let anyone come through."
The line repelled a Central front boasting strength and athleticism. Those physical attributes inspired a false confidence, as Central was unsuccessful in its attempt to overpower a Fayetteville line consisting of senior left tackle Colby Berna, McKee, senior center Tim Heminger, alternating right guards Cody Gall and Nathan Watson and right tackle Max Mulherin.
"They were only rushing four," said Mark White, Fayetteville's offensive line coach. "When it's five on four, it makes it a little bit easier, but still you've got to do a good job protecting, especially on those deep throws."
Central rarely varied the number of rushers it sent at Allen. The path they took toward him was also constant for most of the game. Instead of stunting or twisting, the Central front rushed straight ahead.
"The were straight-on bull rushing," McKee said. "They weren't doing stunts or anything. I think our line did a really good job tonight. Their defensive line was big and strong, but our offensive line just took whatever they handed out."
"Once we started wearing them out, we started getting a lot of protection for Brandon Allen," Mulherin added. "He could get the ball downfield, play after play."
McKee and Mulherin said the Bulldogs didn't want Central's defensive line to advance any farther than 3 yards into the backfield. Fayetteville stood firm, stanching the Tiger thrust before it could reach Allen.
"We just stick a foot in the ground and stop their charge," McKee said. "We were expecting they weren't going to mix things up. When we watched them on film, they weren't much for stunting. They were more about power."
The line provided some of its best protection on a 74-yard touchdown pass to Kellen Summers. When Allen completed his five-step drop, he still had time to look off one safety and loft the ball over the other one's head.
On the final touchdown of the game, a stop-and-go route to Demetrius Dean late in the second quarter, Allen had time to pump fake and reset his feet.
"We worked hard this week on pass protection," White said. "Pass protection is repetition. Here at Fayetteville, if you're going to play offensive line, you've got to be a good pass protector."
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