Lancers prepare for Region III playoff game

By Laura Clark

Published: November 12, 2008

After a first-round bye, the Lancers begin playoffs Nov. 14, hosting Harrisonburg (8-3) at 7:30.

The Lancers finished the regular season with 9-1 record. The only loss was 24-21 to Brookville in the first game of the season on Aug. 22. Since then, Amherst has outscored teams 371-72, which is a testament to full team execution. Here’s a breakdown of the team’s progress going into the postseason.

Offense

First-year head coach Cecil Phillips implemented a Wing-T formation this season. He’ll be the first to say that learning this system was the offense’s biggest challenge.

“We had our growing pains early,” Phillips said. “We struggled to put points on the board in our scrimmage against William Campbell. We put a few on the board against Dinwiddie. We came out and moved the ball real well against Brookville, but we were careless and turned the ball over some.

“As the season progressed, the kids started understanding the system. When they gained confidence they started playing at a faster pace and much higher level.”

Running the offense is junior quarterback Anthony Rose. He’s the second-leading rusher on the team with 588 yards this season.

“Everything we do is hard work,” Rose said. “And you’ve got to think. The offense is complicated, a whole bunch of twisting and turning and stuff.”

When not carrying the ball himself, Rose has several options for the pitch or handoff including halfbacks Mario Vaughan and Jamar Glover or tailback Jamal Glover. Beyond these speedy starters, the Lancers use Tyrease Brown, A.J. Parrish and Devonte Brown for the muscle runs.

An asset to the offense is this considerable depth, allowing fresh legs to move downfield with similar production no matter the carrier. Most of the time, no single player carriers the ball more than eight times a game.

Vaughan is the team’s leading rusher with 616 yards this season. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior is no ordinary running back, according to Rose.

“He’s got excellent vision. He can make a cut. He can stop,” Rose said.

Juniors Jamar and Jamal Glover are next in line for the carries. The 5-foot-4, 140-pound identical twins make quick cuts to the sidelines for big gains. Jamar has 522 yards rushing, and Jamal has 404.

Few people can tell the two apart. Phillips assigned each the right or left side of the backfield per the last letter of their first names. Rose, who has known the two since elementary school has a tip: Jamar has a scar on his forehead. When one of the Glovers gets tackled on a carry, teammates on the sideline proudly exclaim, “It doesn’t hurt him. He can’t feel it.” It often takes more than one defender to stop a twin.

“You should see them without their pads on,” Rose said. “It’s nothing but muscle. They have no fat.”

The Lancers also have a weapon in their passing game. Rose has completed 14 of 25 passes for 230 yards this season. Here’s where sophomore quarterback Kirby Anderson comes in. He’s thrown for 232 yards this season (and rushed for 268). With Anderson taking the snap, Rose becomes a wide out, and at 6-3, an attractive target downfield. Chris McDaniel is the starting wide receiver. Tight end Taylor Grubbs is the main passing target, though, with nine catches for 166 yards.

“The running game has been going so well it’s really opened up our play-action passing game,” Phillips said. “We hit two touchdown passes in the last game (against Heritage: Rose threw 13 yards to Brown and 30 yards to Grubbs). It really makes the quarterback’s decision a whole lot easier. We’re able to keep teams off balance.”

Phillips points to games like the 35-6 win against Jefferson Forest as evidence his team can come out hard and focused, and the 34-13 win at G.W. Danville as a game where, entering the fourth quarter with a 6-point lead, his players can put a game away.

The constant through the season is the senior-heavy offensive line: center Sean Clark, guards Josh Tolitol and James Rogers, and tackles Darius Byrd and Cody Stinnett. With this lineup, the Lancers have rushed for 3,015 yards this season.

“They’re working their tails off,” Rose said. “That’s just opening up holes for us. That’s how we’re getting so many rushing yards in a game.”

“Without them our offense goes no where,” said Vaughan, who has 13 rushing touchdowns. “When I score, they score. I look forward to seeing them every day. They’re the best.”

If there’s any downfall to the Lancers’ offense it’s turnovers. Against Heritage Oct. 31, the first-team offense had two fumbles for a loss. Rose lost the ball on contact after running 27-yards. Then the same thing happened when McDaniel returned a punt about 40 yards.

“Those were two scoring chances we took away from ourselves,” Phillips said. “We’ve got to be able to capitalize on our opponents mistakes, but we can’t make mistakes. We’re striving for perfection.”

Defense

Perfection on the defensive side means a shut out. Officially, the Lancers have one shutout this season, against Staunton River on Oct. 24. But the first-team defense has five shutouts.

The Lancers gave up the most points (24) against Brookville.

“As the season progressed, we’ve really locked down,” defensive coordinator Josh Woods said. “Really, just the players we have, they got better throughout the year. Timmy Johnson is one kid that’s really stepped up this year. Tyrease Brown, we started him at outside linebacker and moved him to one of the inside linebacker spots. He’s another kid that’s come on strong.

“As a team, we put the best 11 players on the defense. We really count on all of them.”

Johnson has 23 solo tackles, and Brown leads the team with seven sacks this season.

The only change for the 3-5-3 defense this season was new calls. They still blitz like crazy, swarm the ball carrier, and hit hard. Rose, the starting “stud” or strong-side outside linebacker, relishes playing on this side of the ball.

“It’s more flying around, finding the person with the ball to try and knock their head off,” Rose said.

The Lancer defense has held opponents to 1,606 yards of total offense this season, an average of 160 yards per game. Senior nose guard K.B. Bennett is flanked by Johnson and Charles Eubanks. Behind the line are Rose, Anderson, Antjuan Harvey, Brown and Parrish.

Senior linebacker Parrish is the solo-tackling king (9.3 per game) and defensive leader. His takedowns illustrate a successful defense, according to Johnson, a junior defensive end.

“If we get occupied by our blocks the way we’re supposed to, it gives an open hole for A.J. to come in and make a big play,” Johnson said.

“He reads the offense and calls the strength. That tells people where to go,” Woods said of Parrish, named All-District Defensive Player of the Year.

Cornerbacks Vaughan and Sage Mays and safety McDaniel may seem an easy target, as they each are about 5-foot-9. But teams have been held to an average of 55 passing yards per game against these three. McDaniel leads the interception charge with four on the season.

“They can play. They’ll get after you,” Woods said. “What they lack in size they make up in intensity and what they bring when they come to hit.

“Really, our main philosophy on defense is runners and hitters,” he said.

Extra points

Opponents would be smart not to underestimate players like Vaughan and McDaniel when they field a punt or kickoff. McDaniel has 258 yards and one touchdown on the season returning punts. Vaughan has 159 yards and one touchdown on kickoff returns.

“(We try) to get the offense a field advantage, get as close to the goal line where they don’t have to stay on the field very long,” Vaughan said. “(We) at least try to score so our offense doesn’t have to touch the field.”

Freshman kicker Tyler Dawson earned an honorable mention on the all-district team. The Lancers rarely go for the two-point conversion, instead relying on Dawson. He’s made 44 of 51 extra point attempts. He’s also made two field goals, from 37 yards against Staunton River and from 38 yards against Heritage.

Experience and home field advantage

Hosting the first playoff game means everything to Vaughan. Familiar turf, no traveling and fans galore will make things easier Vaughan said.

“Most of the time I’m not nervous because I’m looking forward to seeing what happens,” Vaughan said. “But playoffs, I’ll probably be nervous. Just a little bit. Until I first get hit. When they hit me I won’t be nervous anymore.”

The Lancers have been here before. Two years running to a state championship and that fact is the greatest asset this team has going into the playoffs, the coaches said.

“They know what kind of atmospheres they’re going to face. I think that’s really going to help us down the road,” said Phillips, who has been on the sideline in two state semifinal games as an assistant at William Campbell. “We’re just focusing on one game at a time. We’ve got to take care of ourselves first.”

Woods took a look at the big picture, and where many A-town thoughts are heading.

“The kids know what it takes to get to where we want to be, which is winning a third state championship,” Woods said.

First the Lancers will have to get through the Blue Devils, who are coming off a 47-14 win against William Byrd in the first round. Harrisonburg returns senior running back Alex Owah, who verbally committed to UVA last fall.

Owah was here when the Blue Devils lost 47-7 to Amherst on Nov. 16, 2007. He missed four games with an injury early in the season, and the three losses for Harrisonburg where without him. Since his return after Oct. 3, the Blue Devils have outscored opponents 138-34.

In the William Byrd win, Owah rushed for 200 of the Blue Devils 224 total rushing yards. He scored four touchdowns. The Blue Devils play an I-formation, with Owah running the screen. Sophomore quarterback Jake Johnson also brings a passing threat.

Johnson opened the Byrd game with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Troy Jones. Johnson threw for 143 yards against Byrd. His other targets include senior wide receivers Michael Atkinson and DeSean Taylor.

Harrisonburg’s defense held William Byrd to 265 yards of offense. Byrd’s leading rusher, Derrick Palmer, had more than 2,000 rushing yards this season. The Blue Devils held him to 85 yards.

The Lancers have used the bye week to rest up a few minor injuries and focus on the fundamental skills, blocking and tackling, according to Phillips. He’s kept them sharp by putting them in competitive situations before specifically preparing for Harrisonburg this week.

Rose didn’t mention experience as the team’s strength going into playoffs. But he was all-inclusive.

“Defense. Offense. Everything. Everything’s clicking right now,” Rose said.