Plan B turned out to be the right choice.
The versatile Lions switched from their run-based tight offense to the spread and scored on eight straight possessions en route to scoring 62 second-half points in a stunning 94-63 win over the Eagles.
“The last game we felt real confident going into the spread,” said junior Taylor Truitt, who ran for six and threw for the other two touchdowns during the spurt and accounted for 10 total TDs in the game.
“It was interesting because nobody really knew what it was but we were down in the first half, then we switched to spread and everybody had it in their head that we were going to win the game.”
CTCS’ 62-point second-half output is more impressive considering the Lions had only scored more than 62 twice in their first 11 games.
That type of production will be needed when No. 5 CTCS (7-5) faces No. 2 Rockwall Heritage Christian (10-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Moody’s Bearcat Stadium in a TAPPS Six-Man Division I state semifinal.
But where had this secret weapon been hiding all year?
For much of the season, CTCS featured its tight offense in which backs Jeremiah Bergert and Caleb Paschall, who’s rushed for 330 yards and eight TDs, are in a stack formation to the left behind quarterback Truitt.
“I do the outside sweep. He (Paschall) does the inside sweep,” said Bergert, who has rushed for 1,025 yards and 17 TDs this season. “I use my speed well and he uses his downhill running ability.”
Even though the Lions have practiced their spread - Bergert and Paschall lined up split behind center with Truitt the deep back and top receiver Brent Reynolds on the outside - as often as their tight, they only used it sparingly against Austin Hill Country and Round Rock Christian in the regular season.
However after his team threw three interceptions and was stopped on downs twice in its first seven possessions against Pine Drive, coach Jeremy Wentrcek decided to make the change. The result proved beneficial to CTCS, giving the Lions a secondary dimension that is as potent as their bread-and-butter tight offense.
“We lean on the tight more than the spread, but what we do with the spread is we have four or five plays out of it that we just run over and over,” Wentrcek said. “A lot of teams that are tight teams will just go to it if they have to. I feel like it gives us a real advantage if we can run them both well.”
After a shoulder injury forced Truitt to miss a preseason scrimmage and limited his throwing ability early in the year, he produced a career effort - seven rushing TDs, two passing TDs, returned an interception for a TD and recovered a fumble - last week which was exactly what Wentrcek was hoping to see
“That was obviously the most offensive output he has had all season,” Wentrcek said. “We knew he had the ability, but because of the injury, I’m sure glad he broke out when he did.”
His performance also showed how good a healthy Lions team can be compared to the team that started 3-4 this season.
Aside from Truitt’s injury, Bergert missed all of two-a-days with mononucleosis, Paschall played the first half of the season with an injured ankle and receiver Brian Browder didn’t decide to play football until after CTCS’ first game of the season.
“That’s why we started off a little bad,” Bergert said. “We wanted to have the full team together real bad. Once we did, we were really pleased and that helped out our teamwork.”
Added Wentrcek: “We felt like we had the ability to do it and then it was a matter of jelling them after everyone got there in midseason. We felt like this (against Pine Drive) was the first game we played at the level we are capable of playing at.”
Finally healthy and coming off what is most likely the biggest victory in school history, the Lions are confident they have the firepower to hang with anyone.
“We have all these weapons that we can throw out,” Truitt said. “We practice every single thing we have and we practice so hard. Other teams are seeing our tapes and it just gives them more to look at.”
