L-P moving away from triple option, hopes to be more balanced

When La Salle-Peru offensive coordinator Nathan Boudreau resigned in the spring, head coach Jose Medina decided he’d take over the offensive play calling role for the Cavaliers.

“I felt it was right,” said Medina, who previously served as L-P’s offensive coordinator on the sophomore level and as defensive coordinator for the varsity. “It’s kind of hard last minute to find a new OC, so I’ve been diving into some different things and just figured I might as well take the reins this year and see how it goes.”

With Medina leading the offense, then Cavs are moving away from the triple option they’ve used for the last six seasons.

“We’re going to more of a gap scheme offense,” Medina said. “There will be a little bit more passing to an extent. It’s about getting the ball to our playmakers, just trying to get them out in space and making things happen for them. But we’ll be run heavy. When it comes to that gap scheme, we have power and a lot of counters and a lot of buck sweep type things. We’ll be moving people around and hopefully making some big plays.”

Medina said he decided to transition to a more balanced offensive scheme based on L-P’s personnel.

“It was based on what we had,” Medina said. “I think we have skill kids we can get the ball to out in space and they can make people miss. We just have to make sure they catch the ball and they turn up the field and run with it.

“As coaches, we just see what’s going to work for them. We look and find different things that are going to match what we have as far as skill kids. I felt this offense was the right move. I think it’s going to be able to show people what we have and hopefully put some points on the board.”

The Cavs have been implementing the new scheme throughout the summer with camp and controlled scrimmages against Mendota and Hall.

L-P and teams around the state open practices Monday.

“Change is always hard, but after (six) years of running the same style offensively, we thought it would be a good change,” Medina said. “I think the kids are excited, the kids are motivated and eager to learn and have been doing a good job as far as picking it up.

“We started in June and started very basic. We started with two run plays then introduced a pass play and built off that. The terminology is not too complex. It’s pretty straight forward.”

Senior running back Brady Romagnoli said the Cavs have been adapting well.

“A different offense is kind of hard to get used to, especially right off the bat, but we’ve been getting used to it and we’ve been doing well,” Romagnoli said. “I watched film. I tried to get more reps. I like watching on the sidelines sometimes too just to look at how the plays work and how the linemen go upfield and block.”

Along with picking up the new offense well, the players are enjoying it.

“I think it’s going to be better for us,” said junior Andy Medina, who will add guard to his duties this season along with linebacker. “I think everybody on the team likes it more than the triple option. It’s more fun. I think it’s running well.”

Senior Brendan Boudreau returns at quarterback to lead the transition to the new offense.

“I think (the offense) fits Brendan pretty well as far as his talents,” Jose Medina said. “He can throw the ball. He’s smart with the football and he’s elusive too.

“Brady Romagnoli and Brendan Vogel are going to get some reps at running back. They’re very shifty kids. We’re going to try to pound it in and maybe get some breaks on the outside as well.”

Boudreau said the Cavs are “learning it pretty well” and he’s looking forward to the new scheme.

“It’s fun,” said Boudreau, who threw two touchdowns last season and ran for five TDs. “I mean, everyone loves to throw and catch. I like running the ball too. It will be fun to get the ball into some athletic people’s hands. We have a lot of fast, quick athletes”

Last fall, when L-P went 5-4 in the regular season and qualified for the playoffs for the third season in a row, it averaged 183.6 rushing yards, 32.9 passing yards and 19.3 points per game.

The Cavs expect the rushing and passing numbers to be more balanced this season.

“I think it’s going to help us out just to kind of spread teams out and not be so one-dimensional,” Jose Medina said. “That one dimensional worked at certain times and it didn’t work at certain times. I think it’ll be a good transition into a different offense.

“I’m excited. The kids are excited. It’s just something new. We just have to get ready to put it out there and see what the kids can do and how they’re going to produce.”