As much as we love to toss the ball around when we\’re young, it\’s the run that comes most instinctually to us. Watch a bunch 5-10 year boys outside who don\’t have much to do. It will eventually devolve into tag which is essentially a high school football rushing play without the ball. There\’s something primitive about having to evade everyone as they try to catch you. It\’s goes back to a real old vein that\’s probably been there since we had actual animals or the not so friendly local village people chasing us. That natural instinct to escape and evade attackers is old in deed and that\’s part of the thrill of prep football and the running game. Yea, we may have dressed it up with some rules and different positions with a little bit of padded protection but failure to escape exacts a toll on the running back\’s body although no longer mortal. You\’ve got to have skin in the game, right? Let\’s look at the role of the running game on the high school football front.

The running game really is dominant at the prep level for many reason. First, it doesn\’t really require the sophistication of both personal athletic skill or play calling to pull off like a passing play does. Yes, you have a certain level of ability at the offensive line to really take advantage of running options but you can never underestimate the raw force of just putting the shoulder down and driving through opponents. The running back position is one of the few positions where a person with raw talent but no high school football experience can probably walk on and become a major factor. You give me a high school player with incredible speed, agility, and strength not to mention a love of hitting and it doesn\’t matter if he were raised by wolves (might actually help), it will translate on the field. no experience necessary. You can\’t say that for basketball, tennis, baseball, and even some of the other positions on the football team. The run game is athleticism in almost it\’s purest sense and that\’s what draws us in every play. What keeps us is the breakout run.

A lot of football becomes a slow, steady slog of a few yards each carry. Every now and then, a running back breaks out of this few yard rut and starts blazing down the field. That\’s when we all jump up. The defensive line is the reason for this few yard pattern but once you get past that wall, there\’s a lot of open field and nothing makes a running back light up like an expanse of grass in front of him. A 20 yard run almost feels like a win and touchdown run feels that much better. It\’s the explosion of energy that we all internalize and feel viscerally. It sure does help to have the offensive lineman do their thing.

Although the offensive lineman tend to be big and strong, don\’t think they\’re stupid. They\’re not just ramming ahead into the defensive lineman. Each play is carefully orchestrated with pulling cards, and slants one way or the other to keep the defense on it\’s toes and give the running back some open daylight. When the dominate line, the running game opens up like the gaps in the line before the running back. Looks like the run game is on!

Author Bio: Dennis Jarvis writes about the world of Prep Sports including high school sports such as high school football, basketball, and baseball.

Category: Sports
Keywords: prep football, prep sports, running game, high school football, high school running game