Minutemen going to the air to enhance run

The football team at Washington Township will have a dramatic new look this season, getting a face-lift much different from the smashmouth style associated with the Minutemen.

Coach Mark Wechter has scrapped the wing-T offense in favor of the spread. But although there may be more of an aerial show, the Minutemen will not abandon the run, which helped them become one of the dominant programs in South Jersey.

The Minutemen have recorded 22 straight winning seasons, a streak that should remain intact: They are expected to battle defending champion Cherokee, among others, for the Burlco/Olympic American Division title.

Wechter felt a change was needed even though the team went 8-3 last season and won a first-round South Jersey Group 4 playoff game against Williamstown.

"We were seeing eight men in the box" in the opponents' defenses, Wechter said. "Now with the spread, teams are only going to use five or six [players up front], and I actually think we will be more effective running the ball."

During the preseason, the new look seemed to energize the Minutemen.

"We are no longer the old '4 yards and a cloud of dust,' " Wechter said.

Actually, they were more like 7.6 yards on artificial turf. That was Washington Township's rushing average last year.

Now the Minutemen are likely to boost their passing statistics.

Last season as a sophomore, quarterback Nick Valori completed 39 of 62 passes for 634 yards, with six touchdowns and just one interception.

"It's pretty cool playing quarterback in this offense," he said. "We have so many good receivers, and it should be a lot of fun."

As many as eight receivers could be in the mix, Wechter said. The top returning receiver is senior Adam Marcucci, who caught 25 passes for 491 yards and 6 touchdowns last season.

"He's the most fundamental player I have coached," Wechter said.

Like his quarterback, Marcucci welcomes the spread. "All the receivers have been excited about this," he said.

Wechter said he believed the Minutemen would also be strong running the ball.

Township has two key running backs returning: senior Uriah Brickhouse and junior Chalie Huff. Brickhouse backed up all-South Jersey fullback Brandon Colavita last season but still rushed for 456 yards and 8 touchdowns on 46 carries. Huff rushed for 497 yards and 5 touchdowns on 65 carries.

Both will see time in the single-back offense.

Township has been considering the spread for quite some time. Wechter and his predecessor, the late Tom Brown, visited West Virginia University as far back as 2004 to study the offense.

Wechter said he was striving to achieve balance in his attack. "We'd like to pass 50 percent of the time and run 50 percent," he said.

That would still mean a lot more passing than in the past.

Valori said he had begun studying the new offense in January and was getting more comfortable with it.

Not known for his size, the 5-foot-9, 170-pounder has an accurate arm and is mobile enough to elude a pass rush. He averaged 9.8 yards on 27 carries last season.

This season, however, Washington Township's opponents are going to have to be much more concerned with Valori's arm and stopping his deep group of receivers.