Post by DECKS on Dec 13, 2004 16:37:40 GMT -5
www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/high_school/10392231.htm
Patriots eye fifth-straight title
PETER SMOLOWITZ AND ANN DOSS HELMS
Staff Writers
The tight end caught the ball, cut toward the middle of the field to dodge a defender and sprinted toward the end zone.
Nice move. But not what the football coach wanted.
"Go over him," Bill Geiler ordered the player, while watching practice Thursday afternoon.
At Independence High School, coaches direct ball carriers to attack defenses, not avoid them. It's a mindset that's helped the Patriots steamroll 76 consecutive opponents -- the nation's longest current winning streak -- by an average margin of 48-10.
Ranked No. 2 in the country, Independence goes for 77 straight today against Hope Mills South View, as the Patriots try for an unprecedented fifth-consecutive Class 4AA state crown in Chapel Hill.
"They may be the best high school football team I've ever seen or heard of," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board chairman and longtime Olympic High School football coach Joe White.
Success has come with questions, though. Some suspect Independence must be recruiting players. Others believe football fathers pick the Patriots the same way many Mecklenburg County parents move to get their kids into schools with higher test scores.
Not true, say Independence coaches, district officials, players and their parents. They credit the required weight lifting that has quickly transformed an undersized team. Five years ago, only two players bench-pressed 300 pounds. Now 20 players lift that much.
The school's coaches tout their relentless preparation. Practices don't break, even for Thanksgiving. By Monday each week, defenders have tapes of the next opponent's offense, and they face a grueling series of bear crawls, lunges and push-ups if they fail quizzes on a rival's tendencies.
And it's about coaches who have worked together for two decades at three schools. They've won whether they inherited losing teams or a team with the greatest quarterback Charlotte has ever seen.
"We don't accept mediocrity," Geiler said.
A turning point
In 2000, Tom Knotts arrived at Independence. He had been at West Charlotte for 11 years, nine-straight conference championships, three N.C. 4A championship games and one state title. Before that, he had taken underdog Harding to the state finals.But Knotts had a rocky relationship with West Charlotte's former principal. He debated whether to go to East Meck or Independence. Ultimately, he brought his pass-happy offense to the Patriots -- where a sophomore quarterback named Chris Leak was so good, Wake Forest had offered him a scholarship before he even started high school.
"That was the deciding factor," Knotts said, earlier this week.
Until then, Independence was good enough to frequently make the playoffs. When Knotts came from West Charlotte -- along with Geiler and three other assistants -- they changed practice and preparation, and they also stopped relying on the running game.
"Throwing the ball in high school like we did can be a great equalizer," said Jon Strong, Independence's offensive coordinator and part of Knotts' coaching core. "Not a lot of high school teams throw the ball, so as a result, a lot of teams aren't used to seeing it on defense."
In the second game of the first season, Independence trailed powerhouse Boiling Springs Crest, 34-17, with just over eight minutes left. Knotts said he and Geiler told the team that with their weapons and their hard work, they could still win. Leak threw a touchdown, the defense forced a turnover and Independence scored again.
The rally was spoiled, partly by a controversial call that negated what Independence thought should have been a touchdown. That was the last loss the school suffered, and a turning point in getting the team solidly behind their new coaches.
"From that point on," Knotts said, "I don't think the guys ever thought they'd lose."
Independence eventually won the state title. And with almost every starter returning the following year, Knotts knew they would repeat.
Same opportunities
Success breeds success. And it can spark rivals to speculate.
White, the school board chairman, said after roughly 40 years in the district, he's seen Myers Park reign in sports, then West Charlotte, and now Independence. Questions about how players enrolled in those schools are not new.
"We were absolutely convinced that other people were stealing our athletes," he said of his teams in the 1960s and '70s at Olympic.
The district prohibits recruiting. It could get coaches fired and players could be declared permanently ineligible in CMS. Kids who transfer high schools -- unless their families move -- must sit out a year of sports. And Independence is closed to transfers because of overcrowding.
Students living in other "home school" zones can get seats at Independence only through the district's student assignment lottery. There's no priority for athletes and no way for coaches, athletic directors or principals to give them an edge, said Student Placement Director Scott McCully.
"It really is a tight system in regard to placement," McCully said.
After the first round of the lottery last year, 37 seats were awarded to students who did not live in the Independence zone or have siblings there. Almost 225 were on the waiting list.
Many Independence players have known each other since their days in nearby youth leagues. Coaches and parents say a handful of families have legally moved close to the school, just as others who wanted a shot at more playing time legally moved away.
Geiler and Knotts said they occasionally get calls or e-mails from fathers boasting about their sons and asking how the boys would be used at Independence. Their standard reply:
It's a great school, great coaching, and if you live in the district, your child can try out the same as everyone.
Another unbeaten streak
This year, Geiler took over after Knotts left to coach quarterbacks at Duke University. Little else changed.At Independence's practice Thursday, coaches from Division I-AA colleges Furman and Appalachian State watched from the sideline.
Appalachian's Shawn Elliott said of the 150 schools in the Carolinas that he scouts, 80 percent don't have anyone skilled enough to compete at that level of college. Independence has six or eight.
One thing that distinguishes Independence is that varsity coaches also run the junior varsity program to help train and evaluate future players.
During the past 35 games, the JV is also unbeaten.
But Knotts said incoming Independence players also have more "football savvy" than freshmen at other schools where he has coached. He and others trace the talent to a youth football league, started by Chris Leak's father.
John Jeffries coaches one of those teams -- the Mint Hill Steelers -- which practices less than a mile from Independence and sometimes plays games on the high school field. Jeffries' son is a freshman at Independence, his second boy to play for the school, and he said he's learned from talking to the coaches and watching how they teach.
"No one runs a practice like the big I," Jeffries said. "That is a college practice over there."
Other Notable Streaks
With a win today, Independence would be the first team to win five consecutive N.C. 4A championship games (Robbinsville won five 1A titles from 1979 to 1983). Here are some of the state's other notable streaks:
• Greensboro Grimsley won the boys' swimming state championship every year from 1965 to 1980.
• East Chapel Hill has won every 3A girls' tennis title since 1998.
• Providence High School's girls' swimming team won 4A titles from 1998 through 2002 and again earlier this year.
Patriots eye fifth-straight title
PETER SMOLOWITZ AND ANN DOSS HELMS
Staff Writers
The tight end caught the ball, cut toward the middle of the field to dodge a defender and sprinted toward the end zone.
Nice move. But not what the football coach wanted.
"Go over him," Bill Geiler ordered the player, while watching practice Thursday afternoon.
At Independence High School, coaches direct ball carriers to attack defenses, not avoid them. It's a mindset that's helped the Patriots steamroll 76 consecutive opponents -- the nation's longest current winning streak -- by an average margin of 48-10.
Ranked No. 2 in the country, Independence goes for 77 straight today against Hope Mills South View, as the Patriots try for an unprecedented fifth-consecutive Class 4AA state crown in Chapel Hill.
"They may be the best high school football team I've ever seen or heard of," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board chairman and longtime Olympic High School football coach Joe White.
Success has come with questions, though. Some suspect Independence must be recruiting players. Others believe football fathers pick the Patriots the same way many Mecklenburg County parents move to get their kids into schools with higher test scores.
Not true, say Independence coaches, district officials, players and their parents. They credit the required weight lifting that has quickly transformed an undersized team. Five years ago, only two players bench-pressed 300 pounds. Now 20 players lift that much.
The school's coaches tout their relentless preparation. Practices don't break, even for Thanksgiving. By Monday each week, defenders have tapes of the next opponent's offense, and they face a grueling series of bear crawls, lunges and push-ups if they fail quizzes on a rival's tendencies.
And it's about coaches who have worked together for two decades at three schools. They've won whether they inherited losing teams or a team with the greatest quarterback Charlotte has ever seen.
"We don't accept mediocrity," Geiler said.
A turning point
In 2000, Tom Knotts arrived at Independence. He had been at West Charlotte for 11 years, nine-straight conference championships, three N.C. 4A championship games and one state title. Before that, he had taken underdog Harding to the state finals.But Knotts had a rocky relationship with West Charlotte's former principal. He debated whether to go to East Meck or Independence. Ultimately, he brought his pass-happy offense to the Patriots -- where a sophomore quarterback named Chris Leak was so good, Wake Forest had offered him a scholarship before he even started high school.
"That was the deciding factor," Knotts said, earlier this week.
Until then, Independence was good enough to frequently make the playoffs. When Knotts came from West Charlotte -- along with Geiler and three other assistants -- they changed practice and preparation, and they also stopped relying on the running game.
"Throwing the ball in high school like we did can be a great equalizer," said Jon Strong, Independence's offensive coordinator and part of Knotts' coaching core. "Not a lot of high school teams throw the ball, so as a result, a lot of teams aren't used to seeing it on defense."
In the second game of the first season, Independence trailed powerhouse Boiling Springs Crest, 34-17, with just over eight minutes left. Knotts said he and Geiler told the team that with their weapons and their hard work, they could still win. Leak threw a touchdown, the defense forced a turnover and Independence scored again.
The rally was spoiled, partly by a controversial call that negated what Independence thought should have been a touchdown. That was the last loss the school suffered, and a turning point in getting the team solidly behind their new coaches.
"From that point on," Knotts said, "I don't think the guys ever thought they'd lose."
Independence eventually won the state title. And with almost every starter returning the following year, Knotts knew they would repeat.
Same opportunities
Success breeds success. And it can spark rivals to speculate.
White, the school board chairman, said after roughly 40 years in the district, he's seen Myers Park reign in sports, then West Charlotte, and now Independence. Questions about how players enrolled in those schools are not new.
"We were absolutely convinced that other people were stealing our athletes," he said of his teams in the 1960s and '70s at Olympic.
The district prohibits recruiting. It could get coaches fired and players could be declared permanently ineligible in CMS. Kids who transfer high schools -- unless their families move -- must sit out a year of sports. And Independence is closed to transfers because of overcrowding.
Students living in other "home school" zones can get seats at Independence only through the district's student assignment lottery. There's no priority for athletes and no way for coaches, athletic directors or principals to give them an edge, said Student Placement Director Scott McCully.
"It really is a tight system in regard to placement," McCully said.
After the first round of the lottery last year, 37 seats were awarded to students who did not live in the Independence zone or have siblings there. Almost 225 were on the waiting list.
Many Independence players have known each other since their days in nearby youth leagues. Coaches and parents say a handful of families have legally moved close to the school, just as others who wanted a shot at more playing time legally moved away.
Geiler and Knotts said they occasionally get calls or e-mails from fathers boasting about their sons and asking how the boys would be used at Independence. Their standard reply:
It's a great school, great coaching, and if you live in the district, your child can try out the same as everyone.
Another unbeaten streak
This year, Geiler took over after Knotts left to coach quarterbacks at Duke University. Little else changed.At Independence's practice Thursday, coaches from Division I-AA colleges Furman and Appalachian State watched from the sideline.
Appalachian's Shawn Elliott said of the 150 schools in the Carolinas that he scouts, 80 percent don't have anyone skilled enough to compete at that level of college. Independence has six or eight.
One thing that distinguishes Independence is that varsity coaches also run the junior varsity program to help train and evaluate future players.
During the past 35 games, the JV is also unbeaten.
But Knotts said incoming Independence players also have more "football savvy" than freshmen at other schools where he has coached. He and others trace the talent to a youth football league, started by Chris Leak's father.
John Jeffries coaches one of those teams -- the Mint Hill Steelers -- which practices less than a mile from Independence and sometimes plays games on the high school field. Jeffries' son is a freshman at Independence, his second boy to play for the school, and he said he's learned from talking to the coaches and watching how they teach.
"No one runs a practice like the big I," Jeffries said. "That is a college practice over there."
Other Notable Streaks
With a win today, Independence would be the first team to win five consecutive N.C. 4A championship games (Robbinsville won five 1A titles from 1979 to 1983). Here are some of the state's other notable streaks:
• Greensboro Grimsley won the boys' swimming state championship every year from 1965 to 1980.
• East Chapel Hill has won every 3A girls' tennis title since 1998.
• Providence High School's girls' swimming team won 4A titles from 1998 through 2002 and again earlier this year.