KAPLAN - If any football coach wants to learn how to successfully run the Wing-T offense, all they have to do is watch the tape of Kaplan's 40-20 win over Southern Lab on Friday.
It was a master class clinic on how to run that offense.
"We knew they had good size and good speed and we said let/s shove the ball up their butts and we did a good job," Kaplan coach Stephen Lofief said.
And the highlight of the clinic was the opening drive of the third quarter as Kaplan held the ball for more than 9 minutes on an 80 yard drive that ended with Wyatt Hebert crashing into the end zone to give the Pirates a 40-8 lead.
"I tell people this," Lotief said. "This is not an offense that you see all the time. It's kind of like what Army and Navy do in college football, you need more than a week to prepare for it. It gives teams trouble because it's hard to simulate in practice."
And it was obvious from the beginning of the game that the visiting Kittens were going to have trouble all night against Kaplan and it's vaunted Wing-T offense.
The Pirates scored on all four of its first half possessions, marching down the field each time as Southern Lab defenders tried everything possible to stop Hebert, Daylon Landry and the other Pirate running backs.
"We did a lot of what we did tonight because the offensive line really blocked well for us," Hebert, who finished with 105 yards and two touchdowns rushing. "We play for each other and we always support each other, even if things go bad."
Not much went bad for Kaplan against Southern Lab, which had won two of the last three Select Division IV state title and is expected to compete for another one this year.
"They were supposed to be the best team yet that we played and we just came out ready to play," Hebert said. "We knew they were going to be a tough opponent, we just had tout and play hard."
Between Hebert and Landry. who finished yards and three scores on the ground, Kaplan finished with 289 yards yards rushing on an amazing 58 carries, attempting only two passes all night.
"After that first drive for a score, we knew that we had the confidence to run the ball against them," Hebert said.
And it wasn't just Kaplan's offense that played well/ Despite giving up two big plays for scores, the Pirate defense kept Southern Lab in check the whole game.
"It's something that we have to work on with the big plays we gave up but our defense played well all night," Lotief said.
The Kaplan coach was also happy about one other aspect of the game.
"This was the first team we beat this year with a winning record," :Lotief said. "We lost to Ascension in the first game but since then, we've been playing hard.
"We think that we have a good team here and we are going to be a tough out for anyone."