FOOTBALL TAB - New group set to lead Golden Falcons

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on August 22, 2011 1:47 PM

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For two seasons every opponent that came to play at Hardy Talton Stadium knew exactly who the playmakers were on Charles B. Aycock's football team.

Marcus Cobb, Tyheim Pitt, Craig Murdock and Tyler Farmer gave teams clear signals regarding who to focus on defensively. Entering the 2011 season, the Golden Falcons are not so well known.

That suits head coach Randy Pinkowski just fine.

"Sometimes being the lesser-known team is an advantage," Pinkowski said. "Nobody knows who is going to be our go-to guy at receiver or at running back, and that makes them prepare differently than when teams could come in and try to shut down just one or two guys."

The Golden Falcons have been working on cementing the fundamentals of their new triple-option offense. Pinkowski's team will run primarily out of the shotgun and will attempt to create space by stringing defenders out sideline to sideline.

The offense is similar to schemes used at West Virginia and Oregon.

"We are going to come out in the gun, with two backs and we are going to have all kinds of options," Pinkowski said. "With the young skill players we have, I feel like it's a perfect year to try something a little bit different and see where we can be effective."

A pair of junior quarterbacks will be counted on to orchestrate the offense as plays are called in from the sidelines. Cody Garris, the Golden Falcons' junior varsity quarterback last season, will take snaps along with newcomer Austin Snowden, who was a defensive starter last season.

"Cody is a bit more polished as a quarterback because he has played there his whole life," Pinkowski said. "Austin came in a little bit last year as our emergency guy and did a nice job, so we worked him out all summer and we feel like he deserves some snaps, too."

Each player brings a unique skill set to the table that offensive coaches Jay Westbrook and Tom Zeitlow can utilize when the game situation calls for it.

"Cody throws the short routes very well and he makes good decisions," Pinkowski said. "Austin is a little better throwing the deep routes and he has quicker feet which help him if the play does break down."

Cementing an offensive line rotation has been Pinkowski's top priority.

"If you look at our offensive stats, we have always been able to move the ball," Pinkowski said. "It may be with smoke and mirrors because we don't have elite size up front, but we have always made it work."

The offensive line has been slow to put assignments together but has shown promise against the Golden Falcons talented defensive line during live drills.

Andre South and Austin Gay have been the two defensive players that have caught Pinkowski's eye during the summer. South will start at nose tackle and anchor the line, while Gay will play on his right side and help delay double teams.

"Those are two guys that have been really strong so far," Pinkowski said. "With them up front and Devin Best at middle linebacker, I feel like our front seven is going to be pretty good."

Aycock opens the season at home Friday against Rosewood.