Elkhart coach Khris Buckner had run a wide-open spread offense in his first three seasons with quarterback Alex Gomez. This year, though, Buckner made two significant changes: He simplified the offense for Gomez, a four-year starter, and wanted to average 70 plays per contest. In the summer, Buckner had Elkhart run 25 straight plays as quickly as possible before a water break.
In Week 1, Elkhart defeated Turpin, Okla. 44-13. The Wildcats didn’t play their best and wore down. But Elkhart looked over at Turpin, which was bent over and couldn’t get lined up. The Cardinals threw up on the field as Elkhart finished with 74 rushing/passing plays for 639 yards. Buckner and his offense realized Elkhart had an effective offense.
“That was pretty intense seeing them throwing up and cramping on the field all over,” Gomez said. “I was glad to know that we were going at such a fast pace knowing that if we do this all year, we are going to get at people.”
Since then, Elkhart has continued to play at turbo speed, a pace that resembles Oregon’s famous blur offense. The Wildcats, 7-2, 3-6 and 5-4 in Buckner’s first three seasons, have started 7-0.
“This offseason, there was quite a bit of people dedicated to getting better and wanting to improve on their game,” senior wide receiver Juston Hurn said. “Last year, we should have won about seven or eight games, but we didn’t have enough dedication or drive.”
Elkhart ranks fourth in Class 2-1A with 312 points and third in Kansas in total offense at 508 yards, according to maxpreps.com. The Wildcats average 67 plays per contest.
“I feel like if you score quick, you put more pressure on the other team to score and hopefully force them into mistakes,” Buckner said.
Among the top-25 Kansas teams in total offense, Elkhart stands second in plays per game behind Liberal (75.6). No other team averages more than 62 plays a contest.
In 2011, Elkhart collected 56.3 plays and 422 yards per game. In the offseason, Buckner went to a clinic in Las Vegas and talked with some Texas coaches who have won state titles with the blur offense.
Buckner wants to snap the ball quickly; sometimes has soon as the officials place the ball. He set a goal to increase the team’s plays by 30 to 40 percent from last year. Hurn said the team has very short play calls, usually one word for the lineman and one for the backs.
“It’s been pretty fun,” Gomez said. “The first game, we were so tired, but after that, it’s been really easy. To be honest with you, it doesn’t seem like we are going that fast anymore. It feels normal, and it’s just really fun to see the other team gasping for air while we are in the fourth quarter, and we are feeling perfectly fine.”
This week, Elkhart faces Meade, 6-1, ranked No. 3 in Class 2-1A and the defending state champion. Both teams are 2-0 in District 8. Friday is essentially for the district title and a first round home playoff game. Meade, a ball control offense, ranks seventh in Kansas at 447 yards, but averages just 53.1 plays per contest.
“A lot of teams are underestimating us this year, so it will be a really good game,” Hurn said.
Elkhart’s new offense has helped Gomez and Hurn deliver the best seasons of their careers. Gomez has thrown for 6,092 career passing yards with a 69/34 TD/INT ratio. As a sophomore, Gomez tossed 18 interceptions in the UCLA spread offense with multiple reads. Buckner took the blame for the turnovers.
“I think I gave him just too much to read, and we really revisited that between sophomore and junior year,” Buckner said. “We took it back to more half-field reads for him and he really benefited from that, he will get his pre-read before the snap.”
Last season, Gomez passed for 2,048 yards and a 24/9 TD/INT, but suffered a foot injury in Week 2. He taped the injury, but couldn’t run and collected just 50 carries for 172 yards. In the offseason, Gomez remained at 5-11, 195 pounds, but Buckner said his signal-caller lost five to seven percent body fat. His 40-yard dash dropped to around 4.6 to 4.7 seconds.
Gomez spend hours in the weight room and in film study. Hurn estimated the pair ran 50 to 100 pass routes per day.
“They were kind of like the poor man’s version of Peyton Manning and Wes Welker,” Buckner said.
Gomez watched his steps on film and saw where he was choppy or not correct, a pattern he has kept daily during the season.
“We like to see what we can do better,” Gomez said. “There is much more that we can do better, especially me and Justun. We can keep improving every week.”
“Me and Gomez are kind of like perfectionists, because we’ve got to be right on with everything all the time,” Hurn added.
Now, Gomez has completed 72 of 148 passes for 1,572 yards with a 21/7 TD/INT ratio and rushed 113 times for 769 yards and 13 TDs. Hurn has collected 32 catches for 945 yards and 13 receiving scores, more than twice as many yards as he had last year.
“We try to keep it very, very simple, and it has helped us,” Buckner said.
Junior A.J. McKinley has collected 26 catches for 542 yards and six TDs. Sophomore Tanner Burnett paces the defense with 76 tackles, 20.5 for loss.
Gomez said frequent deep passes “aren’t very effective,” so Elkhart runs a lot of short routes.
“He runs his routes so perfect and he is so quick and he has good hands,” Gomez said. “If he gets it on a slant route, he can be gone. He can burn the corner, he can get it on a hitch route and just fake them out. He can do it all right now."
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