Vikings launching new ground attack

EDMONDS

Change is pretty much a given in the Northwest Football League, with players and coaches coming and going from year to year.

The Snohomish County Vikings in many respects have been an exception to the rule in recent years. But the departure of longtime offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Dave Broussard and subsequent promotion of running backs coach Scott Betzvog to offensive coordinator has brought about some significant changes.

The passing attack of recent years has been grounded. Instead Snohomish County plans to emphasize a running attack called the double wing, which is similar to the Wing-T offenses run by many high schools. In the double wing, the goal of the offense is to give the defense a balanced look so that it cannot shift from one side or another.

“We kind of focused in the past on being a drop back offense and throwing the ball,” Betzvog said. “We’re going to be a little more run and play action oriented. … We get a lot of good running backs every year. We get a ton of decent midsize linemen. It suits our personnel.”

In the double wing, every play looks very similar in terms of the sets used but there is the option to shift or use motion. The Vikings also plan to run a much more simplified offense than in past years with the goal of being able to control the ball.

“The defense has been very sound the last two years and we haven’t really complemented it with our offense as far as being able to sustain drives and hang on to the football,” Betzvog said. “That’s what we’d like to do. We’d like to sustain drives, hang on to the football and take advantage of our opportunities.”

Given that the team only practices twice a week and has limited time in terms of repetitions, Betzvog’s goal is for the Vikings to try to do a few things really well.

It’s an approach that his players understand and support.

“We’ve got some great backs. We have a great line,” said first-year starting quarterback Hal Bissnett. “The most important thing is to try not to do too much, so we have a real simple offense and something that’s been proven over the years.”

Bissnett, a 1999 graduate of Lake Stevens High School, attended New Mexico State on a baseball scholarship. He last played football in high school, but his skills certainly have not diminished, according to Betzvog.

“He is the real deal. He’s the best quarterback I’ve seen in this league since I’ve been here,” Betzvog said. “We were looking to be a very run-oriented offense until Hal showed up and we think we can do both things very well.

“We’re complementing him with several good running backs.”

Head coach Wes Fischer agrees that Bissnett has good football smarts.

“He sees the field very well,” Fischer said. “He makes good decisions as to where to put the ball. He can roll out. He has good speed.”

Returning running back Apollo Lewis and newcomer Michael Hall are among the players expected to see extensive action in the backfield. Also back are fullbacks Chris Stokes and J.T. Butler.

The emphasis on the run game doesn’t mean Snohomish County has given up on its passing attack. Betzvog expects the Vikings will throw the ball as much as 10 times a game. The difference will be that those passes will be to wide open guys as opposed to drop back passes.

Once the change in offense was announced some of expected returning receivers decided not to come back to the team.

A key receiver who decided to come back is Rondell Honcoop. Returning defensive back Brian Carter is expected to see action at wide receiver. Other key targets for Bissnett include newcomers Jamar Brown, a wide receiver, and tight end Garrett Coleman.

Snohomish County’s offense performed well at a league jamboree last month.

“We had a lot of success running a double wing,” Betzvog said. “A lot of people looked at it and said ‘what are you trying to do?’ We dug a groove up the other team’s backside.”

The emphasis on the run game makes sense to Bissnett.

“You’ve got to run the football to win. If we just run it every time that’s fine with me,” he said. “If it comes down to it and we’ve got to make plays in the passing game to win, then that’s what we’ve got to do.”

The Vikings’ defense also lost some key personnel, mostly in the secondary, but returns much of its front seven.

The defense is anchored by defensive linemen Ishmael Easton, Demarco Masoero, Chris Lockhart and Tristan Cherry and linebackers John Redmond and Stokes, who also will be playing both ways.

“These are all returning veterans who are all good at what they do,” said defensive coordinator Owen Smith. “That’s where our games are going to be won and lost. It’s with those front seven guys.

“It’s great to have those guys back. They’re the core of the defense.”

Smith also is adopting a somewhat different defensive game plan, though it is not quite as drastic a change as the offense.

In the past, Snohomish County has adopted a wide-out attacking style of defense. This year Smith is taking a step back.

“I’m going toward not so much an all-out attack on the offense to more of a controlled kind of aggression,” Smith said. “It’s more coverage and more trickery. I guess you could call it more of a disguised kind of defense. It’s more specialized defensive schemes vs. stopping individuals.”

Many of the teams in the league run a spread offense with four wideouts and the tendency has been to blitz the outside linebackers to try and put pressure on the quarterback, Smith said.

Smith plans to have more controlled pressure through the interior linemen and to have more coverage out in the actual passing lanes.

The league also has undergone some major changes with the departure of defending league champion King County, which moved to a different league, and the addition of the Puget Sound Titans. The latter team is owned by ex-King County coach Jeff Scott.

Snohomish County faces a tough opening week opponent in the Oregon Thunderbolts, who finished second in the league and lost to the Jaguars in the championship game. Game time is set for 6 p.m., Saturday, June 7 at Snohomish High School.

“I think we’re in the top four, which would put us in the playoffs,” Fischer said.

Smith sees the Vikings as being a team in transition but one that should be a contender.

“We’re going to sneak up on a lot of teams,” he said. “They’re not expecting anything that we’re going to be throwing at them offensively or defensively. They’ve gotten so used to the Vikings of the past and this year’s team is way different.”

Snohomish County Vikings

Affiliation: Northwest Football League, est. 1961

Head coach/owner: Wes Fischer

Home Field: Edmonds Stadium

Last season: 5-5 in the league (tied for fifth place); 8-6 overall

This season: Snohomish County faces league runner-up Oregon Thunderbolts at 6 p.m., Saturday, June 7 at Edmonds Stadium to open the 2008 season. The Vikings have a new offensive coordinator in Scott Betzvog, the team’s former running backs coach. Betzvog is installing a double wing offense. The league race is wide open with the departure of defending league champion King County Jaguars, who are playing in a different league.

More information: Vist the Snohomish County Vikings Web site at www.vikingfootball.org or the NWFL site at www.nwfootball.net.

2008 schedule

June 7 Oregon Thunderbolts

June 14@Washington Cavaliers

June 21@Renton Ravens

June 28Seattle Stallions

July 12Puget Sound Titans

July 19Pierce County Bengals

July 26@Willamette Valley

Raiders

Aug. 2Renton Ravens

Aug. 9@Seattle Stallions