After a nice mini-vacation following the THSCA, with my wife in San Antonio, I’m back on the road getting my first look at the teams I’ll be following during the season. I met with Coach Jackson yesterday and spent the morning watching La Marque practice. I was very impressed with the La Marque’s offensive philosophy. I get the feeling that at La Marque, X’s and O’s are secondary to three overriding goals of their offense.
1) Use formation, speed and athleticism to spread the field from sideline to sideline.
2) Use many false keys to keep the defense from effectively using the guards to find the ball.
3) Most Important: Use tempo to control the clock and wear out the defense.
I’m sure many people attribute the success La Marque has had to the great athletes at the school, and they are not wrong about the athleticism at such a small school; but it would be foolish to overlook the strong coaching and organization. Their system makes athletic mismatches even more devastating.
The players and the coaching staff all seem to understand this philosophy. This morning the offense got a lot of repetitions and looked very polished for the first week in August. I’m glad I don’t have to come up with a defensive game plan to try to stop this system.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing this team with pads on, the week of the Galveston Ball game, or the “Clash of the Causeway.” With 7 returning defensive starters and an explosive offense, La Marque should be tough to beat.
Thank you for recognizing my Alma Mater as part of your research. I look forward to meeting you during the “Clash of the Causeway” event.
Mike Lockwood
“Pappa Coog”
La Marque Class of 1971 – the 1st Cougar Class