Winging it
Mars’ Wing-T attack has made many RB stars
By Derek Pyda
Eagle Staff Writer
It may seem like Mars’ football team has been running the Wing-T forever, but there was a time when the offensive scheme was new to the Planets.
When Scott Heinauer took over as head coach in 1992, he considered himself an I-formation guy.
“That’s what we ran when I played on the offensive line at Sto-Rox,” said Heinauer, who graduated high school in 1978. “That’s what I knew.”
But before he coached his first game at Mars, he was converted to a new offense.
“Ray Peters was an assistant coach here at the time and he’s the one who brought the Wing-T to me,” said Heinauer. “It didn’t take me long to get used to it. We used I-formation terms and that helped me quickly get acquainted with it. Even now, we run the Wing-T, but use an I-formation numbering system.”
Heinauer soon learned the advantages of the offense.
“He (Peters) showed me that the Wing-T is a more potent offense because you can attack from different levels,” he said. “Out of one play, we can do one of three things — run, counter run or play-action pass.”
Mars and the Wing-T proved to be the perfect match. The offense has yielded seven separate Planet fullbacks who have combined for thirteen 1,000-yard seasons. The first of them was Chuck Green, who tallied 1,970 yards to lead Mars to the WPIAL Class AA title game in 1996.
The Planets also played in the district title game in 2002, when speedster Brad Mueller raced for 2,126 yards and 23 touchdowns.
To date, Billy Bair’s senior season of 2007 remains the standard for the Planets. That year, he steamrolled defenses for 2,428 yards and 32 touchdowns, both single-season school records.
“It helps having a dominant back in this offense,” said Heinauer. “It makes us more potent.”
The Planets are one of the few high school teams that still run the Wing-T, a fact that aids Mars’ chances on Friday nights.
“Most teams aren’t used to going up against it,” said Mars offensive coordinator Scott Pfeiffer. “As a defensive coordinator, you have to sit down with your guys and tell them how to read their keys and you only have a week to prepare for it.”
Though the fullback gets most of the yards and the headlines in the Wing-T, Heinauer is quick to point out that it’s all a product of teamwork.
“We rely on everybody blocking, including the wingbacks,” he said. “The wingbacks know they aren’t going to be the feature back, but they get their share of yards, too.”
A major contributing factor to Mars’ ability to consistently succeed is the fact that the Wing-T is used beginning with the district’s seventh-grade team. By the time players get to the varsity level, they have familiarized themselves with the offense and their role within it.
“It suits the players we have,” said Heinauer. “Everybody here knows what the Wing-T is and the kids buy into it.”
So while other high school programs are throwing the ball at unprecedented rates, the Planets remain, for the most part, grounded.
“If only I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, ‘When are you guys going to change that offense,’” said Pfeiffer. “I have to chuckle. It would be different if we weren’t moving the ball and not scoring, but just look at the production. Our offense averaged over 35 points per game last year.”
