The Fresno City College football team will open its 2010 season with an added piece of arsenal to its already potent offense.
The team will be featuring first year player, Larry Overstreet, in the “wildcat” formation.
“We are going to force teams to defend the entire field, because he’s a running threat, and he can throw the ball well,” said FCC coach Tony Caviglia.
In the wildcat formation, a team replaces its quarterback with a running back who can be a threat throwing or running the ball. This formation causes the defenders to be more off balance because of the formation’s unique style.
The quarterback lines up as a wide receiver and the ball is snapped into the backfield. The whole goal is to give the running back/quarterback an extra blocker because there are three running backs in the backfield.
Caviglia said he believes that the new play formation will make the Rams even more competitive
“We have some really strong freshmen; we have a great returning class of sophomores, and they are playing very well together in camp,” Caviglia said, adding that the team’s running back position is at least “five or six players deep.”
Caviglia said that his two quarterbacks Morgan Hall and Lance Orender will be competing all season for the starting job.
“It’s a day to day battle,” said Caviglia. “They both have strengths and weaknesses.”
On offense, the Rams are looking to play with balance.
“We want to be able to run and pass the ball about 50 percent of the time,” Caviglia said. “We have to be able to run the ball to win, and we feel very good about our ability to do that this year.”
The defense may not be very big upfront but they are very fast.
“We are going to play up to 12 defensive linemen,” said Caviglia. “They are very agile and quick and they love to play tough football.”
The Rams will open their season this weekend against College of San Mateo, in San Mateo.
FCC will then have another road game against West Hills on Sept. 18 before hosting their first home game of the season on Sept. 25 against Merced at 7 p.m.
