Cooper hosts Irvin Nimitz in playoffs

By LANCE FLEMING / Staff Writer

The Irving Nimitz offensive strategy is about as subtle as a punch in the gut.

The Vikings aren't on the field to confuse, outwit or trick anybody. They're there for one reason: to run the football.

Nimitz has rushed for 3,679 yards this season while throwing for just 338. In their last two playoff games, the Vikings have rushed for 937 yards and haven't completed a pass in just two attempts.

"We've been a running team the last few weeks," Nimitz head coach Mike Farda said. "We've just been in a situation the last few weeks where people have given us the run. We never got ourselves into a passing situation. We're pretty one-dimensional right now. We think we can be two-dimensional."

The Vikings will find out if they have to be tonight when they take on Cooper at 7:30 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium in the Class 5A Division I regional semifinals.

Cooper head coach Randy Allen has been impressed by the Vikings' running game.

"Nimitz has had so much success running the ball that they haven't had to pass," he said. "But this quarterback (P.J. Traylor) was a passer last year, so they can throw the ball. But I think they've had such good results staying on the ground that they don't see why they should take a chance on throwing the ball when bad things might happen."

The Vikings are led on the ground by running backs Correy Harris (1,202 yards and 12 touchdowns) and Junior Sells (1,013 yards and 6 touchdowns). Traylor has 528 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

"What makes this offense so good is they have three players with big-play potential," Allen said. "They all have breakaway speed, and that makes them tough. Plus they have as good an offensive line as we've seen this season."

Allen and the Cougars would like to play good enough run defense so that Nimitz is forced to throw the football.

"If they start throwing the ball, that's their second choice," Allen said. "We call it making them beat you lefthanded. The problem with that theory is getting up on them and making them throw the ball. They have so many weapons that it's hard to do."

But Cooper has its own offensive weapons, led by running back Dominic Rhodes, who has 1,532 yards and 18 touchdowns on 219 carries this season. In two playoff games, Rhodes has 50 carries for 436 yards and seven touchdowns.

"Well, we've got to something with Dominic," Farda said. "That guy's the show over in Abilene right now. I've seen him run through and over people. He's such a dominant player right now."

The Cougars will try to get their passing going tonight. In the last six quarters - the time that Miles Durham has been out with a separated shoulder - the Cougars have passed for just 90 yards. That, according to Farda, has been the biggest difference in the Cougars' offense.

"It really hurt them when they lost No. 2 (Durham)," Farda said. "He really made the passing game go. I don't know if they've developed another receiver. When No. 2 was in there, you could almost always bet on who the ball was going to in a crucial situation. Now it's kind of a tossup."