CALEDONIA — A balanced offense is Ben Marchbanks’ goal
A year ago, the Caledonia High School football team relied on an attack that had running plays as its first, second, and third options. When the Confederates executed, there wasn’t any reason to change because they moved the football. When Caledonia had trouble controlling the line of scrimmage, Marchbanks struggled to move the offense.
This season, new coach Andy Crotwell has changed the terminology and the formations in Caledonia’s offense, but it remains similar to he one the team used last season under coach Ricky Kendrick.
With another year to get stronger and faster and to hone his passing skills, Marchbanks hopes he can find the balance between running and passing Caledonia will need to be successful.
Caledonia will get its first chance to generate a balanced offense at 7 p.m. Thursday when it takes on Heritage Academy in the third installment of the Mississippi High School Activities Association-Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Lowndes County rivalry.
Last year, Caledonia used its ground game to power to a 20-7 victory. That win avenged a 48-45 overtime loss to the Patriots in 2011. Another huge crowd is expected in Columbus to watch the teams kick off the 2013 season.
For Crotwell, a longtime offensive coordinator at Tupelo High, the game is a chance to regroup after a loss to West Lowndes on Saturday in the New Hope High School Jamboree at Mississippi State University’s Davis Wade Stadium. Crotwell feels Marchbanks is a solid senior leader for an offense he hopes has plenty of contributors.
“He is one of the few guys on either side of the ball who has a lot of experience,” Crotwell said. “The kids look to him. They expect him to make plays. I think he is going to do that for us this year. They have a lot of faith in his ability. As long as he doesn’t overcomplicate things for himself he will do a good job.”
Marchbanks, a 6-foot-1, 197-pounder, played a key role in the victory against Heritage Academy last season. The win helped the Confederates start 3-0 for the first time since 2004. They won the following week to push their ledger to 4-0, but the team didn’t win again and failed to make the playoffs.
Injuries played a role in Caledonia’s losing streak. Marchbanks suffered a right shoulder injury in a 35-0 loss to New Hope High after he was pushed out of bounds, lost his balance, and fell on his shoulder.
This season, Crotwell and Marchbanks will look to a running game that will feature Quavis Betts, Brandon Henry, James Longmire, and Josh Betts. Senior Onterrio Lowery also returns, but Crotwell said he has spent most of training camp working on defense in an effort to get 100 percent healthy after breaking his foot last season.
Marchbanks feels he has improved a lot throwing the football. He didn’t throw the ball much in his first to seasons, so he said he rushed a lot of his passes. This year, he feels more comfortable and has to remember to give himself time to make the play.
Crotwell said Marchbanks is a solid runner who has a strong throwing arm. He said he is working hard to improve his footwork and his technique so he can help bring that balance to the offense. He is confident Marchbanks is experienced enough to know not to take too much on his shoulders and try to make all of the plays.
The new offense hopes to give Marchbanks a chance to do that.
“When he does everything right, he delivers an accurate ball quite often,” Crotwell said. “He throws a nice deep ball, so we have to give him time to throw the football. If he does that and gets comfortable, I think he can be very effective throwing the football.”
Marchbanks also may have a chance to make things happen on defense. As much as Crotwell is leery about using his quarterback on defense, he said Marchbanks is one of the team’s best athletes, so he could see time in the secondary or at linebacker. He said he hopes to work Marchbanks into the defensive rotation a little more each week so he is prepared to go both ways if needed come region play.
That sounds good to Marchbanks.
“The first two years I didn’t get to play defense as much as I wanted,” Marchbanks said. “They just wanted me to play offense, but I am willing to do what it takes.”
Marchbanks played middle linebacker in Pee Wee football, and said he was looking forward to playing defense this season. He smiled when he was asked if he was going to have to convince Crotwell to play him on that side of the ball. If he had to guess, Marchbanks said he likely would see playing time on defense in the secondary.
If that’s the way it has to be, that’s fine with Marchbanks, too. His goal is to be on the field to set the example so the Confederates can have a better season. He said Caledonia can’t let one play or series or game get it down and that it has to keep fighting. He hopes to play a vocal or a lead-by-example role to make it happen. If he can do it, the Confederates could take a step closer to making the playoffs.
“We have to set examples for the younger guys,” Marchbanks said. “If they see us give up, it is going to make them want to give up. We have to give it our all and it is going to make them give it their all.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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