East Bay

By Bryan Burns
Published August 31, 2007

Multiple Choice

In what year did East Bay coach Brian Thornton first come in contact with the wishbone offense he has used his entire 14-year career with the Indians?

A) 1987, after installing it as an offensive coordinator at Brandon

B) 1994, his first year as East Bay coach

C) 1975, while playing for his father, Les Thornton, at Indiana's Griffith High

D) 1974, as a freshman at Indiana's North Judson High, again with his dad

Answer: D. Les Thornton installed the wishbone at North Judson in '69 and coached Brian for a year ('74) before moving to Griffith and bringing Brian with him. Les, an Indiana prep Hall of Fame coach, continued until '92 at Griffith, going 191-92 usding the offense.

True-False

Junior fullback Chaz Burrows, who gained 900 total yards last year, is a lock to break the 1,000-yard barrier.

Answer: False. With a quarterback who's a threat to run on every play, East Bay lines up with essentially four ballcarriers in the backfield, all of whom are returning starters. Burrows will split carries with senior quarterback Rex Ballenger and running backs Ryan Stubbs and Joseph Evans. Ballenger has the option on every play to keep or hand off to whichever back is in the best position to gain yards.

Yes or No

Is the offense dependent on a healthy Ballenger?

Answer: Yes. East Bay averaged 23.8 points last season and could increase that number with a more mature Ballenger at the helm. "It might not necessarily be him getting all the yards," Thornton said, "but it will be him making the decisions."

Essay

Bloomingdale coach Corey Brinson on East Bay:

"East Bay is one of those hard-nosed teams. They probably throw the ball five times a year. They're going to pound the ball. They're going to make you stop the run. And then when you stop the run, they're going to keep running the ball."

Thornton on the Indians:

"The wishbone is a true team offense. We call it the 'we' offense instead of the 'I' (formation). A lot of different guys are going to carry the ball. Everybody's got to block and fake. Everybody has to be in synch with each other for it to be effective."

Extra Credit

Last year, East Bay was the only team in its four-team district (5A-7) that finished the regular season with a winning record, yet the Indians failed to make the playoffs because of losses to district foes Plant City (5-5 regular-season record) and Brandon (3-7). ... Thornton said his goal each season is to rack up 4,000 total rushing yards a season, or 400 yards rushing per game. Last year, the team had just over 2,900 yards rushing and broke 400 yards in one game.

Bryan Burns, Times correspondent

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[Last modified August 29, 2007, 15:19:13]