Ryly Jane Hambleton: Lewiston finds success with 16-man roster

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The Lewiston football team may be changing its approach to the game a bit, but the Tigers are making no concessions because of their numbers.

With just 16 players out for football, coach Neil Woofter has made a few adjustments in the seventh week of the season.

“Monday, we look at film. In the past, we had ‘B’ team games, but we just couldn’t this year,” said Woofter. “Early in the season, we had pads on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but now, we’re going without pads on Tuesday. We put in any of the changes we’re going to use.

“We do our mental work on Monday and Tuesday. Looking at film and showing them where they made mistakes has been productive.”

Woofter said in years when he had more players, film sessions were shorter and didn’t always benefit the entire group.

“Wednesday is when we try to work on fundamentals and most of our defensive work,” Woofter said. “Thursday, we go through special teams and brush up on our game plan.”

After a 5-1 start to the season, the players are confident they’re well prepared for their games.

“Our practices are not as much the physical part. Monday and Tuesday help on the mental aspect, what we did wrong and how to improve on that,” said center and co-captain Nick Thomas. “The linemen look at what the tendencies of our opponents are, which foot they move first, which hand, that kind of thing.”

The Monday film sessions have prompted even more film watching.

“We don’t just watch with the coaches,” said wide receiver Ryan Thomas. “Watching film gives us a chance to look at the guy we’re going to be going against so that we can learn his tendencies.

“Kyle (Knoche) and I look at what we can do against their defense.”

Woofter said he’s had  small rosters before, so he was prepared for the necessary changes.

“We’re lucky. We have about 10 guys who are pretty experienced. As long as we don’t get anyone hurt, we’re pretty solid,” he said. “We do a lot of drills to show them things and get them to visualize. On offense, it’s pretty easy, but it hurts you on defense. We’re probably more at beginning-of-season form on defense.

“We do a lot of half-line scrimmages. It is harder to do defense than offense. That’s one of the reasons we decided to throw the ball. We didn’t think we could go out there and physically pound on people all night long.”

The Tigers qualified for the playoffs last year, losing in the first round, but Woofter said that helps the team.

“These kids have experienced quite a bit of success. They don’t let the size of the other team intimidate them,” he said. “When they’re out on the field, it’s eight on eight. When it was hot, we did wear down, but now that we’re in better shape and it’s cooler, that gets better.

“The guys have figured out that it’s us against the world.”

That feeling led to a bond between the players. Nick Thomas said it’s better to have 16 who are willing to make the commitment  to each other that is necessary.

That bond allows them to have fun while working.

“Our offense is pretty complicated, so if you can’t make fun of yourselves, you’re in trouble,” said quarterback Knoche. “Today, I couldn’t get words out right and Nick was making fun of me.”

The players are definitely on the same wavelength as their coach. Woofter was making a point to Ryan Thomas about a route, saying, “make sure you” and before he could finish the sentence, Thomas finished it for him, “block him to the outside.”

Knoche is averaging 275.7 yards passing per game. Both Ryan Thomas and Tim Cisco have had 10-catch games this year. James Tuttle is the leading rusher, with 283 yards, and shares time in the backfield with Tony Bursovsky and Travis Robeson. Bursovsky is also the backup quarterback.

Nick Thomas is joined up front by Nathan Seitz and Tanner Bowhay.

“I don’t think Kyle got sacked a single time last week and we threw the ball 45 times,” said Woofter. “He knows to get rid of the ball if he’s not going to get anything. But the line has also done a good job.”

Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com