DOWNEY – Once in a great while, Warren will run their offense out of a formation that is very similar to the wildcat formation that is run by the Miami Dolphins and many high school and collegiate teams.

You’ll see running back Jesse Callier positioned in the shotgun with quarterback Sam Bettencourt watching from the sidelines as he’s not included in the play.

A lot of the time, Callier will get the snap and run the ball himself. On other instances, Callier hands the ball off to other running backs in the formation, and every great once in a while, he’ll find a receiver open and pass the ball.

What makes this formation so interesting? Alemany, the Bears’ opponent tonight at home, may or may not run this same formation but has the perfect weapon to be used in the wildcat in their star player Malcolm Marable.

Marable is Alemany’s running back, wide receiver, and sometime quarterback. He also plays defense and is one of the leading tacklers on the team. What makes tonight’s match up so interesting is that Warren may be doing something that they didn’t think they would find themselves doing ever: playing against their twin.

Alemany’s offense is all Marable all the time. The two-time all-league player who eerily also committed to a PAC-10 college, Oregon State, has all the makings of being exactly what Warren has in Callier.

This year, Marable has rushed 149 times and collected 795 yards, an average of 5.34 yards per carry. He is also one of his team’s leading receivers with 18 catches for 370 yards and averaging over 20 yards per catch.

While he may not be the carbon copy of what Callier is to Warren in the San Gabriel Valley League, maybe he is in the Mission League. How can that be said? Well, when you look at Alemany’s schedule, you notice that two of the three losses they have are against top 10 teams in the state.

Their 28-17 loss versus Oaks Christian, while close, was still a loss against a top 10 school. Also, their 36-14 loss versus Bishop Amat shouldn’t go unnoticed considering that Bishop Amat is ranked No. 4 in the state and No. 43 in the country.

These losses are against teams that no doubt have fantastic defenses. So, when looking at Marable’s numbers that include an average of just over five yards per carry, one should conclude that when playing against a team such as a Downey, Lynwood, or Dominguez, that number could actually roughly translate into 10 yards per carry, or so.

Whatever the case may be, Marable is the man to watch from Alemany. In fact, if Warren can stop Alemany’s run game, they’ll be in great shape to possibly advance to the third round, something that even with Callier aboard has been something of a ghost to them.

It’s been quite some time since the Bears advanced to the third round and in reality, from the beginning of the year, that’s what they’ve been working for. But now that they feel as if they have something going for them, the third round may not be enough for the Bears. But first thing’s first. They have to win tonight.

Singing praises for Callier is obvious and he has to be at his best if Warren is to advance after tonight. But other key players are going to have to step up in order to get this team to the next round.

When looking at Alemany’s losses, a balanced attack is what beat them in all three games this year. Bishop Amat ran and passed the ball with great efficiency, and so did Oaks Christian and Harvard-Westlake.

If Warren is to win tonight, receiver Bailey Cowins and quarterback Sam Bettencourt have to be a bigger part of the offense.

Bettencourt has been averaging fewer than 10 passes a game and has only completed half of his passing attempts. Unfortunately his pass-to-interception ratio is 1-to-1, which is not good.

We did learn something about Bettencourt earlier in the season though when they faced Vista Murrieta. If he can get into a rhythm, he can be a very good passer. Against Vista Murrieta, he was 15 for 23 putting up 180 yards and two touchdowns.

He was spreading the ball all over, Cowins being his favorite target with Callier and tight end Augafa Vaaulu being his others, and quickly moving the Bears down the field.

Warren head coach Chris Benadom needs to take this into consideration for his offense. If he can get Bettencourt warmed up and in rhythm and let Callier do his thing, then it will be a good night for the Bears.

Defensively, it’s easy. Warren needs to make a decision on what to stop. They either need to stop the running game or the passing game. If you keep Marable in check, it will be a plus, but the game should come down to which future PAC-10 player will win the game.

If Warren stops the passing game completely of Alemany, they should like their odds with Callier in the backfield.

**********

Published: November 27, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 32