[Stardust]

The opposite is also true. A team that executes an option offense to perfection will continue to give Highlands trouble because they cannot easily prepare for it in practice. Not running an offense like Highlands runs tends to offset their strengths.

The key is to learn to defend Highlands offense well enough to slow it down enough to increase the opportunities for turnovers. Johnson Central did that last season but they did not have the depth and experience to contain Highlands' offense last week. Nor were they able to avoid their own turnovers and move the ball as effectively as they did last year.

The worse thing that a team like Johnson Central could do is to try to remake its program to look like the one that Highlands has built. Many teams have tried to emulate Highlands' offense and more often than not, they have lost by bigger margins when they have played the Bluebirds than Johnson Central has.

I'm not sure who runs the option, but seeing different styles of football is exactly what HHS sees each year. The purpose of playing teams in different classes has proved valuable. When they play 6A teams in NKY, they see that dominate O-Line with runs between the tackles. When they play Cincinnati teams, they see open offenses with high powered passing games. Playing Cov Cath tends to be playing in a mirror. I think that HHS has done an excellent job over the last five years of scheduling teams that gives them a flavor of what they will see come playoffs, thus gives them game film to refer back to!