Customer Service Place an Ad Become a Carrier Contact Us About Us Mobile Edition E-Mail Updates Report Cancellation Submit Milestone
| Subscribe Now Customer Service Place an Ad Become a Carrier Contact Us About Us Mobile Edition E-Mail Updates Report Cancellation Submit Milestone
|
 |
 |
|
Weather  Calendar Obituaries Classifieds Jobs Autos Homes Rentals Coupons Ad Center Gift Finder |
Bloomington-Normal, Illinois
|
Home News Sports
Free Time Life Money Nation/World Opinion Blogs/Columns Archives Site Map |
| SportsThursday, August 30, 2007 2:43 AM CDT |
 Comments (2) |  E-mail this page |  Print this page |  Enlarge type |  Reduce type |  Search archives |  RSS feeds |  Add to My Yahoo! |
GCMS running back duo off to fast start
GIBSON CITY — Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School assistant coach Ryan Birt tries to get it right. But when your tailback is Brenton Fairchild and your fullback is Brandon Luttrell, the potential for confusion is always there. “Coach Birt is real bad at it,” Luttrell said, smiling. “He kind of repeats himself a lot … Brenton, Brandon, Brenton.” Fairchild and Luttrell can live with that. They’ve answered to each other’s first name plenty in eight years of football together. Last week’s season opener against rival PBL did little to separate the two. Each rushed for more than 100 yards in a 24-6 victory, and suddenly, a couple of other names came to mind. GCMS lost more than 2,000 yards rushing from last year’s 8-2 team with the graduation of Jamie Sexton (1,296) and Casey Cline (726). Fairchild and Luttrell served notice the Falcons’ running game did not leave with them, gouging PBL for 249 yards on 21 carries. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound Fairchild ran for 139 yards in 10 attempts, while the 5-11, 175-pound Luttrell added 110 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. “I felt coming in that Brandon and the whole offense could do great things, probably better than last year,” Fairchild said. “People just doubted us a lot, and we went out there and proved them wrong.” It was only one game, and Fairchild admits the Falcons have “a lot of work to do” if they hope to repeat as Heart of Illinois Conference champions. Still, it inspired confidence in a rushing attack that must replace 31 touchdowns from Sexton and Cline. “They are big shoes to fill. They were both great players,” Luttrell said. “We just have to work hard and hope we can be just as skilled if not better. We’re making our own mark. We live in the present.” That means running behind a rebuilt offensive line. Senior guard Tyler Smith is the only returning starter. Senior Mick Horsch also is back after missing last season with a knee injury. Junior Blake Mead and seniors Greg Lee and Kevin Zebarth have filled in the remaining spots alongside senior tight end Calab Cook. “We’re smaller (up front), but we still have the strength,” Luttrell said. “We have that farmer strength. They all worked hard in the summer. They lifted hard, ran hard. I knew they were going to play well.” Fairchild also has confidence in his linemen, who he said “rely on quickness and do a lot of angle blocks.” “They’re not going to outman anybody, but we’ll outrun them,” Fairchild said. Much of that hinges on the quick feet of Fairchild and Luttrell, though coach Mike Allen said the Falcons have two other weapons in wingback Michael Romshek and quarterback Stephan Birt, both sophomores. When Allen said in the preseason the Falcons were ahead of where they were a year ago, a skeptic told one of his assistant coaches, “I thought Coach Allen was crazy.” Fairchild, Luttrell, et al, made some believers in week one. “This is a close group of kids who work hard and want to accomplish things together,” Allen said. “The line is very smart. They’re pretty quick and they use their heads. “And our backs hit the holes quick, so that’s nice. (Fairchild and Luttrell) are very smart at reading their blocks. Brandon ran only a couple of times all season last year, and Brenton ran a minimal amount (at wingback) behind Sexton and Cline. For not having much varsity experience, they do a nice job of reading blocks.” The next test is a home game Friday night against Tremont. Another strong showing could make Fairchild and Luttrell worthy of a nickname, say, “The Killer Bs.” “I don’t know,” Luttrell said. “We’ll have to see.” “They don’t need any nicknames,” Allen said. Giving them football is enough. Get area high school sports scores and statistics at Varsity Sports. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
Top of Page | Home | News | Sports | Free Time | Life | Money | Nation/World | Opinion | Blogs/Columns | Archives | Site Map | RSS
Customer Service | 301 W. Washington St., PO Box 2907, Bloomington, IL 61701-2907 | Ph. 309-829-9000 | 800-747-7323
Copyright © 2009, Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
|
Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.
The B Boys wrote on Aug 30, 2007 8:25 AM:
Falcon Fan wrote on Aug 30, 2007 8:01 AM:
Please read the rules before posting comments.
You must be logged in to leave comments.
If you don't have a member ID, please register.