Change in offense paying off for Deerfield-Windsor

ALBANY — High school football coaches sometimes have to tinker with their offenses in order to take advantage of the personnel they have.

For Deerfield-Windsor head coach Allen Lowe, a shift in personnel has meant a move away from the run game and into a pass-oriented offense.

The result so far has been a pair of close victories. The Knights (2-0) host another unbeaten team, Heritage-Newnan (3-0), as they play the first of four crossover games against GISA Region 1-3A opponents that have the potential to decide postseason qualification.

“We’ve been very fortunate,” Lowe said. “Both games, we have come from behind to win. Our kids have just kept playing hard, and we’ve kept finding a way.”

The shift is all about height.

Much of Deerfield-Windsor’s offense in recent years had revolved around pounding the misdirection run game, with Garrett Jones using his breakaway speed to rack up 1,630 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns last year.

Jones graduated, resulting in some juggling of the skill positions. That gave Lowe the chance to start a pair of 6-foot-5 receivers in Garrison Shenker and Joe Morgan, two tall players that give veteran quarterback Jack Kimbrel some big targets to find.

They made their mark early. Shenker set a program record with nine catches in the Knights’ season-opening 15-12 win over Westfield, racking up 134 yards. Kimbrel completed 18-of-25 passes for 256 yards that night, adding 176 yards in last week’s 13-10 win over Glenwood (Phenix City, Alabama).

“The second half against Westfield, we just came out slinging it,” Lowe said. “Jack can really throw the football, and we’ve had guys step up and start catching the football. When you have two 6-5 targets, it gives good mismatches.”

The GISA incorporated crossover play into its scheduling this year, using it as a way to help form its postseason brackets.

Twelve teams will qualify for the Class 3A playoffs. The four regions will each send two teams to the playoffs, counting just region games. The non-qualifiers from Region 1-3A and Region 3-3A will form a pool that will send two more teams to the playoffs, with both region games and crossover games counting.