WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE EAST LAWRENCE EAGLES?

From Alabama to Montana and back.
Ernie Ferguson logged quite a few miles this offseason in his quest for the perfect offensive scheme to fit his East Lawrence High personnel.

More than 4,000 miles later, the East Lawrence High coach believes he has a solution.
At East Lawrence, an option-style offense will remain.
But the scheme and philosophy underwent drastic overhauls.
"This is of a run-pass option with more pre-snap reads," Ferguson said. "I went to Montana to talk to a high school coach who runs this offense, and it's different than anything I've used before. We're changing things up significantly to fit the players we have and don't have."
So why the drastic change?
In high school sports, graduation affects personnel. And East Lawrence's roster lost one of the area's dynamic, and versatile, playmakers: Former quarterback Terrence Deloney, who last season accounted for almost 3,000 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Ferguson said new quarterback Allen West is capable of leading East Lawrence's offense, but has different skill sets than Deloney.
"I started out as a wishbone coach, and then moved to the spread option, so for me as a coach, this is really stepping out of the box," Ferguson said. "We're still going to be a running team, and the veer and counters are still in our package, but overall, it's significantly different and suits the players we have now."

Offense

West enters his debut season with huge shoes to fill. During the last few seasons, Deloney was a fixture for East Lawrence at quarterback, consistently making big plays as both a runner and passer.
Since taking over as East Lawrence's starting quarterback in the spring, West has been one of the busiest players on the Eagles' roster. According to Ferguson, with the new offensive system, West is being asked to do more on the field than any quarterback he has coached.
"With all of the pre-snap reads and post-snap reads, we're throwing a lot of responsibility at Allen," Ferguson said. "He has handled it well, and really has made a lot of progress this offseason."
West already has won the confidence of his teammates.
"Allen isn't as fast as Terrence, but as a quarterback, he does some things better," running back Dakota Millwood said. "For one, he's a better passer, so we're going to be able to spread the ball around more. He's a perfect fit for this system."
With the season quickly approaching, West said he is beginning to gain confidence. Having Millwood returning at running back, along with depth at the running back positions, has helped.
"There has been a lot thrown at me, but I'm catching on," said West, who played some quarterback in 2012 as Deloney's backup. "Some of the reads were difficult at first, but it's like anything else, it gets easier the more you do it."

Defense

Because so much time this offseason was devoted to the new offensive scheme, Ferguson said since fall practice began in August, more emphasis has been placed on improving East Lawrence's defense.
On defense, East Lawrence returns just four starters. In 2012, the Eagles gave up 26.2 points per game.
"My coaching background has always been on offense, but I would rather us be better on defense," Ferguson said. "I would rather win 2-0 than 99-98 any day of the week. We're devoting a lot of time to getting better on that side of the ball, working on fundamentals, tackling, etc."
Ferguson said linebacker Ben Copeland and defensive back Tyler Mitchell have filled leadership roles on East Lawrence's defense.

Prognosis

With just nine returning starters — five on offense, and four on defense — East Lawrence's offseason had a rebuilding theme. The Eagles finished the 2012 season with a 4-6 record and missed the Class 4A playoffs.
Ferguson said the players made progress in the weight room, gaining size and strength, and on the practice field, that's translating into positive signs.
"Strength wise, we had nowhere to go but up," Ferguson said. "And we had a very good offseason in that aspect. I can see signs of progress, but because we don't have a lot of depth, a lot of how successful we are is going to depend on keeping everyone healthy and on the field. If we can stay healthy, I think we could be better."
Despite having so many new starters on the field, East Lawrence's players enter the season with optimism.
"We've definitely improved," Millwood said. "I can see it. All of us can see it. A lot of people already are writing us off, and that's fine, because we all feel like we're going to surprise a lot of people this year."

East Lawrence at a glance

Coach: Ernie Ferguson; third season
2012 results: 4-6; 2-5 in Class 4A, Region 8.
Jamboree:  Elkmont
Region 8 Season opener: Aug. 30 vs. Lawrence County
Returning starters: Four on offense; four on defense.
Big games: Aug. 30 vs. Lawrence County; Sept. 20 vs. West Limestone; Oct. 4 vs. Priceville.

Source:  Decatur Daily