In 2018, Poyen did something that not many teams at the 2A level can accomplish.
The Indians finished with more passing yards than rushing yards.
For coach Vick Barrett, getting back to the ground game was a necessity in 2019, and his team has been handsomely rewarded, reaching the playoffs after a one-year absence.
“We threw the ball probably 70 percent of the time. We were throwing it 30 to 45 times a game. We knew this year we had to switch back,” Barrett said.
“I would prefer to pound it a little more. My preference would be to be 50-50 on the dot, but in 2A, that rarely happens. We got going early in the season, we started running the ball on people and it just kind of stuck.
“That’s what our kids have bought into, so that’s what we do. We’re going to try to establish the run, and we feel like if we can, everything else will flow off of that. We can throw the ball, but if we don’t need to, we’re not just going to throw it out there just to show we can.
“That’s what’s happened in a lot of of games. We just haven’t had to, so we don’t.”
The Indians have rushed for 3,054 yards and could have two players top the 1,000-yard mark this year.
Junior Brandon Sanchez leads the team with 1,641 yards and 19 touchdowns, and junior quarterback Jaxson Carter is 33 yards short of that mark.
Barrett credited his offensive line for the success of the Indians’ running attack.
“Those backs are good, but we have a lot of faith in our O-line,” Barrett said. “We’re not huge, but we’re pretty smart up front and we’re pretty strong. They’re not getting a lot of hands put on them, which makes it good for them.”
Magnet Cove was the lone team to hold Sanchez under 100 yards this year, and Parkers Chapel coach Elliot Jacobs had plenty of praise for the junior.
“The toughness,” Jacobs said of Sanchez’s best attribute. “He’s a 5-6, 140-pound kid, but they’ll run him between the tackles. We’ve got to get him down on first contact. If he gets to the second level, he can take it to the house in a heartbeat.”
When asked to compare Sanchez to other running backs the Trojans have faced, Jacobs thought of Foreman’s Robbie Smith.
“He has a similar build and can flat out fly,” Jacobs said.
Barrett concurred.
“He’s super explosive,” Barrett said. “He’s fast. Parkers Chapel sees speed on a weekly basis in that conference, but for us, he’s just a game-breaker. He can take a play that should be a three or four-yard play and he’s standing in the end zone 60 yards later.
“For us, that gives us a huge advantage. Not having him last week hurt us not just physically, but mentally morale-wise for our team. We knew all week he wasn’t going to play, but still when you get out there for the first time, it’s different not having him out there.”
But what makes Poyen’s success even more interesting is that they are based out of an offense that’s more known for passing.
“We’re a spread-based team. That’s what’s crazy. Typically, we’ll have three receivers on the field,” Barrett said. “We’re more Auburn-stylish spread with the fullback. We’ll get in some double-tight stuff.
“There’s some formation stuff we kind of do to try to outflank you and get an extra blocker here and there. If we feel like we can do that, we do it. We’re in the shotgun. We never take a snap under center, which people think is crazy. Everything we do is built off of the initial part of our system and then we just build around it.”
The Indians are still in their infancy as far as building and developing a program when compared to others across the state, but Barrett has been pleased with how everything has fallen into place this year.
“It’s been a challenge to build it,” Barrett said. “When I got here, the administration said this was a 10-year deal, not a three-year turnaround. We want somebody that’s planning on being here 10 years, because that’s when you’re going to start seeing it, and they were right.
“We won the conference the previous two seasons in junior high, then we finished second this year, so you’re starting to get some kids in your system that are learning what you want to do and learning football. Poyen has had basketball and baseball forever, but it’s kind of new for the community, and they’re great. They’ve rallied around and helped us build a program that people around here know.”