Naperville Central began the season with three running backs for a spread system that sometimes doesn't even require one.
The Redhawks knew they wouldn't run many two-back sets. They rotated players and divided the carries, or they could always go empty backfield. None stood out early, though all three seniors made contributions in Week 10.
Nate Delisle moved to defensive line and recovered the fumble that set up Central's final score in last week's opening-round playoff win. Derek Jancik started at outside linebacker in the 28-16 victory, and Ben Murphy ran 15 times for 89 yards against Lockport.
"It was frustrating for all of us," Central coach Mike Stine said. "We knew that those guys (were) some of our better kids. We just had to figure out where they were gonna fit into the puzzle. It took us a few games to get that all worked out."
Through the first four games of the season, Murphy had only six carries for seven yards. Then he broke out for 121 yards rushing in a Week 5 win over Glenbard East. He's had at least 11 carries in five of the past six games.
"What I think happened is that before the season everyone thought we were going to be the spread offense," Murphy said. "The first five games we were (and) even now we still are -- it's just that defenses have been keying on that.
"As the season went on, it became a little easier to run the ball because they never thought we would do it. Now that we're actually like getting in the groove -- running and passing the ball has just been natural to us and we can do everything."
No. 5 Central (8-2) will probably want to establish some kind of run game during Saturday's second-round game at No. 4 Marist (8-2). As it has the past two weeks, Central will be playing without two defensive starters who were dismissed from the team.
Marist is averaging around 37 points per game, so Central will hope to extend some drives, chew up the clock and keep that explosive offense on the sidelines.
Central is actually running the ball nearly 55 percent of the time. It's just that quarterback Nick Linne has received the bulk of the carries, running 124 times for 625 yards.
Teams know that Central likes to throw the ball -- Linne has passed for almost 2,000 yards already and is completing nearly 61 percent of his throws. And its short, high-percentage passing game is essentially an extension of its running game.
But it also decided that it has to be able to run between the tackles to keep defenses honest in the postseason. Murphy has 78 carries for 353 yards, while Jancik rushed 73 times for 386 yards.
"We probably are pretty balanced," Stine said. "To beat good teams, you can't be one-dimensional. Good teams will take one thing away from you. So you got to be able to do (both). We have made a conscious effort to try and improve our running game."
What Central did with its running backs meshes with its overall philosophy. This season it has consistently used skill-position types on the other side of the ball, designed short-yardage packages around its defensive players to boost the power running game and moved 6-foot-5-inch, 230-pound Cam Brate around to create matchup problems.
"We try and force teams to defend the field," Stine said. "We put Cam everywhere. (He's) been a tight end, (a) wingback, a split end. He's been a flanker, (a) fullback, (a) tailback. About the only place we haven't lined him up is at quarterback."
After making first-round exits the past two years -- in losses to Lincoln-Way East and Mount Carmel by a combined score of 66-31 -- Central hopes to keep advancing, whether it's with the run, the pass or most likely a mixture of the two.
"That was huge," Murphy said of reaching Week 11. "Now that we got over that hump, we have the momentum and we think we can make a run."
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