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Wigmore has a funny way of coaching By Don Hunt Jack Wigmore is not your typical football coach. He runs a funny offense. His teams never go through daily doubles and rarely scrimmage in full pads. And he didn�t become a head coach until the age of 47. "I was turned down several times," he says. "I was told I wasn�t qualified." Churchill High of Eugene finally gave Wigmore his shot in 1997. In four seasons at the school, the Lancers have posted a 35-10 record and advanced to the playoffs each year. Wigmore�s current squad is 11-1 and meets North Medford in the Class 4A state semifinals Saturday afternoon at Autzen Stadium. Those who head north and watch the game will immediately notice something strange about the Churchill offense. A lot of things, actually. For starters, the linemen stand toe-to-toe with one another. There are no wide receivers. The fullback is within a couple feet of the quarterback. And the two other running backs line up at a 45-degree angle from the line of scrimmage. When the ball is snapped, a wall of blockers forms at one perimeter or the other with one of the running backs toting the ball into this mass of humanity. It�s the double wing, an offense that Ashland coach Jim Nagel once called "the most boring I�ve ever seen." But the Lancers are pigskin proof that it can be highly effective. They�re averaging 45 points and more than 450 yards per game, totals that are often reached in the third quarter when Wigmore begins clearing his bench. And lest anyone thinks it doesn�t work against good teams, Churchill has scored 56, 57 and 41 points in its three playoff games. A former quarterback at Washington State, Wigmore fancied himself more as a passing game coach than a running game whiz when he served as an assistant at Churchill and Sheldon between 1972 and 1996. But when he got the head job at Churchill, Wigmore ventured to the winningest programs in California to study, analyze and scrutinize just how the coaches there managed to succeed. The coach he was most impressed with was a man named Don Markham at Bloomington, Calif. Markham had previously coached at Bandon High in Oregon and his double wing teams routinely piled up 50, 60, 70, even 80 points in one game. Markham made a lot of enemies in Oregon for running up the score on his opponents, and he began doing the same thing at Bloomington. But Markham was more than happy to show Wigmore the finer points of his offense. "The guy had no money, no facilities to speak of and he was coaching the team by himself," Wigmore says. "I spent three or four days there and just sucked everything up. "He�s one of those eccentric, genius types, but he was nice to me and more than willing to share his knowledge." Markham�s teams hardly ever throw the ball, but Wigmore�s do. The Lancers will occasionally abandon their double wing, spread the field with receivers and start passing the ball as if they�re the Denver Broncos. Wigmore�s offensive coordinator is Chris Miller, the former University of Oregon and NFL quarterback who played with the Broncos last season until a series of concussions ended his career. Wigmore says Miller, who he coached at Sheldon in the early 1980s, has had a big impact on Churchill quarterback Jeff Rhode. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Rhode has thrown for more than 1,700 yards, 22 touchdowns and just one interception. "Obviously, we�re not as sophisticated as the Broncos are, but we�re doing a lot of what they do," Wigmore says. "We�re essentially running the West Coast offense when we go to our passing game." Churchill�s only loss this season came in its season-opener, 26-21 to Marshfield. Wigmore admits his team probably wasn�t as ready as it could have been, but that was partly by design. He doesn�t believe in daily doubles in the dog days of summer. "I believe two-a-days is another form of hazing," he says. "I don�t think being sore, dehydrated and hating football practice in August helps you in November." As good as his 2000 team is, Wigmore believes last year�s squad might have been better. But the bus broke down on the way to Lake Oswego and the Lancers dropped a 29-27 decision in the opening round of the playoffs. "We spent an hour on the freeway and none of the kids got dinner," he says. "We were whacked out and not really ready to play a game." The Lancers will surely be ready Saturday. They�ll run a lot, pass a little and if none of that works, they�ll just wing it. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.