Little Giants’ WRs make opposing defenses pick their poison

FREMONT – In it past two games, the Ross football team has totaled 823 yards of offense and scored 72 points.

While much of the success is credit to the progression of junior quarterback Hayden Lehmann, that progress would come much harder without a stable of capable receivers.

The Little Giants possess a receiving corps forces opposing defensive coordinators make hard choices.

Do you double-team coverage against one man, while risking leaving someone else open? Or do you stick to man-to-man coverage, which itself comes with a new set of challenges?

It’s a question Ross head coach Chad Long and offensive coordinator Eddie Baptista have enjoyed forcing the opposition to answer.

“This last week we put all three of them on one side and said, ‘Who you doubling now?’” Long said of Ross’ 23-20 win over St. John’s. “And we put Bryce (McKinstry) on the backside and Bryce was able to pick on a smaller corner. Where is our matchups, what do you want to do defense? And then we’ll counter off of that.”

Roger Burling has been Lehmann’s No. 1 option all season, but as Lehmann has begun spreading the ball around more in recent weeks, it’s created more opportunities for the highly-skilled, 6-foot-2 senior.

At the season’s midway point, Burling has caught 28 passes for 504 yards and five touchdowns, all of which are team-highs.

“Roger is a phenomenal athlete,” Long said. “He’s a great studier. He is so smart about football. His football IQ is high, the highest on the team, without a doubt.

“Even when he’s off to the side, he asks what the call is and he says, ‘Oh, that’s going to be wide open,’ He’s said that many times. He’s a special player.”

With Burling often taking the top off the secondary, junior Noah Hotz and senior Devyn Jagodzinski have been using the shallow and middle portions of the field to do their damage. Both have caught 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with Hotz’s 18 receptions just one more than Jagodzinksi.

With Ross being able to spread the ball around so freely and confidently, its put opposing defenses in an almost no-win situation.

“When we played against Findlay, they started doubling Roger, OK, we’ll use Noah.,” Long said. “Well, they started doubling Noah. Then it went to Jags. So what do you do?”

If you’re Ross, you begin to bring on a fourth weapon.

Junior Bryce McKinstry caught his first two passes of the season last week, good for 72 yards, and was targeted several more times on deep passes. He also showed a knack for getting open when Lehmann is scrambling behind the line of scrimmage. McKinstry slipped behind his defender down the Ross sideline where Lehmann connected with him for a 33-yard gain which set up a touchdown just three plays later – a 10-yard pass to Hotz.

Long believes it’s just the start for McKinstry, whose 6-4, 185-pound frame is the Little Giants’ biggest body in the passing game.

“We have our Big Three and Bryce just jumped on the radar this last week on his outbreak of a game,” Long said. “Now you see it (Monday) in practice, that kid was making every catch possible. There is an excitement in him I’ve never seen before.

“Everyone is really tuned in and they want to do whatever they have to do for the team.”

The only question Long has about his receivers is how fast and far will Lehmann’s development continue to grow so he can properly utilize his weapons to their full potential. Long wants his strong-armed quarterback to reduce his reliance of the deep throw and look more for open, high-percentage passes.

“Our kids are wide open,” Long said. “We got some great concepts as far as what we’re doing based on what the defense gives us. It’s a matter of Hayden getting the ball to them. And when I say that, it’s not always the deep ball, it’s the shorter stuff that’s open. When we can get to that level, he’s going to be phenomenal and break every possible record at Fremont. He has to understand we have a great concept, throw it to the open guy, don’t always look for the big ball.”