Aug 22, 2018 4 min read

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It’s not unusual for a high school football coach to change his offense from season to season.

With players graduating and new players coming in as freshmen, many coaches will change their offense to fit their roster.

For California head coach Darrin Dillow, though, there’s no need to ask.

The Trojans are running the triple option.

“We’re gonna do the same thing,” he said. “We’re gonna run our Navy offense. We’re gonna run midline. We’re gonna run veer. We’re gonna run rocket. That’s what we do.”

Dillow sticking with the same offense is about as easy a choice as any coach could make. The Trojans went 12-1 last season and advanced to the WPIAL Class A semifinal with the highest-scoring offense in the WPIAL at 50.5 points per game.

Dillow said that while the offense has other formations and he wants to pass the ball more this season, his main goal is to keep the system simple for his players.

“We’re going to perfect those three plays,” he said. “Every day we do those three plays. And we do them over and over and over. We do each play 25 times to the left and 25 times to the right every day.”

Dillow said the success of the program last season, which was only two years removed from the 2-7 season in 2015, set the tone for what he hopes the program can be every year.

“Last year was important for the program for us to establishing what we want every year,” Dillow said. “It’s good for these kids to understand that hard work, discipline and the basics pay off.”

While the Trojans did lose 13 players to graduation, their most important player is returning. As a junior, Jelani Stafford was the leading rusher in Class A and seventh in rushing yards in the WPIAL. He was one of only two WPIAL running backs – with more than 10 carries a game – to average more than 10 yards per carry at 10.3 yards a rush. He scored 28 touchdowns in California’s 13 games.

While most teams would run their senior running back into the ground, Dillow knows Stafford has higher aspirations. Stafford, who Dillow said is now 6-2 and 295 pounds, is being recruited by Division I schools as a defensive tackle – a position he’s never played in high school.

“He is still going to run the ball, but it may not be Jelani back there all the time,” he said. “For the good of Jelani and for him to get a shot at a big-time program, he has to play there and play it well.”

While giving the star running back fewer touches would hurt most programs, Dillow said it could benefit the Trojans. Stafford will bolster the team’s defensive line, as he will go up against opposing lineman who might be 50-plus pounds lighter than him. Also, the Trojans were deep at running back last year, which Dillow expects to be the case again.

As a sophomore, Cochise Ryan averaged 12.4 yards per carry on the outside and scored 15 touchdowns. Joining the Trojans as newcomers are running backs Jaden Zuzak and Stafford’s little brother Damani Stafford.

“Zuzak reminds me a lot of Zion (Aldrich),” Dillow said, comparing the sophomore to a running back who graduated last year after rushing for 562 yards and 10 touchdowns. “He’s a big kid, and he’s really strong.”

Like his older brother, Damani Stafford is bigger than many Class A football players. The 6-0, 190-pound running back and middle linebacker is expected to see significant playing time on both sides of the ball.

While losing Aldrich on offense, Braden Petrucci and Ben Bilitski on the defensive line and Dustin Mock as the punter and kicker are significant losses, the biggest loss is under center. Last year, quarterback Colin Phillips ran for 700 yards and accounted for 24 touchdowns passing and rushing as the cornerstone of the vaunted triple-option offense.

Replacing him is senior Austin Grillo, who was the starting quarterback for the first three games of the 2016 season before an injury saw Phillips take over the starting role.

“Austin Grillo had a ton of reps at quarterback because we put our backups in as soon as we could,” Dillow said. “We have high expectations for him.”

The Trojans play a difficult nonconference schedule. They play Class AA Beth-Center in Week Zero, Laurel in Week 4 and defending WPIAL Class AA champion Wash High in Week 5.

“The tougher opponents you play, the more prepared your team is,” Dillow said. “I’m not saying this is going to happen, but if we go through our schedule and run the table, there has to be some respect for California.” o