NEW GLARUS - The Monroe football team showcased its new spread offense in a scrimmage against New Glarus-Monticello and Evansville Friday night.
Monroe senior quarterback Mitch Tordoff looked sharp. He completed three of five passes against Evansville. The Cheesemakers didn't score in their allotted 20 offensive plays against the Blue Devils, but they shined in the goal line portion of the scrimmage. The Cheesemakers scored on two straight goal line possessions including Tordoff's 5-yard touchdown pass to Josh Popanz and a 1-yard touchdown run by Zach Rast.
"The spread for us is a learning experience," Monroe coach Curt Miller said. "This is the first time I think in the history of Monroe that we have ran the spread."
Miller said it helps having a leader like Tordoff, who hasn't played football since his freshman year.
"It's basically a point guard on grass," Miller said of Tordoff's role in comparing it to the basketball standout's game.
Tordoff is excited about playing in the spread offense, which featured the shotgun on every play.
"I really like the system this year," Tordoff said. "I think our team needed something different."
He said having everyone on the same page with the spread offense has helped.
The transition to catching shotgun snaps instead of chess passes this fall has been seamless.
"We have practiced it (shotgun) a lot," Tordoff said. "I think the repetition in practice has paid off with the shotgun."
The run of the night came when New Glarus-Monticello quarterback Ryan Bright scrambled for a 10-yard TD run against the Cheesemakers' defense. Bright broke four tackles and later added a 4-yard TD run.
"Ryan ran really well," New Glarus-Monticello coach Jeff Eichelkraut said. "Explosive. He made a lot of good reads and decisions."
For Eichelkraut and each team, it was a dress rehearsal before next week's season openers.
"You hope to obviously evaluate personnel and look at guys," Eichelkraut said.
The Cheesemakers' defense delivered a goal-line stand against the Glarner Knights. After some missed tackles against the Glarner Knights, the Cheesemakers bottled up the Blue Devils' offense with a swarming defense. Monroe senior Alex Dammen made a spectacular interception. The Blue Devils' first score came on a botched snap, which resulted in a touchdown pass. Then late in the scrimmage, the Blue Devils connected on a 40-yard TD pass.
"I told the kids we wanted to get better, stay healthy and we wanted to improve," Miller said. "Make improvement was the No. 1 goal and I think we really did that."
The Cheesemakers were again money in the bank, scoring two more goal-line touchdowns, which marked a perfect night in goal line drives.
"I was probably most impressed with how we played down by the goal line," Miller said. "Once we got down to the 5-yard line, we found a way to put it in the end zone."
Monroe senior quarterback Mitch Tordoff looked sharp. He completed three of five passes against Evansville. The Cheesemakers didn't score in their allotted 20 offensive plays against the Blue Devils, but they shined in the goal line portion of the scrimmage. The Cheesemakers scored on two straight goal line possessions including Tordoff's 5-yard touchdown pass to Josh Popanz and a 1-yard touchdown run by Zach Rast.
"The spread for us is a learning experience," Monroe coach Curt Miller said. "This is the first time I think in the history of Monroe that we have ran the spread."
Miller said it helps having a leader like Tordoff, who hasn't played football since his freshman year.
"It's basically a point guard on grass," Miller said of Tordoff's role in comparing it to the basketball standout's game.
Tordoff is excited about playing in the spread offense, which featured the shotgun on every play.
"I really like the system this year," Tordoff said. "I think our team needed something different."
He said having everyone on the same page with the spread offense has helped.
The transition to catching shotgun snaps instead of chess passes this fall has been seamless.
"We have practiced it (shotgun) a lot," Tordoff said. "I think the repetition in practice has paid off with the shotgun."
The run of the night came when New Glarus-Monticello quarterback Ryan Bright scrambled for a 10-yard TD run against the Cheesemakers' defense. Bright broke four tackles and later added a 4-yard TD run.
"Ryan ran really well," New Glarus-Monticello coach Jeff Eichelkraut said. "Explosive. He made a lot of good reads and decisions."
For Eichelkraut and each team, it was a dress rehearsal before next week's season openers.
"You hope to obviously evaluate personnel and look at guys," Eichelkraut said.
The Cheesemakers' defense delivered a goal-line stand against the Glarner Knights. After some missed tackles against the Glarner Knights, the Cheesemakers bottled up the Blue Devils' offense with a swarming defense. Monroe senior Alex Dammen made a spectacular interception. The Blue Devils' first score came on a botched snap, which resulted in a touchdown pass. Then late in the scrimmage, the Blue Devils connected on a 40-yard TD pass.
"I told the kids we wanted to get better, stay healthy and we wanted to improve," Miller said. "Make improvement was the No. 1 goal and I think we really did that."
The Cheesemakers were again money in the bank, scoring two more goal-line touchdowns, which marked a perfect night in goal line drives.
"I was probably most impressed with how we played down by the goal line," Miller said. "Once we got down to the 5-yard line, we found a way to put it in the end zone."
