WHEN YOU NEED TO CHANGE THE GAME, BRING THE CIRCUS TO YOUR GAME PLAN.
The offense we run is a base I formation with spread principles mixed in; we call it the Spread I. This offense gives us a base foundation to start from and also a down hill run mentality which is crucial in high school football. Today we will discuss a part of our offense that we use when we want to change the pace or we need a boost. We went to this play late in the season to catch the opposing defense off balance. This is an offensive play we use as a game changer to spark the offense or as a last minute desperation play. I like to keep plays like this for the second half of a game so the other team will not have as much time to game plan their defense. The topic for today’s clinic is THE CIRCUS. This play can be used more than once during the game because it is so multiple in its attack. It can be used at anytime of the game and any where on the field. You must rep this play at least once a day so that your QB gets use to the different phases of the play he is looking at. First, the formation puts the defense in a confused state right out of the huddle and makes the defense think on the run or get burned quickly. We call this play the “Circus R Gun”. The personnel in this formation includes 4 WR’s and 1 TB. In Diagram 1, you can see the X and H WR go to the left with the LT and LG aligning themselves on the numbers. The Center, RG, and RT stay at their usual place on the LOS. The S WR aligns himself on the numbers while the Z WR aligns on the hash. The QB is in the gun at 4 and half yds and the TB next to him at 5 yds. The key to this alignment is that the offense must sprint to the LOS after breaking the huddle. This will force the defense to either call timeout or get lined up properly. Another key to the play is that everyone who needs to be on the LOS is and that the QB waits for all players to be set.
The play I will be discussing today is called Circus R Gun Blue QB Choice. The QB has multiple reads in this play as to where to go with the ball. The great thing about this play is that everyone runs their portion of the play no matter what defense they show. What I mean is that the fast screen, inside zone, the go and post is run at the same time. Each player never knows when the ball is coming to them, only the QB knows. Where to go with the ball also depends on down and distance and where we are in the game could influence the QB’s decision. The first choice in Diagram 2 is to throw the quick screen to the H WR. The QB will look over to see if the defense has enough numbers to cover the screen, if not he calls for the ball. The QB will call for the snap, step back and rifle it over to the HB. The HB will step back on the snap of the ball looking for the quick pass. X, LT and LG will pass block on the snap of the ball no matter what.
The second choice in Diagram 3 is to run the inside zone play. After checking and seeing the screen is covered the QB will read the box for numbers. The TB will run his inside zone track on the snap of the ball every time no matter what. The C, RG and RT will block 14 inside zone on the snap of the ball every time this play is called.
Now after the QB see’s the first two choices are covered, the third choice in the play (Diagram 4) is to throw the post or go route to the S or Z. The QB will see if the defense covers the screen, to the inside zone to the go / post. If they don’t cover down on those two WR’s then the QB calls for the ball. The S runs a take off staying on the numbers. The Z runs a skinny post over the top of the safety.
In addition to these choices for the play there are two last additions to be added. Maybe you run this a couple of times in the game or save it for the next week’s opponent. In Diagram 5 you will notice the X WR pass blocks and then runs a go route. The QB will put that into the call Circus R Gun Blue QB Choice X Go. On the snap QB pumps the HB Screen and then throws the GO route to the X WR.
The last addition to the play would be a double pass off the HB Screen game. In Diagram 6, the call would be Circus R Gun Blue QB Choice H Double Pass. The QB would call for the snap and throw the quick screen. The HB would step back, catch the ball and then throw to the X WR running a go route down the numbers.
There are many other variations you could run from this set but we have to keep a few secrets to ourselves. I hope this gives everyone a sudden change of pace play or an end of the game winning play. I want to say thank you for your time and patience and hope you got something from this that will help you in your offense. It has been truly an honor and a privilege to talk about something I care about, the game of football.
About the Author:
Tim Dycus is a 10 year coaching veteran and currently serves as the offensive coordinator at Hagerty High School. Hagerty HS is in its third year of football.