OPINION: A calculated split pays off

As I worked along the Creston football sideline Friday, I noticed a greater sense of urgency from offensive coordinator Garrison Carter in his encouragement to the players to get up and move quickly to the line of scrimmage for the next play.

Creston has operated a fast-paced no-huddle offense since Carter’s arrival two years ago, where the team gets the play call from the sideline as they’re getting set. But, against Greene County the rush to set a relentless pace had an extra gear.

As it turned out, there was a method to the madness on the way to the exciting 42-35 victory on a touchdown pass with four seconds left in the game. Victory had escaped the Panthers’ grasp all season, including a one-point loss to playoff-bound Winterset, and a 29-27 loss to district co-leader Atlantic on the last play of the game.

I had also seen Creston come back to tie Des Moines Christian twice in a 44-31 road loss. Des Moines Christian was state-ranked at the time.

It definitely seemed like this team I was watching played better than any other winless team I had been around, but there was just a tendency to give up a big play at the wrong time.

Finishing with two wins would make this season taste better to the seniors, and provide some momentum going into 2026 for the many underclassmen in this year’s lineup. I saw the team focus on taking that positive step Friday.

Carter said the team was motivated to show its true colors against the Rams.

“It was actually kind of personal,” Carter said. “They had some quotes in the paper that were kind of bashing the fact that we platoon guys, and an 0-7 team shouldn’t be doing that. So, we took a little pride in the fact that they were kind of doing the opposite — they had eight guys going both ways — and we thought one of our advantages might be that we could get them on their heels and wear them out a little bit. You could definitely see that take effect with the number of guys that were leaving the field, or cramping up. Our offensive line is already pretty good, and this just gave them a little bit more of an advantage.”

Greene County came in with a 4-3 record and also had some talented players, such as quarterback Zack Stalder and receivers Broc Stream and Jaron Jacobs. They made some big plays in this back-and-forth battle. Creston finished with 530 yards in total offense and the Rams had 484.

Creston established a running game in outscoring the Rams 21-14 in the second half. For the most part, Creston platoons with separate players on offense and defense. Carter acknowledges this system is sometimes second-guessed at the 3A level, but explained why it works for them, especially in plugging in replacements for injured players. They’ve had more practice time at that position than a player whose time is divided between offense and defense during the weekly preparations.

Along the way, some kids end up being key contributors who may have not had that opportunity with a lot of guys going both ways.

“We believe in our adjustments to get the kids right, and we believe we’re deep enough to do that,” Carter said. “When you’re only playing one side of the ball, we have twice as much time with them, every day of the week. You saw it tonight. When someone went out, it was OK, next man in. They’re able to do that because of all of the practice reps they’re getting every single day. They’re in our system, doing our things.”

He said there is no doubt the system paid off Friday down the stretch. The defense made a crucial stop with 56 seconds left, setting up the offense to move 47 yards for the winning touchdown.

“Our platooning won us this game tonight,” Carter said. “Our offensive line had extra steps on them. They were on their heels. They didn’t want to play at our pace.”

I would look for more of the same Friday at Perry, which is 0-8 with several two-way players.

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Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com

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