Football: Herrington brothers come up with new idea

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The Herrington brothers, Mike and Dean, helped ignite the popularity of seven-on-seven passing competitions during their days at Newhall Hart and now they might be starting a new trend with 11-on-11 games without pads.

Mike, head coach at Hart, and Dean, head coach at Alemany, had their teams face off Wednesday night at Hart, and much was gained. Linemen blocked, quarterbacks faced a pass rush, linebackers had to watch out for running plays besides covering receivers. It was one-hand touch but linemen were knocking down players and helping them get back up.

And that was the key to making it work. Players weren’t trying to hurt each other. Two rival teams couldn’t play in an 11-on-11 game without pads. There would be too much intensity trying to outshine the other. But Mike Herrington said it can work when the coaching staffs know each other and prepare their players for what they want to accomplish.

So summer 11-on-11 scrimmages could become popular under the right circumstances. It gets the linemen involved and forces quarterbacks to work harder, which prepares teams for the fall.

And by the way, Alemany looked even more impressive with linemen than seven-on-seven. Quarterback Devon Dunn was comfortable because he had so much time behind a good line. Beware of 300-pound Alemany sophomore offensive guard Aubrey Jackson.

Here’s video from Wednesday’s scrimmage.

-- Eric Sondheimer