Editing Single-wing formation (section)

==Modern use==
Although the single-wing has lost much of its popularity since the 1950s, its characteristic features are still prevalent in all levels of modern football. They include pulling guards, double teams, play action passes, laterals, wedge blocking, trap blocking, the sweep, the reverse and the quick kick. Many current offenses, such as the spread option, use single-wing tendencies for running plays, while using wide receivers instead of wingbacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2723273/|title=NBA: LeBron James needs more help from Cavs|work=ESPN|date=2018-11-04}}</ref>
Once a strong running formation, the single wing has been replaced by formations that facilitate passing, while minimizing the running aspect of the game. Today the single-wing has evolved into what coaches call the spread offense or shotgun, with the emphasis on passing. The most noticeable feature that remains of the powerful Carlisle formation is the long toss from center to the main ball-handler. The main talent and field general has become the quarterback instead of the tailback. The other single-wing backs have moved close to the line of scrimmage and are split further from the main line. Wide receivers are called split-ends, flex ends, slots, and flankers. Also, linemen spacing has increased in distance. Moving offensive players further apart serves the purpose of also spreading the defense. The goal is to make defenses cover the whole field on every play.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chff.net/print.php?Page=875&url=%2FArticle.php%3FPage%3D875|title=Cold Hard Football Facts.com<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=chff.net|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref>

The current incarnation of the [[Wildcat offense]], which has been adopted by many college, NFL, and high school teams, uses many elements of the single-wing formation.

===Successful teams===
The single-wing has had a successful revival in youth leagues, middle schools, high schools, and some colleges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nswca.org/teams.htm|title=Teams Running The Single Wing<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=nswca.org|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref> Here are some examples of single-wing high school teams that have had success all across the country. In 2005, Virginia saw three teams ride the single-wing to the state playoffs. Two of the three teams, Giles High School and [[Osbourn High School]], actually won their division. Giles High School returned to the state championship game in 2006, and also won state championships using the single wing in both 1980 and 2013. In 1998 and 1999, Park View High School in Sterling, Virginia advanced to consecutive state championships using the single wing offense. When Park View coach Mickey Thompson moved to nearby [[Stone Bridge High School]] in 2000, he took the single wing with him. As a result, the Bulldogs have won 12 District titles, 9 Region titles and won the 2007, 2020, and 2021 AAA Division 5 State title games. On February 1, 2010, Stone Bridge Offensive Coordinator Matt "Hate-Dog" Griffis was named Head Coach of nearby Broad Run High School. Griffis announced he will be running the Single Wing as well as his hybrid Single Wing formation dubbed the "Griff-Bone". [[Tower Hill School]] in Wilmington, Delaware perfected this formation which led to numerous state championships. Warren County High School in Front Royal, Va. also used the single-wing to moderate success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.getacoder.com/Why_Run_the_Single_Wing_Offense_449586x1184593933.htm|title=Why Run the Single Wing Offense?<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=getacoder.com|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref> In Louisa County, Va., the local high school has had similar success by running the single-wing formation since 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56154-2004Nov17.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Head To Head |date=November 18, 2004 |access-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref>

Colton California has been a consistently successful single-wing team by reaching the state playoffs on six consecutive seasons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pe.com/localnews/colton/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_strauss_06.3da399f.html|title=News : Press Enterprise}}</ref>

In 1998, The Menominee Maroons won the Michigan high school class BB football championship, and in 2006 and 2007 won the Michigan High School Class B football championship, winning 28 consecutive games over the last 2 years, and reaching the state playoffs for the last 11 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michigan-football.com/f/menomnee.htm|title=Menominee Maroons Historical Michigan High School Football Scores Since 1950}}</ref>

In 1971, the Corning High School Cardinals of Corning, California had a 9–0 undefeated season utilizing a balanced single-wing offense under coach Tag McFadden. They were the number one rated school Division 4 in the state and McFadden was garnered coach of year by Cal-Hi Sports.

In 1974 and 1975, [[St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)|St. Mark's School (MA)]] compiled a 13–1 record running the Princeton Single Wing.

In 1980, Coach Ted Hern brought the single-wing to Moriarty High School, the "Fighting" Pintos made three state championship appearances winning 2 state titles, one undefeated season and suffering only 3 losses in four seasons. Coach Frank Ortiz was an assistant coach in the later seasons.

Since 1985, Santa Rosa High School has used the single-wing formation under Coach Frank Ortiz. The Lions have made the playoffs every year except three, won their district title 17 times, won the New Mexico AA State Championships in 1955 (Under John Salvo) 1993, 1996, 1998, 2007 (Under Frank Ortiz), 2010, 2011,2012, (Under former SRHS Lion Mario Trujillo) and made a total of 17 State Finals appearances.<ref>{{Cite web| title=New Mexico State Football Champions | url=http://www.nmact.org/file/Football_Past_Champs.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430134708/http://www.nmact.org/file/Football_Past_Champs.pdf | archive-date=2013-04-30}}</ref>

Xavier High School's (NYC) Head Coach Chris Stevens recently changed the team's offense to the single-wing. In 2007, they went 11–1, and averaged 39 points in the New York Catholic High School Football League A Division. They had two 1,000-yard rushers in [[Seamus Kelly (rugby union, born 1991)|Seamus Kelly]] and Jimmy Kowalski, while both also scored 17 TDs. In the championship game trailing by two scores with less than 8 minutes to play, Xavier scored 31 unanswered points to win their first championship in over 10 years. The following week they beat Fordham Prep 20–14 in the annual "Turkey Bowl", a game that dates back to the late 1800s. Running the single-wing since 2006, they have been at the top of league in rushing. In 2007, they were in the top three rushing and scoring schools in New York. They again won a championship in the New York Catholic High School Football League in 2012 this one coming in the AA division. They averaged 34 points a game scoring 35 or more points 9 times, rushed for 46 touchdowns and 3,700 yards with a 9–2 record.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://departments.xavierhs.org/athletics/football/index.htm|title=XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL 30 West 16th Street}}</ref>

In 2005, St. Mary's of Lynn in Massachusetts won the D4A Eastern Mass Title following two consecutive division titles with Ed Melanson running the Single Wing. Prior to Coach Melanson installing the Single Wing there in 2002, St. Mary's had not had a winning season since 1977.

In Kansas, Mark Bliss installed the Single Wing offense at Conway Springs High School in 1997, coaching the team to Kansas Class 3A state championships in 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2003. During his seven seasons at Conway Springs, his teams compiled a record of 81–4, including a 62-game winning streak.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lutz|first1=Bob|title=SINGLE-WING STILL THE RAGE AT CONWAY|url=http://www.ourdigitalmags.com/article/SINGLE-WING+STILL+THE+RAGE+AT+CONWAY/1138569/0/article.html}}</ref> Conway Springs continues to run the Single Wing offense and added state titles in 2004, 2008, and again in 2011 and are perennial playoffs contenders under Coach Matt Biehler.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Paske|first1=Scott|title=Football 2014: Conway Springs Cardinals|url=http://www.varsitykansas.com/2014/08/14/72060/football-2014-conway-springs-cardinals.html|website=Varsity Kansas}}</ref>

In Kansas, Ed Buller created a football dynasty centered around the Single Wing offense. In his 40 years of coaching, which ended in 1984, Buller's only losing season was his first. Buller compiled a record of 335–78–7 and coached the Clyde Bluejays to 10 undefeated seasons along with 39 consecutive winning seasons.<ref>{{cite web|title=Buller, Ed|url=http://www.kshof.org/inductees/2-kansas-sports-hall-of-fame/inductees/86-buller-ed.html|website=Kansas Sports Hall of Fame}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Anderson|first1=Ric|title=Perfecting the Single Wing|url=http://cjonline.com/stories/081799/spo_singlewing.shtml#.Vf2BhLT_Ty8}}</ref>

In Nebraska Dave Cisar's Screaming Eagle youth football teams have been running the Single Wing offense for 8 seasons. During that time period those teams have gone 78-5 and averaged over 35 points per contest and won two State Titles. He did this with 6 totally different teams in 4 different leagues in various age groups. His teams even used the famous "fullback full spinner series" along with the other traditional Single Wing plays. Coach Cisar published a book "Winning Youth Football a Step by Step Plan" in 2006 to help youth coaches install this "old school" offense.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.winningyouthfootball.com/author.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624003636/http://www.winningyouthfootball.com/author.php|url-status=usurped|archive-date=June 24, 2008|title=Winning Youth Football Author - Dave Cisar}}</ref>

In Connecticut, [[Anthony Sagnella]] runs the single wing with his North Haven High School Team that reached the 2015 Class L state Championship Game and were defeated by New Caanan, 42–35.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gametimect.com/class-l-football-new-canaan/|website=Gametime CT|title=Class L football: Cognetta, New Canaan ground out victory over North Haven for championship three-peat|date=2015-12-13}}</ref> Tailback Mike Montano was an All-State Selection as a RB with over 1800 Rushing yards and 30 TDs. More recently, Sagnella won back-to-back CIAC Class MM State Championships running the single wing in 2022 and 2023 with Adam Pandolfi at Taiback. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gametimect.com/2015-chsca-all-state-football-team-first-team/ |website=Gametime CT|title=2015 CHSCA All-State Football Team: FIRST TEAM (Top 20)|date=2015-12-15}}</ref>

In Colorado, Brian Christensen's Akron Rams (Class 1A) high school football team has made running the Single Wing offense a local tradition. Akron won back-to-back undefeated state championships in 2001 and 2002. They also took home State titles in 2006, 2007, and 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chsaa.org/sports/football/|title=Colorado High School Football |publisher=CHSAANow.com}}</ref> Christensen's teams have made the playoffs every year since 1996 and have made it to at least the semi-finals of the state playoffs all but 4 times within that span. The Akron Rams are renowned for their "exceptional prowess executing the single-wing offense."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://swsentinel.blogspot.com/2008/11/rams-roll-to-third-consecutive-title.html|title=The Single-Wing Sentinel: Rams roll to third consecutive title|author=Neil H. Devlin|work=The Denver Post|date=November 23, 2008}}</ref> One coach characterized Akron's single-wing attack as, "A Chinese fire-drill in the backfield every single play. You have to play mistake-free defense or Akron's single-wing attack will burn you."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://swsentinel.blogspot.com/2008/12/glory-not-akron-coachs-story.html|title=The Single-Wing Sentinel: Glory not Akron coach's story|author=Neil H. Devlin|work=The Denver Post|date=December 18, 2008}}</ref> Christensen took over the Akron program in 1996, his overall record at Akron is: 163–31 (.841 winning percentage).

In Iowa, Bob Howard, the coach of the Sigourney-Keota Savage Cobras (2A), has led the Cobras to three state championships (1995, 2001, 2005), using the single-wing offense. He used the offense when he first started coaching at Sigourney in the 1970s, before Sigourney and Keota conjoined teams. In 2005 the vaulted Cobra single-wing offense set a new state record for points in a season with 696, 537 of which coming in the nine regular season games, and in 2007 the Cobras set a new state rushing record racking up 718 yards in a single game.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Howard left Sigourney-Keota after the 2006 season to become the new head coach at Webster City High School and was charged with rebuilding a once-proud program that hadn't won over six games or made the Class 3A playoffs since 1996. Installing his vaunted single-wing offense, in 2007 the Lynx led District 2 in rushing by gaining over 2,200 yards on the ground despite their overall record of 3–6. However, in 2008, the Lynx not only made the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, but also finished the season with a final record of 7–4. Tailback John Hill rushed for 1,420 yards—the sixth highest total in school history.

On September 21, 2008, the Miami Dolphins used a version of the single-wing offense (specifically the [[Wildcat offense]]) against the New England Patriots on six plays, which produced five touchdowns (four rushing and one passing) in a 38–13 upset victory,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/400/defenses-will-need-new-manual-to-stop-fins|title=Defenses will need new manual to stop Fins|work=ESPN|date=2008-09-23}}</ref> after its successful adoption on the college and high school level by several teams.

The 1957 Cass Township, exclusively used single-wing offense. The Cass (Schuylkill County) PA Condors rolled through a season unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon over 50 years ago, going 9–0 in the regular season before defeating Shamokin, 2–0, in a special playoff for the Eastern Conference Southern Division title for a season of 10–0. They are the only high school football team in Pennsylvania that can lay claim to that feat. The late Coach Pat Droskinis, listed in the PA Sports Hall of Fame, coached them and led by a strong 4–5–2 defense that featured All-State ends in 6-foot-3 Russ Frantz and 6-2 Harry Butsko, the Cass Twp Condors blanked Minersville, Nescopeck, West Mahanoy Township, Schuylkill Haven, Ashland, Blythe Township, Mahanoy Township, Lansford and Saint Clair, and then Shamokin in the playoff game (2–0).

In Pittsburgh, Coach Pete Dimperio ran the single wing at Westinghouse High School from 1946 to this retirement in 1966. Westinghouse played in the City League championship game every one of those 21 years and they won 17 times. Coach Dimperio's league play record was a phenomenal 118–5–1 and (158–26–1 overall). His Bulldog teams ran the single-wing formation with mostly buck-lateral and fullback spinner plays. He did not use a multitude of plays, rather he won because his players were so well-schooled and disciplined they were all but unstoppable. When Coach Dimperio started at Westinghouse the student body was mostly the children of Italian immigrants, but by the late 1950s it was almost 100% African American. It didn't matter to Coach Dimperio; he and his single wing won nonetheless. Being from a relatively poor inner city school, Westinghouse usually had no assistant coaches and rarely suited up more than 40 players. Yet, in exhibition games against some of the biggest suburban schools, Westinghouse usually won. Once in an exhibition game against South Hills Catholic which suited up 90 players and had five coaches, Coach Dimperio's deceptive single wing made mincemeat of the heavier and slow opponent to the point where one of the South Hills Catholic coaches remarked, "they (the Westinghouse backs) ran down the field so many times it looked like track practice." Coach Dimperio was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1964.

[[Keith W. Piper]], head coach at [[Denison University]] (Ohio) had played center in the single wing in high school and at [[Baldwin-Wallace University]], and he went against trends by using that offense for three seasons at Denison in the early 1960s. After the Big Red went 0–8–1 in 1977, he returned to the single wing for good because tailback Clay Sampson offered a dual threat. He became the only player in Division III history to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 3,000 in a career when he totaled 6,920 yards for Denison from 1977 to '80. In 1985, Piper's single wing offense featured a potent mix of speed, athleticism and experience that produced an average victory margin of 29.6 points. That year Denison set nine school season team records—including most total yards of offense (4,330), most rushing yards (3,510) and most points (377)—and set five single game school marks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2010/11/06/piper-gave-single-wing-a-new-life.html|title=Piper gave single wing a new life|author=Todd Jones|work=The Columbus Dispatch}}</ref>