Green Means Go for Oxford football

 

Oxford coach Mike Means and quarterback Dan Green had their share of success apart from each other last fall.

Means was the offensive coordinator at Bohemia Manor High in Maryland, while Green racked up huge numbers in the Hornets’ spread offense.

Now, the two are together, tasked with the challenge of figuring each other out, all while trying to figure out a turnaround for the Oxford program.

“We ran triple option in Maryland for a long time, but we’re trying to find a fit with the players to give us the best chance to win,” Means said. “We have a quarterback who can sling it a little bit and I’d be a fool not to take advantage of some of the guys we have on the outside and not take advantage of a quarterback who can throw it around a little bit. We’ve kind of morphed our philosophy a little bit with what we have, and we’re not close to where it needs to be to be a full-time triple team.”

Means was the offensive coordinator at Bohemia Manor and he brought with him the attacking scheme. Green is not the prototypical quarterback Means looks for in a system that favors a running quarterback, but that isn’t necessarily a problem either.

“The most important thing is the brain since it’s such a demanding position in the offense,” Means said. “Danny has taken everything and ran with it. Running the spread last year, he understands the end game, if we want to be consistently successful. He runs the triple really, really well and I want to take full advantage of his arm and use it. I’m not trying to force a square peg into a round hole.”

Green passed for 2,450 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior, teamed with prolific pass-catcher Ryan Hubley. He also only ran the ball five times for two yards. In the new offense, Green already has 16 carries for 40 yards, while averaging about 14 fewer pass attempts a game.

Green admitted the change wasn’t embraced right away.

“At first I was upset since it was my senior year and I was learning a new system,” Green said. “But when coach shared what he was trying to do and with his energy, that all went away and I was ready for the season.”

The transition has been slow to start, as Oxford hasn’t been able to find the right combination of personnel. The ground game has passed the 100-yard mark the past two games, as injuries have hampered the progress, as well.

Senior receivers Greg Roberts and Connor Hilaman and junior Troy Brown give Green options in the pass game, and that’s a change in what Means is used to.

“I’m coming from the polar opposite from what we have here,” Means said. “We have athletes on the outside and a quarterback who can throw the football and we’re very, very undersized on the offensive line. We have a weight program that we believe in, but that takes time. I’m coming from a school with a bunch of road graders, but not as many athletes.”

Oxford had its first winning season since 1997 in 2013, but fell back to 2-8 last fall. When Mike Pietlock and the Hornets parted ways in the offseason, Means saw an opportunity to get back to Pennsylvania football.

“Mike did some really, really good things with the program, and it’s not as much of a restart as it is building on what he accomplished,” said Means, a Cocalico alum. “Some positive things happened and we’re trying to build from there. The offseason is everything for us, and we put together a really good staff that knows football. It’s about getting the buy-in in the offseason and getting that commitment. Our senior class is small, but there are some great leaders by example who have fully embraced what we’re trying to sell.”

The Hornets got their first win of the season a week ago, with a last-second, 23-21 win over Sun Valley. Green passed for a season-high 217 yards and also scored his first two rushing touchdowns of his career.

With Oxford’s toughest stretch coming up, with West Chester Rustin, Unionville, Bishop Shanahan and Great Valley, Green is hoping the second win won’t be far behind.

“It was definitely big for momentum with a tough schedule coming up,” Green said of the Sun Vally win. “We don’t want to go back to the way it used to be here. We’re trying to give Oxford a good name.”