PORT ARTHUR — It happens all the time. Doesn’t matter if it’s professional, college or high school football, you’ve probably been upset by a third down call. In fact, one of my earliest memories of watching football with my dad and grandfather is how they used to sarcastically congratulate the Oilers coaching staff for calling a five-yard pass when they needed six for the first down.

In high school, that same second-guessing usually goes on after there’s been a run into the line on third down. Maybe the team was trying to run off-tackle or try some fancy trap or counter play, but if it gets stopped short, fans will think they know better.

Video games haven’t helped matters, either. I’ll freely admit that I’d call crazy plays on third AND fourth down in Madden, and then get furious with the game when Madden condescendingly said something like, “I’m not sure why they went for it there. That wasn’t a very smart call.” It was bad enough that the play failed, but did you have to rub it in, John?

Shockingly, actual coaches have very different approaches to games than video game players do. To them, the game is one big strategic battle and sometimes it pays to retreat in the short-term to win the long-term campaign.

The situation we’re going to analyze here will center around Nederland for a reason we’ll get to in a bit. Let’s say you, the fan, see the offense run a sprint play into the middle of the defense on third-and-5. Why did they do that?

Well, field position is the first thing we’ll consider. There are advantages to doing just that if a team is in a number of situations on the field. For instance, if they’re backed up inside their own 30, a run like that may be the safest option before punting away out of the danger. If a team is near the red zone, maybe that run was to set up a field goal by placing the ball at a different hash line than it was before.

If the team is in the middle of the field, that run could serve multiple purposes. For a team like Nederland, with one of the strongest defenses in the area, it may make sense for the coaching staff to run a high percentage play (meaning, one that won’t end up in a turnover or a loss of yards) and then punt to the opposing team deep in their own territory.

With that suffocating defensive front, featuring guys like Koby Couron and De Shawn Washington wreaking havoc up front, there is an increased chance that an opposing team makes a mistake in that situation which can turn into points.

If Couron is closing in on a sack and the QB throws it too quickly? A 20-yard interception can go for a TD easily, where it would have taken a much longer return if the opposing offense weren’t pinned back.

Oh, and there’s also the element of conservative play that some teams may turn to with their backs to their own end zones. They may decide to run a few times then try to punt it back and play the field position game. Of course, with Nederland’s defense, they routinely win that field position battle over and over again.

The final bit of logic behind a run in that situation is more subtle and gets to the heart of the game as a strategic “chess match,” as PN-G head coach Brandon Faircloth has been wont to say. That run into the line may not gain many yards on this particular play, but two quarters from now, it could pay off big-time.

Running the ball can wear a defense down, with the constant banging from offensive linemen, fullbacks and the running back himself. Over the course of a game, those collisions add up and can wear a defense down. With a more tired unit on the other side, it’s then easier for the offense to break a big play or sustain a drive in the closing minutes of a game.

A great example of this was Nederland’s game last season against Barbers Hill. Nederland’s Troy Benjamin didn’t gain a ton of yards early, but carried a huge load on a pivotal drive in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs pounded a good Barbers Hill defense with run after run that they had set up earlier in the game. Benjamin kept ripping off four and five yard gains, which moved the ball down the field and put the clock in Nederland’s favor. Ultimately, a missed field goal kept that from a wholly positive story, but the concept worked beautifully.

Same thing happened in last year’s Mid-County Madness, when Benjamin broke a long TD run in the fourth quarter, after gaining solid but not spectacular yardage all game long before that point. Maybe it was a lucky play call, but a physical running game can definitely set up big plays late.

Not every plunge into the line is what it seems to be. After all, chess is all about feints within feints within feints, and football is no different. I don’t care what John Madden has to say.

If you have football questions you want answered in this piece, email us at dcoleman@panews.com.