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Devils coordinate plans behind important staff
November 13, 2008

Hinsdale Central football coach Mike DiMatteo knows a football team is only as good as its coaches, but it wasn't until this season that he put his own coaches in charge of playcalling.

They are Jamie Pass as pass-game coordinator and receivers coach, and Gary Gamen as run-game coordinator who works with the offensive line.

"They're so important to free me to concentrate on game minutia," DiMatteo said the Red Devils prepare for their state Class 8A quarterfinal game 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at Brother Rice. "Jamie does a great job working with (quarterback) John Whitelaw. Gary is as good as it gets (with the linemen), end of discussion. That's how good he is."

Other varsity coaches: Defensive coordinator/defensive backs Tom Dorrance, defensive line John Melone, outside linebackers Todd Koehler, special teams/inside linebackers Nick Gebhart, receivers Ken Lager and offensive and defensive lines Brian Griffin.

"We have outstanding coaches here," DiMatteo said. "A coach would be foolish not to utilize a staff like this."

Whitelaw says he learns about quarterbacking and play-calling every day from Pass.

Three-year varsity offensive lineman Collin Watkins and fellow tackle David Kiyosaki say the same about Gamen's coaching.

Watkins: "Coach is pretty quiet, but he can get on us in practice."

Kiyosaki: "He's so knowledgeable about zone blocking. He goes over it until we get it right."

Watkins and offensive linemen are aware of the Pass-Gamen coaching relationship during games.

"They talk to us when we come off the field," Watkins said. "They'll say, 'What do you see out there?' Then (they'll) come up with an immediate plan based on our answers."

The offensive line of seniors Watkins, Kiyosaki and Jack Curatolo, junior Jim Kallas and sophomore center Jack Allen is overlooked in Hinsdale Central's explosive attack of Whitelaw; running backs Rich Zajeski, Jake Knowles and Eric Alexander (when he's not on defense), and receivers Davis Kalsbeek, Mick Culligan, Alex Kirk, Chris Kiser and David Banasiak, among others.

It was mostly through the blocks of the 6-foot-, 255-pound Watkins and Curatolo (6-0, 260) Friday that Zajeski gained 174 yards on 11 carries in a 35-14 upset of unbeaten Bolingbrook.

"Watkins and Curatolo are beasts," said the 6-3, 215-pound Kiyosaki, who is the baseball team's best pitcher but is playing football with a torn-up knee that is only about 80 to 85 percent healthy "Opposing linemen seldom get past them."

Hinsdale Central's practice scrimmages get interesting when the offensive line faces a defensive line led by nose tackle Pat Clegg and Allan Cameron.

"Clegg is an animal," Watkins said. "I don't get to play opposite him very often, but it's tough moving him when I do."

Secret to success?
Was Bolingbrook unaware of Hinsdale Central speedster Zajeski's existence Friday?

Seems so.

DiMatteo said Zajeski "could have played" with a high left-ankle sprain if he was needed in Hinsdale Central's 46-12 win over Downers Grove South in the Class 8A playoff opener, but perhaps it turned out better that he didn't if that was the only game Bolingbrook scouted.

"A Bolingbrook player told us they didn't even know we ran the triple-option until three days into their practice," a Hinsdale Central player said.

That may account for Zajeski exploding for a 62-yard touchdown run on the second play against Bolingbrook, his 29-yard run to set up Jake Knowles' 1-yard TD and Zajeski's 67-yard TD early in the second period.

"We just felt Rich needed another week to get the ankle healthy," DiMatteo said.

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