Offensive linemen love it, game officials tend to hate it and some high school athletic associations are plotting to stop it.
The A-11 offense has created such a stir since its creation last year that it might as well be known as the A-!! offense. It is a formation in which any of a team's 11 players could become eligible to catch a pass, leading to mass confusion among defensive players, their coaches, fans and, well, just about everyone.
Loosely translated, the A-11 is a cross between a spread formation and a schoolyard free-for-all in which the quarterback tells everyone to go out for a pass.
In its basic configuration, two quarterbacks line up at least seven yards deep in the backfield behind a three-man offensive line -- a center flanked by two tight ends -- with "pods" of three receivers split to each side.
Coaches are hereby advised not to try this at home or in North Carolina, where the first attempt to run the A-11 will result in a 15-yard unsporting penalty and the second in disqualification of the head coach.
Gary Chambers, the only coach in Southern California running the A-11 this season, doesn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to at least give it a shot.
"It's something that really fits with small schools like us who have a fair amount of skill guys but not a lot of size, not a lot of brawn," said Chambers, whose team represents Saddleback Valley Christian High, enrollment 240. "You've got a few guys who would be third-string wide receivers but now they're first-string A-11 guys."
The six players eligible to catch a pass are not determined until one count before the snap, when the required seven players establish their position at the line of scrimmage. The eligible players are the four lined up behind the scrimmage line and the two farthest outside on either side of the ball; offensive linemen become eligible by not wearing jersey Nos. 50-79.
The scheme makes for some unlikely heroes.
At Saddleback Valley Christian, senior center Clayton Viter became the talk of the team last month when he made a diving catch for a first down against Huntington Beach Brethren Christian.
"Imagine being a center and going out on a route and diving for a catch," senior receiver Josh Squirrell said, a trace of disbelief in his voice. "What other school does that?"
Not many. Piedmont High in Northern California is believed to be the only other school in the state to run the A-11, and schools in at least five states are banned from using it by their respective athletic associations.
