Another big challenge for winless Breakers

Jonathan Todd has called it a nightmare of a week.

The Laguna Beach football coach and his staff has had their work cut out for them, trying to come up with the proper game plan to implement for Piedmont, which comes to Guyer Field on Saturday for a 7 p.m. nonleague clash with an unorthodox offense.

It has been anything but easy.

“There’s so much to digest when it comes to what they use,” Todd said of the Highlanders from the CIF North Coast Section. “They run what’s called the A-11 offense, which they created. Basically, they use a scrimmage type of formation all the time. It’s so tricky that it’s been a nightmare for me this week. Their program has become nationally known because of that offense.”

Piedmont Head Coach Kurt Bryan and assistant Steve Humphries developed an offense in which all 11 players on the field potentially are eligible to catch the ball. They first put that offensive scheme to work during the 2007 season and went on to a 7-4 season that included a first-round playoff appearance.

The A-11 offense has also been seen as controversial, Todd said.

One thing is certain: with a variety of formations “” including working two quarterbacks in shotgun formation “” to choose from, it’s everything but your typical offense.

“It’s caused me a lot of headaches,” Todd said of putting together the right plan of attack for Piedmont. “You have to figure out things like, “who’s eligible?” on the field. They step back, then step up, to the line of scrimmage. There are a lot of plays that involve a lot of motion. It’s very complex and confusing to defenses. You have to watch as much film as possible in order to prepare for this offense.

“On Monday, we used our first day of practice as a ‘recognition period’ of this offense. This whole week we did about 45 minutes of tackling each day.”

For all its offensive wizardry, Piedmont, like Laguna, comes into Saturday’s game with an 0-2 record. The Highlanders managed just one touchdown in a season-opening 21-7 loss to Sir Francis Drake of San Anselmo. Last week, they were routed, 61-34, by Hancock Christian of Stockton.

Laguna dropped its second game in as many starts last week when the Breakers were shutout, 37-0, by host Corona del Mar on Sept. 12.

The Breakers offense still is looking to score its first points of the season.

“We want to come out of this game a better team,” Todd said.

“We’ve lost two games so far, but we have played hard. The kids are very physical and that’s been impressive to me.

“We just tell them to keep improving and to keep being physical. Taking on this offense will be a huge test for us, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

BREAKERS MVP

Name: John Snedegar

Year: Senior

Positions: Running back; linebacker

Height: 6-1

Weight: 190

Highlights: Snedegar was Laguna’s leading rusher and also made key contributions on defense during the Sept. 12 game against Corona del Mar.

Coach’s comments: “He ran the ball hard and played great defense,” Jonathan Todd said. “Everywhere he was, John played hard and did things really well. He gave a really great performance.”

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BREAKERS LOG

Laguna Beach (0-2)

Coronado”¦0-34

Corona del Mar”¦0-37

Saturday: Piedmont

(at Laguna Beach High, 7 p.m.)

Sept. 26: St. Monica, 7 p.m.

Oct. 3: Garden Grove, 7 p.m.

Oct. 10: Francis Parker^, 7 p.m.

Oct. 17: Godinez*, 7 p.m.

Oct. 23: at Calvary Chapel*, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 7: Estancia*, 7 p.m.

Nov. 14: at Costa Mesa*, 7 p.m.

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(^denotes homecoming game; *denotes league game)