Well, sure, there are the three foundations of football — offense, defense and special teams — and yet just two weeks into the prep season, Chugiak High's ambitions can be reduced to an even more elementary equation.
The Mustangs are going to try to get the ball into Derryk Snell's hands as often as possible and opponents will doubtlessly aim to prevent that.
Chugiak won that skirmish decisively Friday night to trigger a 23-12 nonconference win over South at Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium.
Snell's fingerprints were all over the victory. The junior receiver and defensive back caught four passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns, reeled off a 58-yard, fourth-quarter run on a double reverse — on third-and-19 from the Chugiak 8, no less — to set up Jacob Morey's 32-yard field goal and recovered a fumble.
"He's a game-changer, no doubt about it," said Chugiak coach Roger Spackman. "He's a special talent."
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Snell, who has been a two-way starter since his freshman year, came up especially big in the second half, when the Mustangs ballooned their 14-6 halftime edge into a 23-6 cushion with 75 seconds left.
On the opening possession of the third quarter, Snell lined up to the right in the slot, bolted up the middle of the field to get behind single coverage and used his outstretched right hand to casually tap Aaron Tomosulo's pass back to his body and secure the ball with both hands. And then he was gone for a 58-yard touchdown and a 20-6 lead.
"He put it out there," Snell said of Tomosulo. "He trusted me."
That score held until deep in fourth quarter, when the Mustangs faced that third-and-19 deep in their own territory. Snell took a pitch on the double reverse and ran up the left side to the South 34.
"The line really stepped up big for us in the second half and gave us a push, and we came out on top," Snell said.
Two plays after that double reverse, he adjusted his route while backpedaling and falling to the turf, and snagged Tomosulo's pass for a 21-yard gain.
In the first half, Snell recovered a fumble and, on Chugiak's first snap from scrimmage following his recovery, busted up the left side and gathered Tomosulo's perfectly thrown pass for a 32-yard touchdown.
With 175 yards from scrimmage, Snell accounted for 82 percent of Chugiak's 213 yards total offense.
Tomosulo split time with fellow junior Hunter Harr, who got all the snaps in a season-opening 21-14 nonconference loss at Dimond. Tomosulo completed 4 of 8 passes for 118 yards, with the two scoring strikes to Snell and one interception.
"We really wanted to give him a chance, because it's only fair," Spackman said. "He's got great arm talent, and he's still learning how to run the option."
The Mustangs (1-1) also received a 12-yard touchdown run from Karletty Faamatuainu, and their defense held South to 161 yards total offense. Peter Mrugala (one sack), Merrick Johnson, Ace Chapple, Ty Carlos (fumble recovery), Snell and Faamatuainu were among Chugiak's defensive stalwarts.
South (1-1), coming off a season-opening 27-13 nonconference defeat of Kenai, possessed the ball for 16 minutes, 43 seconds in the 24-minute first half and ran 32 plays from scrimmage to Chugiak's 14 in that span.
The Wolverines opened the scoring on Ben Stearns' 12-yard run early in the second quarter, and Stearns returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score with 63 seconds left in the game.
But all the Wolverines' first-half possession time didn't deliver any scoring besides Stearns' jaunt because penalties stymied them time and again. The Wolverines in the first half were penalized six times for 45 yards, had two other penalties declined and had one off-setting penalty.
"Right now, we're stopping ourselves," said South coach John Lewis.
South's defense kept hope alive in the second half with an interception and sack from Jake Mohundro, and an interception from Eli Turvey. And, despite the loss, Lewis said he is sold on his team.
"These kids are going to win," he said. "They're going to get to the playoffs, and you can put that in the book."
Also in the book: Opponents best keep a sharp eye on Snell, or suffer the consequences.
South 6 0 0 6 — 12
Chugiak 0 14 6 3 — 23
Second Quarter
South — Stearns 6 run (kick blocked), 11:08.
Chugiak — Karletty 12 run (Morey kick), 3:31.
Chugiak — Snell 32 pass from Tomosulu (Morey kick), 33.3.
Third Quarter
Chugiak — Snell 58 pass from Tomosulu (kick failed), 10:06.
Fourth Quarter
Chugiak — 32 FG Morey, 1:15.
South — Stearns 80 kickoff return (run failed), 1:03
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — South: Stearns 11-38, Stokes 12-30, Benedict 8-28, Kinnebrew 8-24; Whitlach 1-9, Hanson 5-9, Lincoln 2-8, Bentz 2-1. Chugiak: Snell 3-56, Karletty 12-33, White 3-13, Tomosulu 1-5, Sison 1-(-3), Harr 8-(-30).
PASSING — South: Hanson 2-7-0–14. Chugiak: Tomosulu 4-8-1–118, Harr 1-3-1–21.
RECEIVING — South: Jobarteh 1-7, Turvey 1-7. Chugiak: Snell 4-119, Carlos 1-20.