It's been called the most powerful offense in the history of football. The "Double-Wing" offense has quite a track record. Fifteen years ago, coach Don Markham transformed a Bloomington High School team (that finished 1 - 9 in 1993) into a state champion with a perfect 14 - 0 record---scoring 880 points in 14 games. The 62-point per game average set a national high school scoring record.

New Morgan County coach Brian Turner has been a student of the Double Wing since mid-season 2003. And it all started while trying to design a game plan to stop it.

"In my first year as coach I was breaking down game film before we played Estill County," Turner said on Tuesday. "I studied the system and taught the offense to our JV kids. Of course, the objective was for our varsity defense to learn how to stop it. They never could. I decided right then that someday, somewhere I was going to run that offense."

That someday came two years ago at the Morgan County Middle School. Turner installed the offense and proceeded to light up the scoreboard. This past season the Cougars broke every school record imaginable with 608 points and 4,265 yards of rushing offense. Morgan averaged nearly a first down (9 yards) on every carry from scrimmage.

"The beauty of the Double Wing is that it's so hard for opponents to prepare for," Turner said. "You simply cannot set in any base defense and stop it. Teams are forced to come up with a game plan just for you. That forces defensive players to play out of position. It's really a nightmare to prepare for."

The Double Wing is NOT a passing offense. Not even close. It's all about ball control and killing the clock. It's also about power and deception. The object is to physically wear the defense down by taking six, seven or even eight minutes off the clock with every drive.

"It's about controlling the tempo of a game," Turner said. "You put together an extended 15-play drive and score a touchdown and the other team looks up at the clock and half the quarter is gone. It puts a lot of pressure on opposing high-powered offenses to score with you at a tempo that you're dictating."

Bottom line, the Double Wing levels the playing field. It helps the Cougars be competitive with teams that possess more athleticism and depth at skill positions. Turner believes the newly installed offense with breath new life into the program. And for a team that was outscored by 456 points in 2008---that would certainly be welcomed.