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Turner, Phillips Have The Timing Down

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By CHRIS ERRINGTON

Tribune correspondent

Published: September 4, 2008

TAMPA - Etienne Turner never hesitated. So when he found himself running out of time during a 7-on-7 summer league game, he knew there was only one place to throw the ball. Cambridge opponents should take heed.

Turner, the Lancers' senior quarterback, leads an offense that's tackling a scheme change. Lucky for him, he's got Dixon Phillips to help.

"Anytime he runs a pattern, it seems like we always have perfect timing," Turner said of the 6-foot-4 Phillips. "I know how he runs and he knows how I throw. He'll be my go-to guy."

Born as much out of the offseason coaching change that saw former assistant John Kelly promoted to head coach as from losing the county's leading rusher in Taylor Cabral, the Lancers will introduce a no-huddle, shotgun set in which Turner will have as many as five passing options on every play. While Kelly said Cambridge will continue to run "about 45 percent of the time," it's still a monumental leap from an offense that passed only "five or six times a game" last season.

With images of Turner and Phillips connecting throughout games, Kelly is excited about the possibilities of overseeing an explosive offense.

"We went to our strength last year with Taylor and this year we're going to our strength without him," the coach said. "With the no-huddle, the kids get a lot more time to get the information and process it before we run a play, so I'm not really worried about them making mistakes. We can dictate the speed of the game and what we want to do to opposing defenses instead of them dictating to us."

To do that, Kelly will rely upon Turner, an intellectual quarterback with a strong arm and good instincts but who missed the second half of last season after tearing a leg ligament.

"Etienne's a great leader, very intelligent and the type of kid you want leading an offense like ours," Kelly said.

Since the injury, Turner said he's done nearly nothing but prepare for his senior season. That includes spending plenty of time with Phillips. The duo have developed a close friendship on and off the field and have spent nearly every weekend since January running pass patterns to hone their timing. Phillips (6-4, 200), who caught 10 passes for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns a season ago as a tight end, now moves outside to gain more favorable match-ups against smaller cornerbacks.

Both expect the extra work and offensive changes to pay big dividends.

"It's both my speed and height that'll get me a lot of catches," Phillips said. "Etienne has an arm on him, so he knows he can throw it up there and I'll go get it."

Added Turner, "I feel like it's easy to get him the ball, because he's got such a wide range of motion with his long arms. I don't always have to be perfect with my throws."

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