Prep football: Arroyo Grande’s Matt Sill does it all for Eagles — literally
Arroyo Grande High School head coach Tom Goossen is a firm believer in positioning his players where they can have the most success.
For Matt Sill, that didn’t mean playing every position — but close. Sill started the season literally playing every down.
He just never left the field. He lined up on offense, defense, kick returner, punter and was the kicker on kickoffs. Sill’s role was similar to that vacated by last year’s Tribune Player of the Year, Bradley Mickey, who also played offense, defense and special teams.
“The coaches told me at the beginning of the year I was going to be filling some shoes and playing some different positions, and I was ready for it,” Sill said.
That was especially true in Arroyo Grande’s key PAC 5 game Friday night against Atascadero, a 45-24 Eagles win that put them in prime position to repeat as league champions.
He had three catches for 26 yards and rushed for 37 yards on five carries, picking up several crucial third downs. Sill also had a pair of 50-yard kickoff returns to set the Eagles up with good field position each time. Goossen called Sill’s night “quiet, but effective.”
“That’s what we needed,” Goossen added. “We needed big plays at big times, and that’s what he’s able to provide.”
For someone always on the move, it makes sense that Sill is the motion man in the Eagles’ fly offense. Quarterback Sawyer May will motion Sill across the line of scrimmage at a full sprint. From this position, May can hand it off to Sill, wait until he reaches the other side of the field or fake to him and hand off to a running back or drop back to pass. It's imperative to have someone dangerous in this position, as defenses have to pay special attention to what happens when Sill goes in motion.
“We try to put our athletes in the best spot for them,” Goossen said. “And with each athlete, it’s a little bit different. Matthew is so valuable for us offensively that we have to be careful how much we use him defensively. So we’re doing that balancing act.”
Sill says soccer — where he plays striker — has helped with his stamina over the course of the season. The arrival of kicker Colton Theaker from junior varsity has helped ease Sill’s playing time, and he no longer plays every down on the defensive side, allowing him to focus more on offense.
A crisp route runner, Sill entered Friday’s game with a team-leading 29 catches for 425 yards and a team-leading 816 all-purpose yards. Sill has five touchdowns on the season — two on the ground and three receiving. The game also marked his return following a one-game suspension for an ejection in the Eagles’ game against Paso Robles. Sill — a captain for the Eagles — says he plays with passion and lost his head following the play.
“It was kind of a natural reaction to get the guy off me,” Sill said. “I wasn’t thinking, I made a mistake and I paid for it.”
The Eagles (8-1, 3-0) will look to channel that passion as they look to finish out an undefeated PAC 5 season against San Luis Obispo and win the league for the second straight year.
This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Prep football: Arroyo Grande’s Matt Sill does it all for Eagles — literally."