HYSHAM — If there’s one thing Brad Hoffman loves to do, it’s throw the football.
His Custer-Hysham-Melstone team has been quite effective doing so this year behind junior gunslinger Layne Duncan.
“Once he's out there, he's the one looking at the field and seeing where the holes are," Hoffman said. "He's really smart, he reads and I can't tell him what to do out there, he just does it."
It’s no accident Duncan continually finds his teammates — whether it’s within the design of the play or after it breaks down.
“Just throwing the ball all week to them against the scout defense helps when game time comes," Duncan said. "You've got to trust that they'll come down with the ball."
“He knows they're going to catch and he knows the tall guys are going to bring it down," Hoffman said. "He just trusts those guys. For a passing team like we are, we just throw a lot of balls all week long."
He’s also a threat with his legs, putting that much more stress on the defense. It’s proven to be incredibly difficult for opposing teams to slow down this season, as evidenced by the Rebels’ 61.5 points per game.
Custer-Hysham-Melstone turns its attention to Centerville in Saturday’s semifinal in Custer, as the Miners are the only team to defeat Hoffman’s squad this season — a 72-39 result in Week 1.
“That first game was just a total wreck, but nobody questioned it," Hoffman said. "The team came out Monday just like that game never happened. Ten games later we're still here."
Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. in Custer on Saturday afternoon.
