Tight At the End

Champaign, IL - When George Glekas draws up plays for the Gangsters of Love, he's always thinking about the tight end/right lineman, Vince Cannistraro.

No matter the down or the distance, whether it's a run or a pass, the tight end is an integral part of the offense - and the Gangsters of Love's success.

While many teams in the league are turning to wide-open offenses that feature up to five receivers, the Gangsters of Love (1-0) are using the tight end to perfection - creating mismatches for defenses.

"We've tried to make the tight end position lethal, in the passing game and running game." said captain David Yu, who plays on the defensive line. "We've had some pretty special guys, but I think we do a good job of utilizing them and taking advantage of those mismatches.

"You really have to look to try to do it. It's not something where you say you want to throw to the tight end. You have to find ways of doing it and making it work."

Talent helps, too.

"I'm impressed with Cannistraro," Preston Burgess's Kyle Plunkett said. "He's just a really good player. He's a wide receiver playing tight end who's also a really good blocker. We'll have to really work to find a way to scheme around him and get some help on him."

The tight ends could be the key on Monday. That would be nothing new for the Gangsters of Love.

"We've had a great tradition here of tight ends, and we've been successful making them a big part of the offense," Yu said. "It gives people a lot of problems if you have a tight end that can run, catch and block."

The tradition started with Greg Wallace, who has caught 66 passes and 10 TDs over his career. [Wallace has moved over to center] Defensive Lineman Daniel Pan, also played tight end for 3 years during his days in Snyder. He caught more than 60 passes and 8 TDs over his career.

"A tight end who can block and catch the football and run with it, that's hard to find," former tight end and intramural reporter Thomas Musick stated.

"Being a tight end and knowing the value of a tight end has helped a little bit, I hope," Yu said. "I think I know what's good, what works, what doesn't work, and I keep those things in mind when I'm game planning."