WINCHESTER — In his third year as the starting point of the Shenandoah offense, Aaron Dixon-Proctor knows all about the Hornets' tendencies.
Behind a solid stable of runners, they raced to their first playoff appearance in school history last year and won their second consecutive USA South Conference title. Without the ground game, all of that would have ground to a halt.
But Shenandoah's senior center knows there's potential through the air, too.
"The passing game is vital," Dixon-Proctor said Wednesday. "I like to run-block just as much as any other O-lineman, but 60, 70 times a game is exhausting. Throwing a pass in there will actually help us out."
It'll help the rest of the offense as well. Quarterback Jon Hoffman has struggled out of the gate, and the Hornets' 34-13 loss to Ferrum on Saturday exposed their immense struggles when the opposition takes away the run. After senior fullback Anthony Frates suffered a hip flexor on his first carry, SU (2-2, 0-1) couldn't get much going on the ground, amassing just 125 yards, its lowest total since managing 93 in a loss at Christopher Newport on Oct. 4, 2003.
The running game remains the Hornets' bread and butter, but a little jam couldn't hurt, especially when they face the Captains on Saturday in a game that could determine their postseason fate.
"We mixed it up a little bit more than we usually do," Hoffman said of the Ferrum game. "There were a couple wide-open [passes] on first and second down that I might have missed one time and that went through one time and [the receiver] missed. It happens."
The drop Hoffman is referring to came during the third quarter against Ferrum. Running back Brandon Lacey found himself wide open in the end zone — there wasn't a defender within 10 yards — but the pass fell through his hands.
The Hornets are still searching for receivers capable of filling the shoes of departed playmakers Mike McVearry and Junior Greene, who combined for 57 catches, 809 receiving yards and five touchdowns last year. Sophomore Proteus Herring has topped the depth chart at split end all season and had a breakout game against Ferrum, recording two catches for 91 yards and a touchdown on a halfback pass by Lacey.
Herring is one of several Hornet receivers who will establish themselves as the season rolls on, coach Paul Barnes said.
"We had that dynamic duo back there with Michael and Junior," he said. "You lost two really quality receivers there. We have quality receivers — it's just they're young and they're coming on. You've got to bring them on slowly."
That means pounding, pounding, pounding away with the run until you can pound no more. But when a workhorse like Frates goes down — or the defense takes away your offensive focus — what's a team to do?
"We're going to have to open it up, definitely a lot more," Herring said. "We have possibly the best fullback in the nation, and [opponents] know he's going to touch the ball. It's an opportunity for us as receivers."
One that Barnes is hoping to capitalize on.
"You need a balance, and I understand that," he said. "You may not have seen that a couple weeks ago when I ran Frates so many times" — 40 times in a 20-10 win against Randolph-Macon College — "but you need a balance against good teams.
"And we have it. But it's a combination of just executing everything."
That starts with Hoffman. After throwing for 1,343 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, the senior signal caller has struggled this year, totaling 284 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. Those numbers put him on pace for 710 yards, three scores and 10 interceptions.
"I've just got to get out there and start making throws," Hoffman said. "I'm obviously not having a great beginning to the season, as everybody has seen. I don't know what it is, but it's something that's going to get fixed for this game, I can guarantee that."
After sporting lanky receivers in the 6-foot-5 McVearry and the 6-3 Greene last year, Hoffman has smaller targets this season. Among the receiving corps, 6-2 sophomore Tyrone Harris — who had two catches for 51 yards against Ferrum — is the biggest of all.
"It's a little different with the height aspect," Hoffman said. "But I think I've had enough time that I should be at the level that I'm hitting the receivers, no matter how tall or how fast. I should be hitting them in the numbers every time."
Herring, who leads SU with six catches for 123 yards, said he and his fellow receivers could help a little more, too.
"Not every ball is going to be right in the numbers and perfect," he said. "We just have to make plays for him and try to help him out as much as we can."
That will be a necessity this weekend. A loss to the Captains would drop SU to 0-2 in USA South play and represent a death knell for its postseason aspirations.
Hoffman said he expects the Hornets to get more aggressive with the passing game Saturday, throwing earlier in possessions and more often.
"We're going to keep them guessing," he said. "We don't want them to know we're going to throw the ball on third-and-8 every time."
Sticking to an approach like that just wouldn't work, Dixon-Proctor explained.
"CNU's the type of team that we're not going to be able to run the ball on 65 times," he said. "It's just not going to happen."
That shifts the pressure to Hoffman, who might need one of his better passing games to push the Hornets back into the postseason hunt.
"I just need to get comfortable," he said. "Set my feet, trust myself and trust my receivers."
