Ex-Clipper Payne takes over as Amboy-LaMoille head football coach

AMBOY – Someone who has been around Amboy football for years will be taking over the Clippers this fall as their new head coach.

Scott Payne, himself a former Amboy player and 1997 graduate, will fill the shoes of the retiring Gary "Tank" Jones now that he's been approved by the school board.

"I'm excited," Payne said. "This is something I've always wanted since I went to school and played there, something I strived to do once I got into coaching, so I'm very excited to be the coach at the school I graduated from."

Payne was a Clipper early in Jones' tenure, a tenure that saw Jones lead the program for 26 years resulting in a 134-126 record, 12 playoff trips, and Jones landing a spot in the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Payne has been the fresh/soph coach at Amboy, but this will be his first stint as a varsity head coach.

"I've been watching Tank for the last 4 or 5 years to see how he's been doing things," Payne said. "Just kind of learning from him and seeing how he handles different situations with the kids.

"You learn a lot of X's and O's [coaching alongside Jones], but beyond the X's and O's, you learn to handle the kids, because each kid's different. You learn how to communicate to different types of kids, how to motivate them. That was one thing Tank was good at, was motivating kids every day in practice and especially before a game."

Payne's tenure begins at a time of transition for Amboy. The Clippers are slated to play their final season of 11-man football this fall, joining NUIC rivals Polo, Milledgeville, AFC, Orangeville and Aquin in the ranks of 8-man football in 2021.

To get ready to make that move, Amboy's junior varsity will be playing 8-man football in 2020.

"We will be able to install our 8-man stuff at the lower level this year," Payne said. "I've been talking with our fresh/soph coach about the things I want done down there. I think that's going to help out a lot with the freshmen and sophomores doing the 8-man game, so then coming in next year they'll have a better idea of what we're going to do."

Payne estimates that the program has 21 juniors and seniors signed up to play in the fall. At their first workout last week, he told his players that they will have to show up and be committed because of the lack of numbers. He also expects a lot of them to be playing both offense and defense, and to be able to play multiple positions on each side of the ball in order for the Clippers to end their tenure in 11-man football on a high note.

On offense, Payne hopes to keep opposing defenses on their toes with different formations.

"Not so much different plays, but different formations and use motion a little more to get the defense to think before they react," he said. "I believe you've got to have some type of option in your offense. At Amboy, we've always had some type of option, so we're going to continue to run the option. But we're also going to have three or four spread formations, because sometimes you have to throw the ball to win, but we want to run the ball."

On the other side of the ball, the Clippers will move to a 4-3 defense, opening up a chance for a lot of different blitz packages.

"The 4-3, I feel, you can adjust to so many different looks out of it," Payne said. "You can move a linebacker up on the line for a five-man look, or just sit in the 4-3 and have two safeties to help with pass coverage."