Six years ago, Ben Knapp first heard the gospel of the no-huddle, hurry-up offense from Gus Malzahn at a coaching convention.

The astronomical numbers astounded him. How was a final score such as 70-64 possible in a high school football game?

“We thought it was a little crazy the way he did it,” Knapp said.

But Knapp was eventually converted, and he preached the offense's glories when he returned to coach this year at Palm Desert High School as the offensive coordinator.

Aztecs coach Pat Blackburn listened, and the team adopted the fast-paced offense that gained nationwide exposure because of Malzahn's success. The players love the new system, hoping it carries them to a Desert Valley League championship.

The story starts with Malzahn, whom “Sports Illustrated” has touted “as one of the sport's most innovative offensive minds, not just in the college ranks, but in all of football.”

The 44-year-old Arkansas native developed his offensive system as a successful high school coach for 14 years, and he has shared its secrets with his peers at clinics nationwide and in his book, “The Hurry-Up, No-Huddle: An Offensive Philosophy.”

Gaudy offensive numbers have garnered Malzahn national attention throughout his career. As the coach at Shiloh Christian in 1999, Malzahn led his team to a 70-64 victory in the state playoffs. The two teams combined for 1,454 total yards.

Proving his system is not a gimmick, Malzahn has quickly climbed the coaching ranks in college football. As the offensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2006, he installed the Wildcat formation, which is now the biggest fad in the sport. He is currently the first-year offensive coordinator at Auburn after spending two years in the same position at Tulsa.

Many coaches have become Malzahn's disciples, including Knapp. After learning the intricacies of the offense, Knapp was ready to implement the system when he returned to coach at Palm Desert this year after serving as an assistant at College of the Desert for several seasons. Blackburn was amenable, and the team tested it during the spring before committing to it.

The primary objective of the offense is to speed up the game and increase scoring opportunities. Like the fast-break style of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, the no-huddle offense is fast and entertaining. Players needed time to grasp the concepts, but they eventually embraced it.

“I like it better,” running back Donell Griffin said. “It's more up-tempo. You get more in a real rhythm, instead of after the play going into the huddle and taking a 10-second break.”

Since the team doesn't have the luxury of a huddle, coaches must communicate the play to the team in a variety of ways. Blackburn and Knapp call the offense with the help of an assistant in or above the press box.

The Aztecs use hand signals, numbers, wristbands and code words to call plays. Knapp might make a gesture to call a play, and then quarterback Cameron Curtis relays it to players using a code word. On other occasions, a board with four numbers on the sideline might signal to players to consult their wristbands for a specific play.

Each team has its own system of code words. The Aztecs use states and state capitals. Players had to brush up on their geography when they were first learning the system.

“A lot of time I got asked, ‘What's the capital of this state? Where's this state?' ” Curtis said. “I didn't know a couple.”

Like teenagers soaking up a foreign language more quickly than their parents, players picked up the terminology faster than the coaches, and they have been eager to add a greater vocabulary of plays.

“They're like a sponge,” Knapp said. “They try to get more advanced than we are as much as possible. That's been a real pleasure.”

The offense is adaptable to certain conditions. Sometimes Knapp and Blackburn hit the brakes during critical junctures in the game in order to substitute personnel or settle down the offense. But the devout players chide their coaches for not following the hurry-up gospel.

“They love the fast tempo,” Knapp said. “They get mad at us when we slow the tempo.”