Posted 11:22 am Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Often Overlooked, John Tyler Offensive Line Finding Success
By HAROLD WILSON
Staff Writer
When push comes to shove, the offensive line occasionally, even if rarely, receives the love afforded to other players included in box scores and game statistics.
Staff Writer
When push comes to shove, the offensive line occasionally, even if rarely, receives the love afforded to other players included in box scores and game statistics.
The members of the John Tyler football family, and the offensive line, understand where the blockers stand - at the forefront of the team's successes and failures. For now, the group deserves much of the credit for JT's three-game winning streak heading into the start of District 11-5A football play this week.
The JT offensive line, coached by Michael Bickham, features tackles Reginald Carroll (senior) and Gerron Anthony (junior), guards Craig Jones (senior), and Israel Nunez (junior), and center Azael Arispe (6-0, 260, Sr.). The group also includes the likes of juniors Fred Green and Juan Perez.
"The offensive line is doing great," JT head coach Dereck Rush said. "We threw them in the fire last year and up until now they're definitely pulling the offense - making holes for our running backs and keeping those guys rolling. They've stepped it up and played hard for us."
The Lions' o-line expected to be much improved with a pair of all-district senior returnees in Jones (first-teamer) and Carroll (second-teamer) anchoring it.
In non-district alone, the unit unveiled skill, as well as depth and perseverance.
The skill showed up on the field, where the Lions averaged more than 317 yards per game, including 234 rushing.
The depth manifested itself in the Lufkin game, when JT nearly knocked off a then-state ranked Class 5A power on the road with Carroll sitting out after spraining his MCL.
Carroll came back the next week and continues to wear a brace on his right knee.
The unofficial title for comeback player of the year though goes to Anthony, a 6-4, 305-pound right tackle who returned to the team in the fall after a near-fatal bout with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) last season.
"When we went against Lufkin, that's when all our confidence started to come," said Anthony, who called himself "stronger, better and more experienced than last year." "Ever since that Lufkin game we've been stepping up.
"Last year it was more (about the) individual. This year we have more unity in everything we do. From the o-line to the quarterback to receivers, tight ends - everything."
Arispe credited a talented group of skill players such as juniors Jeremy "Toka" Johnson (QB), Ky'Ordric Black and Kedrick Chancellor, and seniors like receivers Tarrington Joiner, De'Trich Morgan and Dominic Ward, for making their job easier.
"Since our backs are so good all we have to do is get a body on a body," Arispe said "and they'll find the lane and score like they did in the Arlington Lamar game."
JT holds a 3-0 record when going over 300 yards of offense.
"We basically determine the outcome of the game," said Carroll, a 6-4, 245-pounder who lines up at left tackle. "Without the o-line there can be no running, passing or anything. We keep the offense going."
Over the last three non-district games, JT averaged 403 yards and 30 points. In the process, three backs went over the 100-yard mark rushing and another over 90 while three different receivers caught TDs and two different QBs tossed scoring passes.
The one constant continues to be the o-line, which has allowed only seven sacks in five games and helped Johnson rush for a team-best 422 yards. JT even won a game against Wichita Falls Rider in the last seconds with a long TD pass from sophomore backup David Bush.
"We've got three backs back that can run well, including Toka four because he can run the ball too," Carroll said. "We can pass, we have a backup quarterback as good as the first string and he can catch too. We can do a lot with our offense."
The group hopes "a lot" adds up to a lot of sorts in the first season. But they know it remains a process, with the first of five district tests slated Friday at home against Mesquite Horn.
"Like our offensive coordinator (Sam Parker) tells us, be excited about the next game because it is a next game," Carroll said. "Our short-term goal is to take it step-by-step, but our main goal is to make it to the playoffs."
