At first glance, you might be hard-pressed to come up with
statistics for the Gilroy High offensive linemen.
In truth, you really don’t have to look far.
At first glance, you might be hard-pressed to come up with statistics for the Gilroy High offensive linemen.
In truth, you really don’t have to look far.
After three games and three wins, tailback Justin Sweeney is averaging 170 yards a game and quarterback Peter Mickartz has been sacked just twice.
And those are really the only statistics that matter to big guys up front.
“We take pride in that,” senior guard John Torres said.
Compared to this time last year, the linemen – led by starters Torres and Armando Franco at guard, Matt Hunkin and Mitch Rodriguez at tackle and captain Bobby Best at center – have more muscle and more experience.
The youthfulness of 2003 line, which included two sophomores and two juniors, made the unit somewhat of a liability.
“Now they’re all grown up,” head coach Darren Yafai said.
And they’re anything but a liability.
“The O-line is unbelievable,” senior Z-back Shea Lemos said.
In Friday’s 35-13 win at Watsonville, the GHS running game produced 231 yards, including 157 from Sweeney.
The holes created for the backs, which seem to get larger and larger every week, were especially evident against the Wildcatz.
“We always notice those holes in the film session,” offensive line coach Rich Masey said. “And they were gigantic this week.”
Said Sweeney, the area’s leading rusher: “The line keeps making me look good.”
And he’s not the only one.
Mickartz, who had his best performance of the year Friday, said only once did the Watsonville defenders get even close to him.
“When I take the five-step drop,” he said, “I’m not worrying, ‘Oh man, some guy is going to come off the edge and come after me.’
“I know our line is going to pick them up.”
Senior tight end Jared Gamm, who caught a pair of touchdown passes against the Wildcatz, said he didn’t even know where to begin when asked about the effectiveness of the Mustangs’ front line.
“I can’t say enough about those guys,” he said. “They’ve been setting the tone every single game.”
When Masey returned to the GHS staff after a four-year absence, he reviewed film from last season and established a few goals for the group – getting off the ball faster being chief among them.
The response, Masey said, has been “outstanding.”
“From the first scrimmage to now, it’s like night and day,” he said. “Our assignment errors are down and we’re getting off the ball and moving our feet better.”
Best, who noted Masey’s blocking schemes are a lot more intricate than what the group was used to, said he’s pleased but not satisfied with the unit’s success.
“It’s going good right now,” Best said, “but we can get better.”
Masey said that kind of attitude is what he’s come to expect from his linemen.
“It’s a wonderful group … every single one of them is a hard-worker,” he said. “All year they’ve been willing to take that extra step to get better.
“And it’s really starting to show.”
