Behind every successful team or individual athlete is a supporting cast that often receives little to no recognition for its efforts, and is questioned when things go wrong.
On the gridiron, that cast are the offensive and defensive lines. They are the driving force behind every touchdown, sack or goal line stop. When the going gets tough, they are one of the first units to go under the microscope.
“Your team will only go as far as you take them,” Mingus Union High School’s first-year line coach Fernando Anguiano told his players after a big man competition on June 20. “I always believed that. You can have [Division 1 college] skill guys up and down the field, but you can’t get anywhere without a line.”
The linemen of any football team are typically the unsung heroes. Play in, play out. They must put in maximum effort, whether it is blocking to protect the quarterback, pulling to another gap to create a hole or taking on their opposite number to make a tackle. They do not take plays off.
In a way, they define the cliché of getting knocked down and getting back up again because they have to. It is monotonous work that to the naked eye looks like brute force — two big bodies colliding with little entertainment factor.
In reality there is technique involved, and a relatively reward-less labor that in the end provides the fruit for the rest.
What keeps them going is the desire to win, but more than that the desire to do their best for the guys around them.
“Brotherhood. Being a lineman is different than being a skill guy mostly because of the brotherhood we have on the line,” said senior Zachary Moreno, a 2017 First Team All-Grand Canyon Region lineman for the Marauders. “We need to trust the people to the right and left of us because we are brothers, and that’s what I love most about being a lineman — brotherhood.”
Last season, Mingus won its 20th region title. Along the way it had two running backs who rushed for more than 1,000 yards each, and combined for 23 touchdowns. The Marauders scored 31 times total on the ground in 11 games.
During the difficult part of the schedule at the beginning of the season, the new offensive and defensive lines struggled. In the season-opening 58-6 loss to Higley High School, a Conference 4A state semifinalist, the Marauders gave up 216 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s pretty hard because whenever you do something good no one really notices it except the people around you, the coaches,” Mingus senior Ivan Martinez said. “But the second you do something bad everything is blamed to you. It’s ‘Oh the line is doing bad, the line’s not doing this right,’ but it’s a pretty tough position to play honestly.”
From that game forward — save a hiccup in the 45-16 loss to Bradshaw Mountain High School in the homecoming game — line play improved. It was one of the team’s story lines for the year. In the end, Moreno and Martinez [Second Team] were all-region selections.
Bonding experiences from the summertime translated into positive results on the field.
“At the beginning of course it was rough seeing new people, [Division I players] everybody that’s pretty good,” Martinez said. “Then towards the end of the season we started to be able to compete with those guys because we worked on our technique, day in day out. Focused on being aggressive, we trusted the people next to each other. We knew what we had to do, and we tried to get it done.”
The entire offensive line returns for 2018, but under first-year head coach Robert Ortiz and Anguiano, the schemes and techniques have changed. Nonetheless, Martinez was confident that the lines would get it together again.
During this summer, there have been big man competitions against other schools like Prescott High School and Chino Valley High School while their skill players compete in 7-on-7 passing competitions.
Mingus was one of the top teams, winning the competition on June 13. Without a couple guys on June 20, it still held its own. Players competed in agility drills, tire flipping, tug of war, and every lineman’s favorite, the 1-on-1 drills. It is all in preparation for another successful season under the lights.
“Overall we could’ve done better as an entire team, but all that matters is getting better for Friday nights,” Moreno said. “It’s fun having competition, seeing other guys we don’t see every single day getting ready for the season.”
Linemen are responsible for more than what they are credited.
Their bodies take more punishment than the rest, but they do not complain. The enjoyment they get is from getting the job done quietly.
“Being a lineman you don’t get any glory,” Anguiano said. “As a lineman that’s what you pride yourself on …. You get your 1,000-yard rushers and stuff like that, and they get all the glory on that, but it takes the line to do everything. We’re the heart and soul of the team, especially offensive wise. We’re the main thing to go.”
