Photo by Jay Cook
Easily the most vital position to a football team besides quarterback and the least appreciated position outside of a locker room, the offensive line does all the dirty work from whistle to whistle.
It’s not often that those big guys get the spotlight, but when they put on a clinic against a competitive fellow “B” North divisional team, it’s hard to argue with.
“We put a lot on them this week,” said Red Bank Catholic head coach Frank Edgerly. “We challenged them during the week and challenged them the night before, and particularly in that second half, we dug our heels in and said ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do.’”
The Caseys offensive line had a statement game this past Friday night, when they came from behind to win on the road at Middletown North. Rushing the ball over 40 times with just about 300 yards on the ground, the Shore Conference’s version of the “Broad Street Bullies” seem to be primed for success in 2016.
RBC’s offensive line is comprised of junior left tackle Conor Smith, senior left guard Alex Sargiss, senior center Michael Griggs, junior right guard Richie Christie and senior right tackle Colin O’Hara.
Griggs, who as center is the quarterback of the offensive line, shed some light into his line calls on Sept. 16 against the Lions.
“We noticed that we had an advantage up front with both size and physicality,” he said. “We noticed the D-tackles were playing outside more so we thought we could take advantage of that up the middle.”
Edgerly instilled that style of play during his decade-long first tenure as Red Bank Catholic head coach, which ended after the 2008 season. It is something he would like to bring back to the Caseys after a seven-year stint in the National Football League.
“This was a game where we knew we were going to have to run the ball,” he said. “Particularly, we thought we had an advantage up front and part two is, we knew that was an explosive offense. To me it was twofold; not only was it playing to our strength but it also minimizes their possessions.”
It took some time for the ground game to really turn it up a notch though, as the Caseys were down 20-14 at the midway point. Some halftime adjustments in the locker room were paramount to their success after intermission.
Red Bank Catholic employs multiple offensive looks. A majority of those have some traces of the pro-style offense, where the quarterback lines up under center with either a fullback, an in-line tight end or split-back formations involved.
Specifically on the offensive line, man, zone and gap schemes can be equally incorporated throughout those formations. Red Bank Catholic seemed to have success with the latter as the game rolled on.
“On a certain play depending on where the ball’s going to be run, you have that gap and a man who occupies that gap,” Sargiss said of what the gap scheme entails. “You have a certain responsibility to either get that man or move up to the second level.”
The big guys up front said they could not have pulled out the tough road victory if it were not for running backs Zach Bair and Nick Brusca, along with sophomore fullback Steve Cmielewski, who they feel has been a vital part of sealing the edge for their run game.
“From tackle to tackle, our guys got it done up front,” Edgerly said after the win against Middletown North. “We have two real good backs who were running with a chip on their shoulder and running with confidence.”
