Dan Chang surveyed his offensive linemen during a rare break at the beginning of practice and offered a simple but telling assessment.
“They listen to coaching,” North Penn’s offensive line coach said. “They’re very coachable guys, and they do what we ask them to do.”
What they’ve been asked to do is create holes for the Knights’ running backs and provide protection when quarterback Todd Smolinsky drops back to throw.
They’ve done that and then some.
Through 13 games, the Knights’ offensive line - comprised of J.D. Dzurko, Tyler Scherer, Steve Tribanis, Marcus McGraw, Will Kye and tight end Ralphie Reeves - has been nothing short of spectacular.“In my opinion, they have been the difference for us when the playoffs started,” coach Dick Beck said. “That’s when they’ve clicked the best.”
Confirmation of that is the fact that after scoring 359 points through 10 regular season games for an average of 35.9 points a game, the Knights’ offense has actually upped its point production in the post-season, putting 116 points on the board through three games for an average of close to 39 points.
While Smolinsky, Craig Needhammer, Dom Taggart and company have been stealing the spotlight, the offensive line has quietly set the stage for those big performances, dominating the line of scrimmage and making it look easy.
In truth, it’s the result of hard work.
“We stay after practice all the time – sometimes it’s five minutes, sometimes it’s 30 minutes,” Chang said. “You never hear a complaint from these guys. They’re always willing to go that extra step.”
And as a result, they are always prepared for what opposing defenses throw at them - the Knights’ offense has never scored less than 27 points a game.“Coach Chang has done an amazing job of kind of reproducing what we’re going to see on a Friday night on the practice field, so they have already prepared for that at full speed going into Friday night’s game,” Beck said.
If the Knights’ offensive line needed a platform to showcase its talent, that opportunity presented itself in last Friday night’s district quarterfinal game against Avon Grove. By halftime, the Knights had amassed 260 yards of offense and put 35 points on the board. The mercy rule was in effect for the entire second half.
‘The intensity was so high,” Tribanis said. “We just want our team to do good, and we know that if we open a hole the slightest bit, our running backs will definitely get through them.
“If we get to the linebackers and we lock up with our person for the slightest amount of time, the running backs will get past them.”
Needhammer had 128 yards and four touchdowns in just over a half of action in the Knights’ 42-7 rout of the Red Devils.
“There’s no better feeling than getting a block and then hearing the crowd roar and looking down and seeing Todd or Craig or Dom running downfield with no one to stop them,” Scherer said. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but an offense can’t work without an ‘O’ line, but having the skill and ability our backs have really helps out our ‘O’ line.”
It also doesn’t hurt that the Knights don’t rely on one or two players but rather an arsenal of weapons.
“No disrespect to last year’s team, but pretty much we had two star players,” Scherer said. “This year we have several people who can get the job done.
“Instead of just one star player, we have everyone – I like to say – spreading the love. It’s difficult to just zone in on one person to stop when you have so many people who are weapons.”
Talk to the players, and they have their own explanations for the success of the ‘O’ line this season.“It definitely has to be the camaraderie we have,” Dzurko said. “Most of us have been playing together for a while, and we love playing together.
“We’re great friends off the field, and it just makes us that much better when we’re playing together on the field.”
“Everyone is friends on our offensive line,” Tribanis agreed. “We push each other in the weight room, and we push each other on the field to get better every week.”
“We all try to outdo each other,” Kye said. “That pushes us to better ourselves and strive for perfection.
“The coaches always push us to improve ourselves. What they preach at practice really gets through to us, and it shows in games. We listen to them and apply it to the game.”
McGraw, for one, doesn’t believe the success of the ‘O’ line can be summed up in one simple answer.
“It’s a lot of things,” the junior guard said. “The number one thing is coaching. Coach Chang is a great coach. He knows what he’s doing, and we try to be students of the game and understand what our coaches want to have happen.
“Another thing is we’re good teammates. We like being around each other. We’re pretty loose at practice, but we always get our work done. We’re a good group of friends, and it just starts coming together.”
McGraw - a key starter on the defensive line – was a late entry on the offensive line. He was inserted into the starting lineup for the Knights’ opening round district game against Council Rock North.“He’s really made us a little more athletic and gives us a little more fight in there,” Beck said. “He’s done a great job of getting the linebackers pulling.”
McGraw isn’t the only one who is getting the job done.
“J.D. has been solid all year and has just really been as dominant as any ‘O’ lineman we’ve ever had,” Beck said. “Ralphie had his best game against Avon Grove. He’s a guy we really need to step up and block well for us.”
Dzurko and Kye earned first team all-league honors while Scherer was second team and Tribanis, third team.
“All of them have been big surprises,” Beck said. “Kye and J.D. were first team all-league, and I knew they would be good players.
“Steve Tribanis – I couldn’t have predicted him being as good as he’s been. Tyler Scherer, who was mostly tight end and fullback for us last year, has played really well at quick guard. Obviously, I would never have imagined Marcus would be a starter on the offensive line.”
Despite the changes on the line, the transition, according to Dzurko, has been an easy one.
“One of the big things about our team is – even if you’re not playing a certain position, you’re still required to know it,” he said. “When I was moved to tackle at the beginning of the season, I still had to know all of my center rules, just in case.
“It was the same thing with Marcus. Even though Marcus played defense – he had to remember all of his rules for guard. The fact that he did that and kept up with it made the transition seamless, and after a few games, we kind of understand what he likes to do, what his little quirks are.”
McGraw, it seems, waited almost the entire season for his opportunity to prove himself on the ‘O’ line.
“In camp, I was expecting to play offensive line and defensive line, but I wasn’t as good as I should have been,” he said. “It was tough when I found out I wasn’t going to start on the ‘O’ line.
“I had my mind set on playing, but I let it slip through my fingers. I was like, ‘I need to work hard.’ I definitely needed the motivation. Coach Beck and Coach Chang were saying I might be a key component to get where we need to go. I was like, ‘Okay, I really have to step up and make a powerful statement.’”
Making powerful statements is what this Knights’ squad has been about this season.
After all, they entered the year decided underdogs.“Everyone else always said that we were going to have a rebuilding year, but I don’t think anyone on our team – any of the seniors – really truly believed that,” Scherer said. “They knew they were going to go in there and work their hardest to be the best they could be.
“Expectations or no expectations, we wanted to prove them wrong, and we came in with a little bit of fire to prove them wrong.”
Still, few would have projected that the Knights would be 13-0 heading into Friday night’s District One title game against Ridley.
“I knew we had the potential, but I knew there was a hard road ahead of us,” Dzurko said. “I knew we couldn’t just be a great team like we were last year when we had lots of talent.
“This year was going to be a very tough year. We knew we would have to work for every single thing we got, and I definitely think we did that.”
Only a win over Ridley on Friday separates the Knights from another district crown.
“This is the experience of a lifetime,” Scherer said. “You kind of dread practices, especially summer camp and giving up summer and going to the beach to be at football working out and going over plays, but now it’s all worth it.
“The joy you have after each game and knowing your team is going to keep going in the playoffs – it makes it all worth it.”
“This is a blast,” Dzurko said. “It’s everything I could have asked for.
“At the beginning of the season, not many people thought we had it in us. This is probably the best season I could have asked for. Three weeks from now, hopefully it will be the best season of my life.”
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