Trench gang: Stout offensive line paving QHS football team’s path to playoffs

QUINCY — Conner Cox seemed almost apologetic for not being overly elated when the Quincy High School football team scores a touchdown these days.

As the junior offensive lineman sees it, scoring isn’t a rarity. It’s an expectation.

“Every game, it feels almost routine to score a touchdown,” said Cox, a 6-foot, 250-pound right tackle. “When we score, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s what we expect to do. We expect to put up 30 or more points per game.’ It feels normal to do that.”

When it doesn’t happen, it’s disappointing.

“We expect to score most drives,” junior center Owen Zanger said. “If we don’t, it’s like, ‘What did we do wrong? How can we fix it?’ The next drive we want to come back and eliminate what we did wrong and find a way to score.”

There is always satisfaction when reaching the end zone.

“Oh, no, we’re all still pumped to score a touchdown,” Cox said. “We just expect it more.”

Yet the Blue Devils will never take it for granted.

“We have to be happy and be appreciative every time we score,” junior right guard Cole Wagy said. “It’s not as easy to score a touchdown as it might seem. It takes a lot of work. It takes us giving our all every play to get there.”

By doing that, the offensive line has paved the way for 34.7 points per game, making Quincy the second highest scoring offense in the Western Big 6 Conference. It also has the Blue Devils at 5-2 overall with a Class 6A playoff berth looming.

“If we do our job, we will win,” Cox said. “We don’t have to focus on anyone else’s job. We have to focus on doing our jobs. If we do that, we’ll be in a good position to win.”

‘We drive until we hear the whistle’

Anchored by a pair of three-year starters in senior left tackle Brady Wells and junior left guard Chris Flachs, the offensive line’s consistency has been its best quality.

The Blue Devils average 7.8 yards per play overall — 6 yards per rush, 9.6 yards per pass and 15.6 yards per completion — and 396.6 yards per game. They average 19.8 yards per scoring play as well, with seven touchdowns of 30 or more yards.

More importantly, seven of the 14 rushing touchdowns have been 5 yards or less with four 1-yard plunges.

“We know if we have to get a yard we’re going to work hard to get that yard,” the 6-foot, 270-pound Flachs said. “The coaches know if they need that yard we’re going to go get it. It’s that trust that is 50-50 that we’re going to get the job done.”

There’s pride in being able to run the ball efficiently.

“Last year, we struggled to run the ball,” Flachs said. “We had to pass to set up the run. Now we can run to set up the pass game. If the pass game isn’t there, we can run the ball. We take pride in that every day in practice.”

It’s enabled senior running back Brian Douglas to run for 643 yards and eight touchdowns and average 6.1 yards per carry. Sophomore running back Jeraius Rice averages 7.9 yards per carry, having accumulated 430 yards and six touchdowns.

A simple philosophy has made it possible.

“We get our head in their chest,” the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Zanger said, “and we drive until we hear the whistle.”

Solid rushing numbers that come from owning the line of scrimmage and controlling the clock give the linemen an emotional boost.

“That’s exciting when you see a big number,” Cox said. “We’re all like, ‘Oh, we helped with that.’ With the passing game, we can say, ‘Oh, yeah, we blocked there.’ But (sophomore quarterback Bradyn Little) can escape the pocket and make a throw, too. When we’re running the ball, it feels like, ‘Oh, I’m moving this man out of the way so we can score.’ That feels a lot better.”

Keeping Little upright feels pretty good, too.

Asked which stat is most important to the linemen, there was a divide. Cox and Flachs said rushing numbers are how they assess the line’s performance, while the other four leaned toward the number of sacks allowed. Through seven games, that’s just one.

“We really do take pride in that,” Wagy said.

It’s allowing Little to pick secondaries apart. He has completed 110 of 178 passes for 1,718 yards with 17 touchdowns. He has already established new single-game records for passing touchdowns (five) and yards (373) in the victory over United Township. He’s closing in on the single-season passing yardage record.

“It seems to give him confidence knowing he’s not going to be pressured all the time,” the 6-foot-2, 260-pound Wagy said. “So, for us to play to the whistle and play as hard as we can, it gives him confidence, but it gives us confidence, too, knowing we can protect him and give him time to throw it.”

That’s paramount in the linemen’s eyes.

“We have a lot of love for our quarterback,” Zanger said. “We definitely don’t want him to get hurt.”

‘You can’t be a weak offensive lineman’

To avoid allowing pressure in the pocket, the Blue Devils do a quality job of reading how defenses are aligning and communicating to each other how the blocking schemes need to work.

“Every play, we’re saying something,” Wells said.

Everyone is listening, too.

“We have the chemistry,” Wells said. “It helps having that connection and those friendships where we’re able to talk to each other and be honest.”

Feelings aren’t spared.

“Whenever we make a mistake, we take accountability for it,” said sophomore Quinton Rowher, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound center who has filled in along the line. “We all hold each other accountable.”

It’s done for the right reasons.

“It’s all about accountability,” Wagy said. “It’s making sure we stay accountable for each other, making sure we express what we think to other people. All it’s going to do is make them better. We’re making sure we talk to each other and say things like, ‘Hey, this is happening. Keep your eyes up here.’ We have to be able to tell each other what we see.”

Because of the complexity of the Blue Devils’ offense, communication and trust are crucial.

“There are a lot of moving pieces with our offense,” Flachs said. “We’re a team that likes to pull a lot, so we have to know who is going to get trapped, who is pulling, who has what assignment. We have to know who is going to get blocked and we’re going to kick their butt doing it.”

Time spent in weight room helps.

“We can have self-confidence because we’ve worked hard in there,” Rowher said. “We can be stronger and bigger. We all know we actually give effort.”

Flachs is the kingpin when it comes to weight training. He broke the program’s records for squat and dead lift over the summer, cleanly finishing a 505-pound dead lift. He also bench pressed 325 pounds. The other linemen have followed suit in their weight room commitment.

“You can’t be a weak offensive lineman,” Zanger said. “You won’t be able to push or drive. You won’t have a successful team if your line is weak. The offense can’t be as fluid and flow freely as much. It’s about all of us being strong.”

Better yet, it’s about being able to move weight.

“Sometimes, you’re going to face small defensive tackles,” Flachs said. “Sometimes, you’re going to get that big defensive tackle who is difficult to move. If you’re not used to moving big weight and you’re not used to moving things around, you’re not going to be successful. It’s going to be a shock to you almost.”

Add the strength to preparation, commitment and accountability and success follows, just as it has for the Blue Devils.

“We have size. We have power. We have good technique,” Rowher said.

There’s one other thing that brings it all together.

“A lot of trust,” Cox said. “We trust each other whole-heartedly.”